USL Gets Hosed by MLS and USSF In Open Cup Format

 Today the USSF (United States Soccer Federation) announced the format for the 2027 Lamar Hunt United States Open Cup. It features the return of full participation of Major League Soccer US based teams in the competition, a practice which has been compromised since 2024 when the league decided to not fully participate in the tournament due to commitments to its own Leagues Cup tournament with Liga MX. 

However the return of MLS to the Cup is coming at a huge cost. The United Soccer League (USL) will be limited on how many clubs will be able to play in the tournament. Currently the ecosystem has 25 clubs playing in the USL Championship (US Division II) and 17 clubs playing in League One (US Division III). Under the new format which will be instituted in 2027, up to 10 USL professional clubs would not be eligible to qualify for the first round proper of the tournament in April, thus going against the PLS rules stating that every professional team must be eligible to participate in the competition. 

Furthermore, the ecosystem (I use this term because USL and MLS are two different soccer entities) is eligible to receive five spots in the round of 64 to take place in July. Those spots in the round will be available to the Players Shield winner in the Championship, the Eastern and Western Conference table winners, the USL Championship Final winner and the USL Cup winner (currently all participants are from the championship). 

The scenarios of which five clubs will be eligible can pose to be quite confusing. What if the Players Shield winner happens to win the USL C Playoffs? Who is eligible to fill the void left by that. Not to mention that the Players Shield winner automatically is the conference table winner. Is the club in second place in that particular conference automatically assured of making the Round of 64? There’s a Pandora’s Box of scenarios that there’s no actual definitions for. 

What this presents is a huge blow for the USL as they are trying to establish themselves in the American soccer landscape. Currently the league is preparing to institute a promotion/relegation system within its own entity, and have been a vocal advocate for the Open Cup. This MLS friendly format restricts the participation of a portion of its professional clubs from participating in the same tournament in which they were very vocal about MLS’ lack of participation in the past couple seasons. It seems that the federation is catering to the single entity ecosystem while leaving its second and third division opposition in a cloud of uncertainty as it also poses some interesting challenges in regards to USL’s participation in the competition for all its professional clubs 

Once again the USSF board, which is majority held by members from Major League Soccer, is circumventing the Professional League Standards (in which they set up to benefit their own league) and leave the other leagues in this country on the outside looking in or settling with less

Until we dissolve the board from being the lap dog of a closed single entity league, this will be the status quo of American soccer. Other professional leagues need to be a part of the conversation when it comes to the oldest soccer competition in our nation. As per the PLS…The

 U.S. Soccer Professional League Standards (PLS) all sanctioned professional Division I, II, and III outdoor leagues—such as Major League Soccer (MLS), the USL Championship, and USL League One—must ensure all of their eligible, U.S.-based teams fully participate in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup 

This is not renegotiable. It is stated in the standards for all US based professional clubs. 

Cindy Cone needs to look at either enforcing this rule or just rewriting the PLS all together. This is not a competition without full representation of every single professional club in the United States. This includes MLS, USL-C, League One and the independent NextPro clubs. I get it, clubs who are entering the professional ranks should have one year before entering the Open Cup. But going forward afterwards they should automatically be eligible for the competition.

No guidelines 

No qualifications 

No restrictions 

By denying USL full participation of its professional members, you are clearly going against the intentions that this tournament is all about. 

I have to say this louder for the people in back…..

THERE IS MORE TO AMERICAN SOCCER THAN JUST MLS!!!!

And until the USSF board realizes that, this tournament will continue to suffer because of it