Sporting KC
Sporting KC Supporters Groups Call for Vermes’ Resignation
The Kansas City Cauldron and South Stand supporters’ groups put out a joint statement calling for Peter Vermes to resign from Sporting KC.
On Saturday night, Sporting Kansas City continued a winless streak that has climbed to thirteen games. The loss to FC Dallas was the 12th loss in that run, dating back to September 21, 2024, when Sporting KC started the streak with a 2-0 loss to Minnesota United that officially eliminated them from playoff contention with a month left in the season.
The road loss to Dallas left FOX 4’s Harold Kuntz to wonder aloud what it would look like when Sporting KC’s rival, St. Louis City SC, comes to Children’s Mercy Park next weekend.
Atmosphere at CMP with St. Louis SC coming to town next weekend will be interesting. Fan interest is waning — with a visiting fanbase willing to gobble up seats.
— Harold R. Kuntz (@HaroldRKuntz3) March 30, 2025
If it’s up to the team’s official supporters’ groups, Chief Soccer Officer and Manager, Peter Vermes, may not be at the helm of that game. On Sunday afternoon, the KC Cauldron and the South Stand issued a joint statement calling for the resignation of Vermes.
A statement from the KC Cauldron & South Stand Supporters Club pic.twitter.com/I2rHgCI0Gd
— The Cauldron (@KCCauldron) March 30, 2025
Peter Vermes & Sporting Kansas City Ownership,
As the official supporters’ groups of Sporting Kansas City, the KC Cauldron and South Stand Supporters Club write to you today with urgency and frustration. We are at a breaking point-one that demands decisive action to protect the legacy, culture, and future of our beloved club.
For over two decades, Peter Vermes has been a defining figure in Kansas City soccer, from his time as a player with the Wizards to his transformation of Sporting KC into an MLS powerhouse. The championship victories, the commitment to a strong defensive identity, and the winning culture he once cultivated will always be respected. However, history and loyalty cannot be shields against accountability. The trajectory of this club on the field has become unacceptable, and we can no longer stand by while mediocrity overshadows our once-proud legacy.
Year after year, we have watched as this team has stagnated, its ambitions dwindled, and its results declined. Fans have been expected to tolerate repeated disappointment with no meaningful change in approach. The lack of urgency, lack of adaptation, and lack of accountability have been glaring. This is not about a single bad season-it is about a pattern of failure that has been allowed to persist without consequence.
We, as supporters, are the backbone of this club. We show up, we sing, we travel, we pour our time, money, and hearts into this team because we believe in what it should stand for. But belief alone does not win matches, and unwavering support does not excuse repeated underperformance. The Sporting KC standard has been abandoned, and we will not sit idly by while this club fades into irrelevance.
We cannot and will not accept this level of mediocrity. The hard truth is this: for Sporting KC to reclaim its rightful place as a dominant force in MLS, a change in leadership is necessary. Peter Vermes must resign as manager. This is not a request-it is a demand from a fanbase that refuses to watch its club wither under outdated tactics and unchallenged authority. His tenure has run its course, and a fresh vision is required to lead Sporting KC into the future.
To the ownership group: The responsibility to act falls on you. You must decide whether Sporting KC remains content with being a relic of past success or whether it fights to become a dominant force once again. The time for loyalty-based decisions has passed. We demand accountability. We demand ambition. We demand change.
Peter, we acknowledge your contributions to club and the Kansas City community, but Sporting KC is bigger than any one person. The club’s future must take precedence over past achievements. A fresh vision is required to carry this team forward. It is time to make the decision that serves the club’s best interests, rather than personal ones.
We stand behind Sporting KC, not just in words, but in action. We will continue to support this team, but we will not remain silent when the legacy we love is at risk.
Sincerely,
The KC Cauldron & South Stand Supporters Club
Vermes has been the coach since being named the interim coach on August 4, 2009, after having become the Technical Director in November of 2006. Vermes is far and away the most tenured coach in Major League Soccer. The next closest active coach is Brian Schmetzer of the Seattle Sounders who became his team’s interim coach on July 26, 2016, nearly seven years after Vermes got his post.
Peter Vermes was signed to a five-year contract extension to keep him in charge of the club through 2028 back ahead of the 2023 season when he had a year remaining on his contract.
There is no response yet from Vermes, ownership or the club in reference to the call to resign. SKC are back in action this Saturday when St. Louis City comes to town.
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CMP will look like a St.Louis home game!!!!
Fine. Their club has earned it on and off the field, ours hasn’t.
Your not wrong!!
A little late, but better than never. The survey the Cauldron took of the membership late last week must have been devastating for PV. Hoping for some protest and demonstrations in the stands next weekend.
The best protest/demonstration would be not to show at all.
Like I mentioned on a previous article: if PV is out tomorrow, the team won’t be suddenly world beaters.
Sacking PV will start a a slow and painful process of trying to find a replacement. My assumption is that with the contract extension, ownership was not exactly fielding candidates and coming up with contingencies.
So we’ll be with an interim manager (probably not someone in the core coaching group) while a replacement is found. That’s not going to translate to points…
Plus there’s likely going to be other latent effects, while we may not believe it there is allegedly a multi-window plan for building out the roster – that’s out the window with a new manager with a new philosophy. Players already in the squad who bought into the PV system/plan might start jumping ship and looking for an out. So the rebuild just gets more of an uphill battle.
I understand everyone’s point of view, I’m not a total PV out, but also agree something needs to change. That said, there’s got to be a plan and not just a rushed change for change’s sake.
Fan of the content and very interested to hear everyone’s take!
I just had a thought… is this why Benny Feilhaber hasn’t taken another job. He’s waiting for this one? Wish I’d have thought of that before recording a podcast…
Would certainly be a fan favorite pick. Could help ease the transition.
Similarly, Paulo and Casino Jimmy also have coaching experience.
SKC hasn’t won an MLS league game since August of 2024. The bar for a new coach will be very low.
I would hire Benny F. as interim coach for the rest of the year to see how he does while the Club conducts a world-wide coaching search. Hopefully with better results than the Gavin Wilkinson debacle.
I should have read this before writing my comment above. #GreatMinds Stan 🙂
As the recently resigned Secretary and Social Media director for SSSC, I was calling for this statement sooner and refuted by the entire remaining SSSC board. The statement is long long overdue, and did not go far enough IMHO. I believe it should have also called for Jake Reid to be removed. I left my position due to lack of support from the board, and the lack of having any real backbone by the fans or supporters groups. The sad truth is, if the team does nothing, and Peter remains, the two groups will continue to show up, tailgate, and fill some seats. Actual action will need to be made to make a change, and I do not believe, from personal experience, that these two groups WILL do what’s necessary to hold the team accountable for what’s been happening. I refused my season tickets two years ago when PV got his extension, stating that I wouldn’t even consider them again, until he was completely gone. The team continues every year to call, email, and harass me about buying season tickets, and every time I tell them to leave me alone until Peter is completely gone. I moved to season tickets to the KC Current and have been enjoying a fun atmosphere, competitive teams, WINNING, and an inviting fan experience. It’s time for SKC to be sold completely and an owner found who wants to be competitive, and have fun! #VermesOut #ReidOut #SellSKC
SKC Current…
As much as I’d like to see a new coach, I feel like the deeper fail here is on ownership. Sadly, we can’t easily call for the firing of an ownership group. But plenty of less deserving coaches have taken the fall for collective failures that are only partly their fault, and I can’t justify PV having such a longer leash.
It really stinks to have the club sink to a level where supporters groups are turning on a club legend. Not because they’re wrong, but because ownership (and to a lesser extent PV) have led us to this position.
But we’ve already unceremoniously dumped various fan-favorite players, so again I can’t justify PV getting better treatment.
I agree that it’s time, it was probably time when they decided to start a rebuild in the first place, but I honestly still didn’t think the majority of the blame is on Vermes. If all you’re allowed to build a roster with is castoffs from other teams who were willing to let guys walk for nothing after watching them train and play every day for almost 5 years you’re not going to have results.
I think Vermes deserves credit he’s not getting for standing up and speaking out about ownership being cheap as well. He has a lot of power but the one person who has more than him is the guy he publicly called out for being a cheapskate last year. He told the world that his boss denied transfer requests and budget allocation for players.
Maybe it was a lot of cya to do so, but he did it. I also think that the state of this season post first-rebuild-transfer-window is a failure of scouting. So far nobody Burns has scouted or signed save for maybe Shapi fits what the coach is trying to do or, more importantly, fit with each other and the existing player base.
Ultimately I think the whole thing needs to be torn down and rebuilt. The Illig family needs to sell to someone who cares about winning, Reid needs to be fired and replaced with someone who cares about a stadium having a soul as well as profit, the entire coaching staff of both teams and the academy needs to be replaced, and Burns needs to be replaced with someone who hasn’t already been run out of somewhere by their fan base. Right now we’re a club that’s full of has-beens on the soccer side and people who want a money printing factory on the business side. And that’s needs to change. All of it needs to change.
I absolutely agree that ideally this would have taken on Reid and ownership. The deep root of fan frustration isn’t just the on-field performance.
When you lose A&W…
I dont think the Illig family needs to sell, I just think Mike shouldn’t be the managing partner anymore. Neal was a grade A jerk, but he could breed a culture of accountability and performance. Robb seemed genuinely competent. He was also deeply involved in the day to day and engaged with the fanbase. Mike, however, is a successful businessman’s son.
I kinda just wish Robb would decide whatever he’s doing at the moment isnt as interesting as running Sporting and decide he should be the managing partner again.
We’re not going to get a different ownership group, so let’s just get back to a point where the ownership group was functional.