MLS out of USOC

MLS Plans to be Represented by MLS NEXT Pro Clubs in

2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

NEW YORK (Friday, December 15, 2023) – Major League Soccer announced today that at its recent Board of Governors meeting its clubs voted to have MLS NEXT Pro teams represent the organization in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. MLS will coordinate with U.S. Soccer regarding participation in the tournament.

This decision will provide emerging professional players with additional opportunities for meaningful competition. The move also benefits the MLS regular season by reducing schedule congestion, freeing up to six midweek match dates.

The inclusion of MLS NEXT Pro clubs in the Open Cup follows the involvement of dozens of MLS NEXT Pro players in the 2023 tournament, where they were called up to MLS first teams.

MLS remains committed to working with U.S. Soccer to evolve and elevate the Open Cup for everyone involved in the years ahead.

This is bad no matter how it is looked at. MLS has no responsibility to grow the game, the original NASL did not take part in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. They have not played their best players and it was widely thought that they would bail on it.

It is an historic competition. Each team has made a decision to field their best, at risk of injury in a non league game and often times, have not done so or put them in late to ensure victory. This tourney did allow lower level teams a shot at a bigger team and a bigger gate, both good things for them. How much of a scouting opportunity it became was, lessened with streaming etc.

Interesting is that it is named after the founder FC Dallas, his sons are now at the helm. There are a number of people involved in MLS who had partaken in the games, notably, William Manning of TFC, his team won it way back when. There have been a number of local teams that have also won it, Christos out of MD is a recent team with a great run, the Rochester Rhinos did take the title in MLS days.

Some have stated that throwing these games into the mix make things worse, yes suddenly, after over a century and being played from the founding of teams and league alike, this is the issue. Not many more games are played here than in other parts of the world. To think EPL teams will pull out of the FA Cup is beyond laughable. This release from the league states it is a plan and a decision, I always thought a plan was something in the works, not a done deal like a decision?

The PLS, a constantly evolving thing, did benefit an MLS team such as Minnesota United in the NASL to keep higher them in a higher division by way of waivers, until it did not. This flies in the face and violates the PLS, MLS is accused of having a hand in getting them raised to hold off competition and now crossing one big time.

That this was announced as the expansion draft of the NWSL was about to begin again shows, not interested in growing yhe game, their businesses yes for certain. For those putting this on Garber, he works for the owners, he did not get this idea and run with it, it had to be approved making no neve mind of who first introduced it.

I am against their pulling out, hope they reconsider, but is their business to do as they please, it will be interesting how the USSF does or does not respond. Possibly a less direct thing would have been sign 2nd team members to 10 day contracts?, play those who do not get much time and get some work in and exposure as trade bait?