GOAL US looks at the winners and losers for the 96-team field of a revamped US Open Cup after a new format was revealed
A year ago, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was on its last legs. Or so we were told. There had been talk for some time that MLS might decrease its involvement in the competition. And so it came to pass, with just eight teams from America's top flight sending their first teams to the competition.
The rest deployed their MLS Next Pro sides – a combination of youth talent and college draftees yet to break into the senior side. It seemed to be the start of the death of one of American soccer's great institutions. This thing had been around for more than 100 years. Amateur teams could enter. A roster made up of workers from a burrito restaurant deployed a team. Like England's FA Cup, France's Coupe de France or Spain's Copa del Rey, the U.S. Open Cup is a leveler. Anything, in theory, can happen.
But that was all soon to be done away with. The Open Cup could work as its own institution but needed MLS teams to pace the whole thing – and keep it relevant. And U.S. Soccer, it seems, has realized that. This year, 16 MLS teams will participate, eight more than last year.
USSF CEO JT Baston expressed his satisfaction that this institution is looking more like its old self: "The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a crucial connection point for all levels of soccer in the United States. U.S. Soccer exists in service to soccer and this historic tournament allows us to lift up the people who are leading the charge to support soccer in their communities. We’re pleased to continue working with and collaborating with all U.S. Soccer members to maximize the tournament’s impact on soccer at all levels in this country."
It's not perfect. Not everyone is back. But it signals improvement, a revival of sorts for a competition that was on the brink. GOAL looks at the winners and losers of yet another version of the US Open Cup in 2025.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowUSLWINNER: The USL
How relieved USL teams must be. It is worth pointing out, first, that MLS teams don't really need the money from this thing. Unlike another competition emerging in the American soccer landscape – more on that later – there is no great financial incentive for MLS sides. But the U.S. Open Cup is absolutely a revenue driver for smaller teams.
These are, usually, tiny markets matched up against some of the biggest teams in American soccer. Last year alone, LAFC traveled to Cashman Field, home of Las Vegas Lights. Atlanta United played at Patriots Point, the stomping ground of Charleston Battery. Those are big games that packed stadiums and bolstered matchday revenue – which smaller clubs rely on.
There's also something to be said for the legitimacy of this all. USL is one of the more interesting things happening in professional soccer – a space of brand building, innovation, and ever-improving quality. It needs eyes, and having MLS teams participate only helps those clubs.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Leagues Cup
Let's make something clear: the semi-revival of the Open Cup does not mean that the Leagues Cup is finished. In theory, it shouldn't impact the way that teams treat either competition. But whereas the competition previously dominated six weeks of the North American soccer calendar, it did lose a little bit of relevance with more MLS interest in the Open Cup.
The Leagues Cup has long been a controversial tournament. The reasons for that are many: fixture congestion, financial incentives, and abandonment of fan interest. It was assumed in some circles that the decrease in MLS teams participating in the U.S. Open Cup, linked with an expanded Leagues Cup, meant that the latter competition would slowly drain life from the former.
But now the inverse has happened. The Leagues Cup has changed significantly, with just 18 MLS clubs participating and no league break anymore. And with more MLS teams returning to the traditional tournament, that steady dominance of the new tournament is losing momentum.
Getty ImagesWINNER: U.S. Open Cup
Well, obviously. This thing was once the lifeblood of American soccer, a constant churning away in the background as MLS teams came and went. Now, with MLS expanding to 30 franchises, there's no longer a real need for the competition to exist – at least, not as a fundamental part of U.S. soccer. But it is a crucial component of the landscape, a small but significant way of upholding tradition in American soccer — one that started way before MLS's founding in 1995 and dates back to 1914.
Yet another shift to the makeup of the competition does not mean that it will stay alive forever. Nor does it signal a total sea of change in the way the powers that be view it. But it certainly does give the competition some momentum, a valuable boost after a few years of deterioration. Could things revert back to doom and gloom next year? Quite possibly. But for now, the U.S. Open Cup is back on track.
Getty Images SportLOSER: MLS Clubs that aren't participating
There was widespread protest last year among fan groups of clubs that didn't participate in the US Open Cup. Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire fans, in particular, expressed their anger with their teams' decisions to send MLS Next Pro teams to the competition. Chicago have since pivoted and returned to the competition after a year of absence.
Colorado will once again send its MLS Next Pro side. There are, admittedly, financial incentives at play here. The Leagues Cup is a more lucrative venture. Teams can also point to fixture congestion as a limiting factor. But more broadly, failing to send a first team risks further alienating fans who are already unhappy with decisions that took place some 12 months ago.