U.S. Soccer denies MLS request to send Next PRO teams to compete in 2024 Open Cup

U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that it would not grant MLS’ request for a waiver that would allow youth teams to participate in the 2024 edition of the U.S. Open Cup, continuing a back-and-forth over the federation and the league over the cup competition.

MLS said last Friday that it would not enter its senior teams for next season’s Open Cup, and instead sought a waiver from competition organizer U.S. Soccer to send squads from MLS Next PRO, the league’s youth set-up. U.S. Soccer said it was blindsided by MLS’ decision in their immediate reaction, and the news received swift condemnation from the American soccer community at large.

“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,” U.S. Soccer’s statement read in part. “As we move forward, we will continue our review of the Open Cup to ensure it aligns with the U.S. Soccer strategic pillars. We remain committed to addressing the needs and concerns of all of our members, including MLS, and other stakeholders to enhance and improve the U.S. Open Cup.”

The league issued a corresponding statement moments later, not necessarily backing down from their original decision.

“MLS is committed to finding a viable solution for the 2024 tournament and is working to find a pathway that addresses its goals and concerns,” the league said in a statement. “Moving forward, MLS will remain focused on increasing opportunities for up-and-coming players, a key component of the League’s player development strategy that ultimately benefits the U.S. national team program.”

The United Soccer League, which houses the second-tier league USL Championship and the third-tier league USL League One, also issued a statement on Wednesday aligning itself with fans who prefer to see the cup competition remain as is.

“We believe the Open Cup is a historical and integral part of America’s soccer culture,” the USL said. “We stand with fans across the country who want to see it remain an authentic and inclusive competition.”

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MLS also reiterated the reasoning behind pulling its senior teams out of the Open Cup in Wednesday’s statement, and said the decision was made with the hopes of “developing young professional players and providing them with greater opportunity to play before fans in meaningful competition in a tournament setting, prioritizing player health and safety, reducing schedule congestion for MLS clubs, and enhanced investment from U.S. Soccer.”

Critics of MLS’ decision, though, argue that pulling out of the Open Cup does not reduce some of the league’s problems, chiefly that one of schedule congestion. While the century-old Open Cup adds a maximum of six games to an MLS team’s calendar, the four-year old Leagues Cup — a collaboration between MLS and Liga MX that both leagues operate — adds anywhere from two to seven more games to the fixture list. Additionally, MLS expanded its playoff format this year to include more than half of the league’s teams and an unpopular best-of-three series in the first round.

“They have a choice to be inclusive and they choose to be exclusive,” former U.S. men’s national team defender and Open Cup winner Jimmy Conrad said this week on Morning Footy, CBS Sports Golazo Network‘s daily show. “They had a choice to not be like all the other American sports in this country and to really make it about the greater good of the game and to really grow the game in a meaningful way, to work with USL, to work with U.S. Soccer to grow Open Cup, to work with all the youth stuff that’s happening when they’ve created MLS Next and MLS Next Pro and they’ve chosen that.”