US Soccer Rules MLS Teams Must Participate In US Open Cup

The United States Soccer Federation announced it has ruled against allowing Major League Soccer (MLS) to remove its first teams from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and replace them with teams from its developmental league, MLS Next Pro.

“Major League Soccer has requested to allow MLS Next Pro teams to represent MLS in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After thoughtful consideration, we have informed MLS that the U.S. Soccer staff recommendation, which was adopted by the Pro League Taskforce, is that the request be denied,” USSF said in a statement.

MLS had originally announced that they were withdrawing their first teams from US Open Cup competition. This announcement was met with widespread dismay and condemnation. Many fans pointed to this as yet another instance of MLS suppressing the growth of lower division teams in the US.

The USSF professional league standards state, “U.S.-based teams must participate in all representative U.S. Soccer and CONCACAF competitions for which they are eligible. The Open Cup, which began in 1914 and is the nation’s longest-running soccer competition, meets the criteria, as it is governed by U.S. Soccer.