Lionel Messi will not be able to win every trophy the United States has to offer him this year. That’s because Major League Soccer wielded its influence to get out of putting all its teams in the oldest soccer tournament in the country.

This afternoon, it was announced that only eight MLS teams will be competing in the US Open Cup – the oldest and most prestigious cup competition in the country that has been played since 1914.

After months of hemming and hawing by MLS officials to try and avoid sending every team to the tournament (as they have since the league started in 1996), they finally got their wish.

In the new format, the reigning champion Houston Dynamo will be included as well as the seven best teams in the Supporter’s Shield race that did not reach the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Those next seven are Atlanta United, FC Dallas, Los Angeles FC, Real Salt Lake, the San Jose Earthquakes, the Seattle Sounders, and Sporting Kansas City.

US Soccer caved to MLS pressure and only eight top flight sides will play in the US Open Cup

The reigning champions, the Houston Dynamo, are one of eight MLS teams in the tournament

Last year’s finalists, Inter Miami, are not competing in this year’s tournament

In addition to these, there are eleven teams from MLS Next Pro – the MLS-controlled reserve league – that will be competing.

Independent teams Carolina Core and Chattanooga FC will be entering, as will the reserve sides of Austin FC, the Chicago Fire, the Colorado Rapids, Charlotte FC, the LA Galaxy, Minnesota United, New York City FC, the New York Red Bulls, and the Portland Timbers.

‘First and foremost, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all our members for their invaluable input over the past couple of months— sharing with us of the reasons the U.S. Open Cup is so great, and what we can do to make it even better,’ said U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson.

‘After extensive discussions, we have put together a competitive format specific to the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, promising exciting matchups from the First Round and through the entire tournament.

‘U.S. Soccer values the tradition and importance of the U.S. Open Cup, and we will continue to have conversations with all our members to explore avenues for enhancing future editions of the tournament and how we all work together to grow soccer in every community in the country.’

Yes, US Soccer values the tradition of the cup – but not enough to use everything it can to have MLS teams play in the tournament.

There’s a number of options that the governing body could have gone with – including a nuclear option of revoking the league’s first-tier status – but they reached this compromise.

That’s despite rules that require all MLS teams to participate. When it became clear that the USSF was willing to try and find a compromise, Open Cup committee chair Arthur Mattson resigned his position.

US Soccer CEO J.T. Batson (L) says his organization will ‘explore avenues for enhancing future editions of the tournament’

‘I would never allow MLS to pick and choose the rules and policies that they follow while expecting other leagues to abide by the rules,’ Mattson told Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports.

This format is believed to be temporary and it is possible that all MLS teams could return next season.

But between now and then, there are likely a number of things that would need to happen. For one, MLS commissioner Don Garber has long complained about the quality of the sides in the competition and the fact that clubs lose money on the tournament.

Garber has also been vocal about how the tournament clogs schedules. It’s an interesting point, considering that if an MLS team reached the Open Cup final, they’d only play six extra matches spread out from May to September. And after all, not every MLS team wins their first game in the tournament.

That’s before you consider that MLS is completely pausing its season to host the Leagues Cup in the format it debuted last year.

It seemed as if US Soccer was ready to push back on MLS when the league first announced in December that they wouldn’t be participating. It released a statement saying that ‘the request [to send reserve sides to the cup] be denied’.

US Soccer’s Pro League Standards suggested they could push back hard. One of its requirements for a Division I men’s league is that ‘US-based teams must participate in all representative US Soccer and CONCACAF competitions for which they are eligible.’

The rules gave US Soccer the option to revoke MLS’s Division I status as a result of their desire to jump ship. But that option was something US Soccer reportedly did not consider.

Leaders in lower leagues, like the USL Championship, are ‘disappointed’ by this decision

This decision has been met with backlash across the board from fans (both of MLS and of lower leagues), players, and leaders in the sport.

Paul McDonough, the president of the United Soccer League (which operates three divisions), told Yahoo Sports, ‘We’re really disappointed in the federation for not showing stronger leadership.’

The Richmond Kickers, a USL club and the winners of the 1995 US Open Cup, wrote in a statement, ‘We are disappointed that US Soccer has failed to hold other leagues to the basic Pro League Standards for participation in the US Open Cup.’

Even MLS players have spoken up against this decision. New York Red Bulls right back John Tolkin told Herculez Gomez, ‘If you want to build the game in this country how are you going to get rid of the nation’s tournament ? That’s like getting rid of England’s FA Cup.’

Countless supporters groups throughout the country have also expressed their frustration.

MLS could return to the cup next year with a new revenue sharing model, a bump in travel stipends, and/or a greater marketing push to bring in more lucrative sponsors to the tournament.

But all those changes would be implemented for 2025. For now, this tournament will feel lesser-than because of MLS’s decision.

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