MLS Pulls Out of U.S. Open Cup
MLS withdraws first teams from competing in the USOC. MLS NEXT Pro sides will instead enter the tournament.
The U.S. Open Cup will look different in comparison to previous editions, as Major League Soccer announced their clubs will not participate in the 2024 edition. Instead, MLS NEXT Pro clubs will enter the tournament.
Major League Soccer, who added Leagues Cup and a revamped playoff format in 2023, emphasized in a press release how Friday’s announcement will relieve schedule congestion for MLS clubs.
Curt Onalfo’s Pro Player Pathway will be on display in 2024 as Revolution II enters the U.S. Open Cup. Yet, there are just a few problems.
Like the senior team, Revs II finds themselves without a coach. Following the flurry of changes with the first team, Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay and Assistant Coach Marcelo Santos were forced to fill the gaps. There has been no indication of whether the duo would return to Revolution II for the 2024 season.
Additionally, Revolution II’s roster is bare at the moment. Following the 2023 MLS season that saw Revs II qualify for their first-ever playoff berth, the club declined a staggering six options while declining to retain three free agents.
Revolution II has eight players (Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Jacob Akanyirige, Brandonn Bueno, Marcos Dias, Olger Escobar, Patrick Leal, Victor Souza, and Max Weinstein) entering the 2024 season.
It’s clear a lot needs to happen between now and early 2024 for the “Revolution” to be in the best position before the new-look U.S. Open Cup starts.
Thats really disappointing, MLS teams tend to put out fully rotated teams in the first two rounds anyways.
Very disappointing.