Major League Soccer pulls cowardly move and won’t send first teams to compete in U.S. Open Cup
Major League Soccer will send teams from the MLS Next Pro development league to the 2024 U.S. Open Cup instead of the clubs' traditional first teams.
It will mark the first time in the history of MLS that its franchises do not send their top players to the annual domestic knockout tournament. The Athletic reported that the league will "reassess its first teams' involvement" after 2024 to decide whether to continue sending Next Pro teams to participate.