MLS set for full U.S. Open Cup return after three years of limited participation
David Martinez
Host · Writer
LOS ANGELES — Major League Soccer is heading back into the U.S. Open Cup in full.
All 27 U.S.-based MLS clubs will participate in the 2027 tournament, according to multiple sources who spoke with Backheeled's Ben Write and Joseph Lowery. It will be the first time since 2023 that every eligible MLS team takes part in the country's oldest soccer competition.
The return comes after three years of an arrangement that became increasingly difficult to separate from the broader debate over what the Open Cup should be.
MLS withdrew its first teams from the competition after the 2023 tournament, citing schedule congestion and concerns about the way the event was presented. Commissioner Don Garber had previously described the Open Cup as “a very poor reflection on what it is that we're trying to do with soccer at the highest level,” according to The Athletic's Paul Tenorio and Tom Bogert.
The league's preferred solution was to send MLS Next Pro teams instead, but U.S. Soccer rejected that proposal. Eventually, MLS entered eight teams in the 2024 tournament, followed by 16 teams in both 2025 and 2026.
Now, that arrangement is over.
The new format will have MLS clubs enter in July at the Round of 64, with the final scheduled for December, according to Backheeled's Ben Wright and Joseph Lowery. Sources told The Athletic that the schedule is being structured so the Open Cup will not overlap with Leagues Cup.
That scheduling change may be one of the most important pieces of the agreement. MLS had increasingly prioritized Leagues Cup and the Concacaf Champions Cup, with those competitions taking precedence over the Open Cup during the league's limited-participation years.
The Open Cup itself has continued to evolve during that period. Prize money doubled to $1 million in 2025, while media rights were sold to CBS for the 2025 and 2026 tournaments.
For MLS clubs, the competition also carries a history that goes well beyond the recent dispute.
LAFC won the 2024 Open Cup, beating Sporting Kansas City 3-1 in extra time at BMO Stadium. The LA Galaxy have won the tournament twice, lifting the trophy in 2001 and again in 2005.
San Diego FC will have a different experience when the 2027 tournament begins. The club has never participated in the Open Cup, meaning its first appearance will come as part of MLS' full return.
The timing also gives the league an opportunity to reconnect its clubs with a tournament designed to bring together every level of American soccer.
After three years of limited participation and considerable debate over its place in the MLS calendar, all 27 U.S.-based clubs will once again be part of it.
