As Wednesday bled into Thursday on the East Coast, Los Angeles FC capped the 109th U.S. Open Cup with the club’s first triumph. French forward Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in a 3-1 extra-time victory over Sporting Kansas City. However, the win was colored by the backdrop of the century-old competition’s vitality – a history that dates back to 1914.
The lead-in to this year’s tournament was mired by discussions about how Major League Soccer would participate in the competition that features multiple professional leagues and amateur teams. It appears that the tournament’s stakeholders are taking a more proactive approach than the one that left the recently concluded installment in limbo for three winter months.
A source briefed on the planning talks — speaking anonymously given the inconclusive nature of the discussions — said that the Open Cup Committee is already deep in the planning stages for the 2025 tournament, whose amateur qualifying rounds kick off on Oct. 5. The source characterized the talks as having “good collaboration” from all involved, and that all professional clubs will be expected to participate in some form. The talks have also included stakeholders from all participating professional leagues and amateur organizations.
A U.S. Soccer representative declined to comment when contacted about this report. MLS and the USL also received requests for comment.
As it stands, some MLS organizations may again field their lower division Next Pro affiliates rather than their senior sides. Another source briefed on the discussions said it’s “very possible” that more first teams will participate than 2024, which saw eight MLS teams compete. That much has not yet been finalized, although one source expects some combination of first teams and other organizations’ Next Pro affiliates to represent the league(s).
Indy Eleven advanced to the Open Cup semifinal, further than any other lower division team this year. (Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)
The planning efforts aren’t just focusing on which teams will contend in the tournament’s 110th edition. The committee is balancing scheduling issues with awareness of the planned Club World Cup that will be hosted in the United States next summer. There’s a “collective desire” to make proactive changes to the format that increase its future upside, with a source acknowledging the need for “strong participation across the whole professional landscape.”
This year, the presence of Next Pro affiliates created a new wrinkle to the David vs. Goliath narrative. While the developmental sides entered most matches as the underdog against more veteran opponents, they doubled as a proxy for the initial attempt by MLS to withdraw first teams from the tournament altogether.
The furthest-advancing team from the third division came not from the USL or NISA, but Next Pro. New York City FC II advanced to the round of 16, losing to second-division New Mexico United. In total, the lower divisions had a strong tournament, with Indy Eleven reaching the semifinal while New Mexico and Sacramento Republic fell in the quarterfinal.
While initially viewed by some as a one-year compromise, there’s a chance that some level of participation by Next Pro affiliates is here to stay. Although the USL has plans to expand its own third-division League One, it houses 12 clubs as of 2024 and will still have fewer than 20 active clubs next season. Additionally, third-division NISA had teams play in its 2024 season, with two more clubs announced with launch dates up in the air and another two on an indefinite hiatus.
One source said that having a greater number of third-division clubs able to participate can help with building the format, as it can help with sequencing when each entrant enters the bracket. That said, having first-division participation is also a mandatory component, in terms of achieving the format’s aim and garnering the largest audience possible.
It’s unclear how gradually or immediately any changes will be implemented. Among other areas that could be addressed are greater predictability of match venues and who hosts in each round, as well as supporting the amateur and lower-league teams that enter in the tournament’s earlier rounds with greater coverage and a mission to support soccer at all levels.
In the lead-up to Wednesday’s final, neither coach addressed questions about the tournament’s vitality head-on, although each gave auxiliary rationale as to why the tournament matters.
“There’s something on the line that’s very important to us here in L.A.: a trophy,” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo. “You play this game for trophies.”
LAFC won its first U.S. Open Cup, defeating SKC 3-1. (Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
His opposite number, Peter Vermes, ultimately fell short of leading Sporting KC to a record-tying fifth Open Cup title. When asked about contextualizing this final against the future of the tournament, he said he “appreciated the question” and that he “love(d) the fact that everybody gets to participate” from the amateur levels up.
Later in the press conference, he was asked about the specific legacy of his native New Jersey in his competition, Vermes took a second to pick his words.
“I kind of learned years ago that if you’re into history, you’re into history; if you’re not, it really doesn’t resonate with you,” Vermes said. “I am, so it means a lot more to me than I would say, maybe, some of my players. Some of our guys know — I wouldn’t say all — but good pieces of history of the U.S. Open Cup.
“I think it’s been more important to explain to our guys, the ones that are newer to the team, how important this competition has been for this club over the years.”
Although the U.S. Open Cup is a legacy competition in team sports’ standard, a need to innovate has long been inevitable. One source said that final details about the 2025 tournament will “very likely” arrive before the end of this year — potentially in a matter of “weeks, not months.”
Giving the competition a shot in the arm is easier said than done. Even the most obvious changes have to weigh the needs and expectations of all participants, from local grassroots qualifiers to the USL’s large number of participants to even an MLS powerhouse.
This year did see some progress, most visibly in broadcast quality as the final three rounds were shown on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. That fact, coupled with MLS commissioner Don Garber’s presence at Wednesday’s final despite the title games of the Canadian Championship and Campeones Cup falling on the same night, seems to suggest MLS is determined to do its part to get this tournament on a track toward greater success.
It’s a start, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to modernize and sophisticate this competition. Failing to enact the kinds of changes that ensure sustained long-term growth on these shores runs the risk of creating another annual tradition: whether each year’s U.S. Open Cup final will be the last game in this longstanding competition.
(Top photo: Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
