Yes, I'd prefer a successful Open Cup but I also like the matches against Mexican teams as they have an extra edge. Unfortunately US Soccer can't get its act together. Compare to the FA Cup where there's prize money as every stage, even pre- qualifying. Funny how a lot of people who don't even watch MLS say they don't like the Leagues Cup.
The Players Union supports MLS getting out of the Open Cup game. MLS doesn’t send their best squads to the Open Cup. All sport is a cash grab. Wouldn’t you rather participate in the cash grab that grabs you the most money, against a better level of competition? I know your new here, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but both these topics have been hashed and rehashed to death here. You’re not bringing anything new to the game. And if you think an account that’s two weeks old is one of the more annoying ones, stick around. Thx, Jay!
If all these people actually watched the USOC and attended games then you would have a point. USL sends their bench vs lower level teams. MLS does the same vs USL-C and below. The first rounds of the USOC that are shown on YouTube you can actually see how many people are watching a specific game. Viewership numbers range from 30 people to 3k people on certain games. If you don't believe then pay attention in these upcoming USOC games in the early rounds that will be shown on YouTube. And ask yourself where are all these people that say they care so much about USOC that they aren't watching the games? Most of the people that say they care so much is mainly because MLS made it public they were pulling out and that's where the outrage and "interest" came from for the USOC. But people still don't watch as you would think they will do with all the noise and surveys they do.
It's not uncommon....online. Same with US Open Cup outrage, etc. It's an echo chamber. What's more is that the loudest critics don't even know it.
My favorite Open Cup memory is when the USL subreddit closed a “cupset!” thread after a Next Pro team beat a USL one. Magic is conditional apparently.
2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup Home team first, times are ET TV coverage on Fox and Univision channels. Some of the listed broadcasts will change. Round of 16 Tuesday, March 10 (L1) Philadelphia Union (USA) v. C. America (MEX) 7:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L1) Monterrey (MEX) v. Cruz Azul (MEX) 9:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L1) Los Angeles FC (USA) v. Alajuelense (CRC) 11:00 pm FS2/TUDN Wednesday, March 11 (L1) Nashville SC (USA) v. Inter Miami (USA) 7:30 pm FS2/TUDN (L1) LA Galaxy (USA) v. Mount Pleasant (JAM) 9:30 pm FS2/TUDN (L1) San Diego FC (USA) v. Toluca (MEX) 11:30 pm FS2/TUDN Thursday, March 12 (L1) FC Cincinnati (USA) v. Tigres UANL (MEX) 8:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L1) Vancouver Whitecaps (CAN) v. Seattle Sounders (USA) 10:00 pm FS2/TUDN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday, March 17 (L2) Alajuelense (CRC) v. Los Angeles FC (USA) 9:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L2) Cruz Azul (MEX) v. Monterrey (MEX) 11:00 pm FS2/TUDN Wednesday, March 18 (L2) Inter Miami (USA) v. Nashville SC (USA) 7:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L2) C. America (MEX) v. Philadelphia Union (USA) 9:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L2) Seattle Sounders (USA) v. Vancouver Whitecaps (CAN) 11:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L2) Toluca (MEX) v. San Diego FC (USA) 11:00 pm FS2/TUDN Thursday, March 19 (L2) Mount Pleasant (JAM) v. LA Galaxy (USA) 7:00 pm FS2/TUDN (L2) Tigres UANL (MEX) v. FC Cincinnati (USA) 9:00 pm FS2/TUDN The Quarterfinals start April 7.
No it wouldn’t. MLS and Liga Mx wouldn’t change. They’d still be playing for their own playoffs. And every one of the other leagues would be playing to qualify for the Leagues Cup instead of the CCL so there’s obviously no difference there. the negative for those other leagues, like Costa Rica, is that they’d have to shut down during the Leagues Cup. That’s why I said timing is crucial; it would have to be scheduled when those southern tropical leagues are in their offseason.
Your post is very correct about why the Superliga was invented, why it went away, and why the Leagues Cup was invented. However. What I’m describing would be replacing CCL matches between MLS/Liga Mx sides and Costa Rican/Jamaican sides with LC matches of the same. It wouldn’t be replacing Mexico vs MLS matches with Mexico vs Jamaican matches.
If CONCACAF or USSF were able to attract shed load of sponsors enabling teams to get paid for competing then there would be a good argument to the the Leagues Cup. FA Cup pays out every round, including qualifying and pre-qualifying. UEFA competitions pay teams to compete. CCC and Open Cup participants get nothing and may even have to hand give a share of ticket revenue to the fed. They're effectively charity events.
Well...... this doesn't bode well for another international tournament being held in the US in less than 3 months...... “This decision raises serious concern about the administration’s willingness to abide by its own agreement and statements regarding the issuance of visas for the World Cup.”@LAGalaxy’s Jamaican opponent in CCC may be short 10 players because of visa woes https://t.co/wslxnIwETU— Kevin Baxter 🇺🇦🏳️🌈🇵🇷 (@kbaxter11) March 7, 2026
This is unfortunately not a new development (and not always reported in the English media). US visa issues have been plaguing clubs from the Caribbean and Central America for years.
Can you recall the last time it potentially caused 10 players to miss a game? I have been following this tournament for decades and definitely have seen these issues burden some teams more than others over the years but I honestly can’t remember a single team dealing with it at this scale. Normally it gets worked out, maybe a player or two don’t make it over but this seems a little extreme.
The Revolution ended up getting through in a forfeit because the entire Haitian team, Cavaly, couldn’t get visas. There are at least three significant examples in the past few years of you include the one this year. Just because you don’t remember them doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
Why are visas so difficult to get for some of these teams? Is it because people don't have all the identity documents handy? It's not exactly breaking into Fort Knox, and the US hosts Caribbean, Latin American, and Canadian teams all the time at youth and professional levels for all kinds of sports. It's not as if we're hosting teams from Uzbekistan, these countries are very close by and we have significant experience processing visas from them.
Others have given more recent examples, but yes - it wasn't this bad pre-Trump. It would typically be 3-5 players (certainly enough to make an impact). LD Alajuelense was also worried about getting visas for all players to LA but it seems they managed to resolve it. In this case they were worried about four players. Games like these should really be played at a neutral site.
Time. Mount Pleasant have had LA Galaxy as an opponent since February 26. They've known since December 2nd that they may have a US opponent but nothing definite. You'd think CONCACAF would have some sort of fast track with the Department of whatever but apparently not.
Maybe they did. Competence is not a strong characteristic of the cast chosen by this President with an entertainment background.
As pointed out above, its happened outside of Trump administration. I'm sure it happened under Obama and Bush too. IMHO if the host country won't issue visas it be should be moved to a third country.
World Baseball Classic Tests the Edges of Trump’s Immigration Policy In the WBC eight members of the Cuban delegation (not players) were denied a visa.
Coaching staff all got in. Rule is players, coaching staff and immediate family. Nothing about Cuban league manager and his staff.
From what I understand concacaf is still working to resolve the issue, so they probably do have some kind of connection to the state department. Or... That just said they're doing something and actually aren't. Cuz concacaf.