MLS says goodbye to US Open Cup for 2024

On this week’s episode of Shades of Blue, we are talking about Major League Soccer’s hugely disappointing announcement that first teams will not be playing in the 2024 US Open Cup. We try to make sense of that decision and also discuss the two new signings for Sporting KC.

The schedule congestion with the addition of the Leagues Cup last year appears to be the main culprit. Obviously, many around the league are quite upset and supporters’ groups have even announced protests. But the decision appears set in stone for 2024 and is expected to be re-evaluated after next year.

Was schedule congestion really the cause? If so, deleting the USOC wasn’t the only option. All the owners were just meeting to discuss changes exactly like this. They could have increased the roster size and/or change the rules to allow for more player movement between the first team and second team to mitigate issues like that. But they didn’t. They chose to damage the one place in the US we have real soccer history to cherish.

It’s truly sad for so many soccer fans in this country to see the future of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in doubt. What do you think will happen in 2025? Let us know in the comments.

The show starts off with Sporting KC offseason news & rumors. We cover the youngster Alenis Vargas and potential exit of Gadi Kinda. Tom Bogert got the credit, but our own David Greenwald had the scoop on Kinda weeks ago.

We also compare this year’s roster to the best teams around MLS. At the beginning of the season, we thought the way the roster was built was a joke. Did they prove us wrong? Were Columbus and LAFC on another level from Sporting KC?

Find the KC Soccer Journal wherever you get your podcasts. Please subscribe, rate, & review! You can yell at Cody @ThatCodyTho, Thad @TheBackpost, and Robert @SpKCLife.

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