News: MLS O&Os Out of 2016 Open Cup

It will be interesting to see if this is applied to Rio Grande Valley FC. The Houston Dynamo do not own the new team but will be providing all the players and coaches. It seems like it would raise the same concerns.

 

As a T2 fan im disappointed, I was hoping for a PDL or NPSL team to play next year. I did miss the two open cup games in 2015 cos i wouldnt fly to michigan for the game (I did watch it on youtube) and away to S2 at 2pm on a Tuesday. I have less interest in the Timbers u23, But i can probably get tickets for Timbers first team cup game (I have the last 2 years)

 

MLS article, containing the link to THECUP.US, and a link to the updated policy: http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/11/05/us-open-cup-adds-new-rule-ban-usl-clubs-owned-mls-teams


last page of the policy update (yes, in boldface red underlined so you know it must be true):

The following policy amendment was passed at the September 8, 2015 Board of Directors Meeting.
Policy 102(4)-1 -- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Section 202. Team eligibility

(d) Any Outdoor Professional League Team that is majority owned by a higher-level Outdoor Professional League Team shall be ineligible to participate in the Open Cup. The Open Cup Committee shall review and determine team eligibility annually pursuant to this provision and report its decisions to the National Board of Directors.​

So for the question on Rio Grande Valley; since "The Open Cup Committee shall review and determine team eligibility annually pursuant to this provision" may give the committee the leeway to eliminate them.

 

... with

PDL 15
NPSL 13 or 12 (if NYCosmos B is replaced)
Open 8

So that could make the tournament:

if 13 NPSL teams:

round	new	info	carry over	matches
1	28	of 36 amateur		14
2	26	USL and 8 amateur	14	20
3	10	NASL	20	15
4	17	MLS	15	16
	81

if 12 NPSL teams:

round	new	info	carry over	matches
1	26	of 35 amateur		13
2	27	USL and 9 amateur	13	20
3	10	NASL	20	15
4	17	MLS	15	16
	80

 

So last year had more teams and more games per round than next year, probably more travel for teams. Another reason why im against removing reserve sides. Most reserve sides wont progress 2 rounds to cause a problem for the draw.
Sounders 2 were the only team to do so last year and were easily kept apart.
Also MLS sides u-23 sides are still in the competition. only one is Red Bulls this coming year.

 

With the new Rayo OKC team, the possible rounds become:

with 13 NPSL teams:

round	new	info	carry over	matches
1	32	of 36 amateur		16
2	22	USL (18), amateur (4)	16	19
3	11	NASL (11)	19	15
4	17	MLS (17)	15	16
total	82

with 12 NPSL teams:

round	new	info	carry over	matches
1	30	of 35 amateur		15
2	23	USL (18), amateur (5)	15	19
3	11	NASL (11)	19	15
4	17	MLS (17)	15	16
total	81

 

USL (17), NASL (10) and MLS (17) should enter in the same round, giving amateur clubs 20 berths=64 clubs.

Total: 84 Clubs
Round 1: 40 Amateur Clubs
R2: 64
R3: 32
R4: 16
R5: 8
R6: 4
R7: 2 (FINAL)

MLS teams will play only one more game. But this will give the US Open Cup much more fairness, atention and importance.

 

That would be the same number of clubs in the last seven rounds as the FA Cup has.

 

Not in FA Cup. It's the right number.

MLS shouldn't enter so late in competition, is not fair for others clubs.

US Open Cup is a competition for those clubs to have the opportunity to play against first division clubs.

They have all the work and then MLS clubs enters in the final round where they are 17 and all the others just 15??!!

 

I don't understand. I wasn't suggesting that the U.S. Open Cup have as many clubs as the FA Cup. I was just stating the format you proposed is the format the FA Cup has starting with the Second Round. Including qualifying rounds, the FA Cup has seven rounds before the Second Round. With the current format, an amateur club in the U.S. Open Cup just has to advance one round (or two for the four clubs that started in the Preliminary Round) to face a USL club but two rounds more than that to face an MLS club. With an open draw for the Round of 64 with 20 amateur clubs, an amateur club could face another amateur club, an MLS club, or a club at a level in between.

 

It was a mistake.

I want to say Not Only FA Cup, but all National Cups introduce D1 clubs sooner than in US.

Is not a fair competition the current format of US Open Cup.
MLS representing more than 50% in the final "entrance" round its insane...

 

I have a idea where the bottom 2 US teams in each conference have to enter a round early. Punishment for finishing bottom and should weed out a few.

 

Thing is, MLS accounts for almost half of all the professional teams in the country, and probably also contains at least a quarter of all the teams in the entire country that can even afford to participate in the Open Cup. The format will naturally sort itself out as the lower divisions get stronger and gain more clubs.

 

MLS clubs enter in the Round of 32. In the Coppa Italia the top eight Serie A clubs enter in the Round of 16.

 

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...olicy-regarding-team-eligibility?sf23278431=1

CHICAGO (March 28, 2016) - The U.S. Open Cup Committee has made an adjustment to the Open Cup Policy regarding team eligibility, forbidding any Outdoor Professional League Team whose player roster is managed by a higher-level Outdoor Professional League Team from participating in the tournament. This addition broadens the ineligibility provision announced January 7 beyond ownership control.

For the 2016 tournament, this adjustment affects only Rio Grande Valley FC (USL), an independently-owned Division III expansion team whose roster is managed by the Houston Dynamo (MLS). The change was made at the request of the Dynamo.