Don’t Forget About The Open Cup!
Philadelphia Union fans expressing their support for the US Open Cup during their recent Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul.
Professional football, the soccer kind, has been played in the United States since the late 19th century, developing in the U.S. at the same time it was in Europe. Cities like Chicago had their first association rules football matches as early as 1883 and had rich and diverse football leagues that mirrored those developing elsewhere. Clubs from St. Louis, Philadelphia, and New York began organizing inter-city matches, and those loose exhibition matches evolved into organized tournaments, the foremost of which was the U.S. Open Cup. Instituted as the National Challenge Cup by the United States Football Association in 1913, Open Cup matches immediately became the pinnacle of US soccer. While the teams and leagues from this early part of US soccer history have faded, the Open Cup remains one of the strongest connections to a sporting history that is often ignored.
The
National Challenge
Cup,
later renamed the U.S. Open Cup, was the pinnacle of US soccer.
Fans crowd together on the grandstand roof to watch the 1916 final. Seems totally safe.
Current Issues with MLS
Have not heard too much about the Cup? That has been by design.
Players from D.C. United celebrating their 1996 Open Cup victory.
Since the inception of Major League Soccer in 1996, the U.S. Open Cup has been increasingly sidelined in favor of developing the top U.S. soccer league formed in the image of other U.S. sports, a closed system with clubs as franchises. From the start, MLS was focused on keeping player salaries low and ticket sales high in order to maximize profit for franchisees. In that context it makes sense that the prospect of “lower league” sides being given an annual opportunity to show up the MLS clubs is a negative for the owners and commissioner looking to protect their investments.
“I would say that they’re not games that we would want our product to be shown to a large audience... ...So frankly, I’m not all that disappointed that the audience is small. So I appreciate the enthusiasm about it, but we need to get better with the U.S. Open Cup. It’s just not the proper reflection of what soccer in America at the professional level needs to be.”
This year, the league’s animosity towards the competition and U.S. soccer was thrust into a harsh spotlight when the league announced in December of 2023 that it would be withdrawing all first team squads from the 2024 competition and only sending their developmental MLS Next Pro sides, the equivalent of third-tier teams. MLS cited poor field conditions, marketing, and fixture congestion as the rationale for this move. The last point was an especially jarring excuse, as Don Garber and Major League Soccer had just launched an extensive mid-season tournament involving Liga MX teams the prior season, the Leagues Cup.
The launch of the Leagues Cup in 2023 was an undeniable ratings and financial success. Coinciding with Lionel Messi's arrival in MLS, the tournament featured numerous thrilling matches between U.S. and Mexican clubs, culminating in David Beckham’s Messi-led Miami team taking home the strikingly symmetrical trophy. The 2024 version is without an injured Messi and seems to have lower attendance with many matches having been played in what appear to be near empty stadiums.
Although new to MLS, St. Louis is one of the oldest soccer cities in the U.S., boasting a long and rich history of Open Cup champions. In early 2024, in protest of MLS undermining the competition, fans gathered outside St. Louis CITY FC’s stadium to voice their discontent.
The decision to abandon the Cup met with fierce opposition from supporters' groups and from across the sports media landscape as it was, rightfully, seen as abandoning the sport’s history in favor of pursuing the closed and highly lucrative Leagues Cup. After some threats from U.S. Soccer to remove MLS’s top league standing and weathering intense media criticism, a compromise was made where the top eight clubs not participating in the CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament would participate while other MLS clubs would send the MLS Next Pro sides. This decision was made without consulting the teams involved, many of whom still valued the competition.
Stories from the ‘24 Tournament
El Farolito
A slightly worse-for-wear Open Cup trophy rests atop a flatscreen TV, next to a novelty liqueur bottle at the original El Farolito location.
In this year of uncertainty, there was no better Cinderella story than that of El Farolito, the San Francisco-based amateur team that shares its name with a chain of Bay Area taquerias that sponsor the club. At the original restaurant location, a discerning visitor may notice the U.S. Open Cup trophy from 1993 on display. Won in the fallow period between the fall of the NASL and rise MLS, El Farolito was one of the smaller community clubs that kept the sport, and the Open Cup, alive in this country. Both restaurant and club were founded by the late Salvador “Don Chava” Lopez, and his community-based spirit and love for the sport still permeate this team. El Farolito made it all the way to the third round of the ‘24 tournament, beating pro side Central Valley Fuego along the way. They eventually lost to the USL’s Oakland Roots.
Sacha The Menace
Kljestan shared the thoughts of many fans about MLS’s decision.
Among the early vocal critics of Major League Soccer’s decision to distance itself from the competition was former USMNT star and Open Cup veteran, Sacha Kljestan. Now a commentator for Apple TV’s MLS coverage, Kljestan expressed his disapproval of the move on X (formerly Twitter). Shortly thereafter, he noticeably toned down his comments, likely after receiving a call from his employer asking him to keep his thoughts on the decision, like the "J" in his name, silent. While he may not have been allowed to continue sharing his views verbally, he decided to make an even bigger statement with his actions. The 38-year-old midfielder came out of retirement and signed with USL2’s Des Moines Menace to participate in their Open Cup run. Although Des Moines only made it as far as the second round, Kljestan was a significant contributor in their first-round victory over Capo FC, scoring a decisive goal in the penalty shootout. This was all the more impressive as the match was delayed to accommodate a high school lacrosse game.
Kljestan in his objectively awesome Des Moines Menace kit.
Detroit City FC
Detroit players rush to congratulate Carlos Saldaña after their victory over the 2023 Open Cup champions, the Houston Dynamo.
Another great story from this year was the continued rise of Detroit City FC as an American soccer powerhouse. Home to one of the most passionate and creative fan bases in the country, DCFC, from the USL, made it to the Round of 16 after eliminating last year’s champions, the Houston Dynamo. Not only did this popular Detroit side defeat the reigning champs, but they did so in thrilling fashion. They came back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to push the game to overtime and then penalties, where they won on the strength of their goalkeeper, Carlos Saldaña, who both saved and scored a penalty. In the Round of 16, Detroit lost to fellow USL side Indy Eleven, the only Division II team remaining in the tournament.
Indy Eleven
Will some version of this crest soon be appearing in MLS?
USL’s Indy Eleven has had a record run in this year’s tournament, highlighted by their quarterfinal upset of MLS juggernaut Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Like Detroit, Indy Eleven boasts a deeply committed fanbase and is rumored to be a candidate for a future MLS club. Major League Soccer, having learned from clubs like Cincinnati and St. Louis, sees that mid-sized cities with minimal professional sports competition offer fertile ground for expansion. Bringing these clubs into Don Garber’s circle also serves another purpose: capturing rival leagues’ most exciting teams.
The Final Four
Indy’s run will continue on August 27th, when they face Sporting Kansas City in the Semi-Finals of the Open Cup. The other semi-final matchup will feature MLS giants Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Football Club. Of the four teams, Indy might seem to be the underdog, but all three MLS sides are currently competing in the second edition of the Leagues Cup. While many supporters view that competition negatively for its role in diminishing the Open Cup, no one can deny its success in producing intensely fought matches between Liga MX and MLS clubs. As of this writing, Kansas City and Seattle are set to play in the round of 32, while LA has already qualified for the round of 16. The fatigue from that mid-summer tournament, combined with Major League Soccer’s approach to the Open Cup, could give Indy a chance to make some history in 2024.
The Open Cup’s Future
Let’s be honest—there was serious doubt about whether the Open Cup would even happen this year. While supporters' groups and die-hard fans rallied behind the tournament, most casual American soccer followers remained largely indifferent. So, what does this mean for the future? It's uncertain, but if the Open Cup were to end, we would lose a significant piece of our soccer heritage and close off a vital pathway for smaller clubs and unknown players to gain national recognition.
It’s clear what MLS is aiming for: they’re openly working to eliminate competition, and they’re making significant progress in doing so. However, the strong backlash to their actions this year forced them to reconsider some of their decision. Not only did they step back from a full first-team withdrawal, but they also agreed to stream USOC matches on the MLS website. Additionally, the final rounds of the Open Cup are now being streamed by Apple TV as part of their MLS coverage. If we continue to watch and support the Cup, perhaps the future can accommodate both the a Leagues Cup and the historically significant USOC. Whatever lies ahead, we should all make a point to tune into this year’s final matches, which could very well be among the last in this storied competition.