Major League Soccer announced on Tuesday that Sporting Kansas City II will be one of 10 MLS NEXT Pro teams to participate in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The announcement also included club qualification criteria for official North American cup competitions, including the Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship.
The framework for MLS club participation in North American cup competitions rewards club performance, manages player workload and ensures that every MLS club has the opportunity to compete in at least one, but no more than two, North American competitions that run concurrently with the MLS league season.
This qualification structure will be in place for the 2025 and 2026 MLS seasons, providing a guideline for MLS’ qualification parameters during this exceptional moment -- as the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and FIFA World Cup 2026 are played in North America. This process will be re-evaluated for 2027 as the landscape of competitions continues to evolve. The qualification for each competition were determined as follows:
Concacaf Champions Cup: Criteria set by Concacaf.
Leagues Cup: Eighteen total MLS clubs qualify to match the 18 participating LIGA MX clubs.
The top nine teams in each MLS Conference from the prior season qualify.
- Modification for 2025
- Due to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s participation in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup and
defending their Canadian Championship title, Vancouver will not participate in Leagues Cup 2025. - Instead, expansion club San Diego FC will join the Leagues Cup 2025 tournament. The adjustment allows for all 30 MLS teams to compete in at least one, but not more than two, North American cup competitions.
- Due to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s participation in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup and
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: Aligned with the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup format, the number of MLS first teams participating in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has increased from 8 to 16. In addition, 10 MLS NEXT Pro teams will compete in the tournament.
- The 16 participating MLS teams are determined as follows:
- Only U.S.-based clubs are eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup.
- MLS teams not competing in either Leagues Cup or Concacaf Champions Cup automatically qualify for the U.S. Open Cup. For the 2025 tournament, this accounts for nine of the 16 MLS teams.
- The remaining teams are determined by Supporters’ Shield standings, excluding teams competing in Concacaf Champions Cup. For the 2025 tournament, this accounts for seven of the 16 MLS teams.
Canadian Championship: All three Canadian-based MLS clubs compete.
2025 MLS NEXT Pro Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Participating Teams:
West
- LAFC2 (Los Angeles Football Club)
- Real Monarchs (Real Salt Lake)
- Sporting KC II (Sporting Kansas City)
- Tacoma Defiance (Seattle Sounders FC)
- Ventura County FC (LA Galaxy)
East
- Carolina Core FC (Independent)
- Chattanooga FC (Independent)
- FC Cincinnati 2 (FC Cincinnati)
- Columbus Crew 2 (Columbus Crew)
- Inter Miami CF II (Inter Miami CF)
2025 MLS Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Participating Teams:
West
- Austin FC
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- Minnesota United FC
- Portland Timbers
- San Jose Earthquakes
- St. Louis City SC
East
- Charlotte FC
- Chicago Fire
- D.C. United
- New York City FC
- New York Red Bulls
- Nashville SC
- New England Revolution
- Orlando City SC
- Philadelphia Union
The 10 MLS NEXT Pro teams will compete in the First Round of the Open Cup, set to be played in March, while the 16 MLS clubs will enter the competition in the Third Round. More information about the match-ups will be available at a later date.
The U.S. Open Cup, named in honor of former Kansas City Wizards owner Lamar Hunt, has crowned a champion since 1914 and Sporting KC (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017) are four-time winners of U.S. Soccer’s national championship, tied for the most among MLS clubs. Sporting made a deep run in the 2024 rendition of America's oldest soccer competition finishing second in the tournament, earning a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup where SKC will take on Inter Miami at Children's Mercy Park on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
