MLS
MLS won’t be taking a break for Leagues Cup in 2025
The Major League Soccer season will not be taking a month off next summer to try and force you to care about the Leagues Cup.
Instead the competition between MLS and Liga MX that originated in 2019 but was reborn in 2023 will take place during the regular season.
“Similar to global cup competitions, Leagues Cup will take place during the MLS and LIGA MX regular seasons this upcoming summer, offering fans exciting, international matches,” a press release announcing the changes on Monday state. “Leagues Cup will be played in the United States and Canada in 2025.”
The carrot of getting a berth into the Concacaf Champions Cup is still there, something the Philadelphia Union took advantage of in qualifying as the third place team in the 2023 competition.
But will the Philadelphia Union be there in 2025?
The talk is that the competition field will be reduced to 18 teams from MLS – the 18 playoff teams – meaning the Union will be out. Sporting Director Ernst Tanner spilled the beans about the Union not participating in the competition so this speculation would make sense.
That leaves the U.S. Open Cup as still a question in terms of MLS team participation but the Union being in would make sense if they decide to take the teams that didn’t qualify for Leagues Cup and enter them into the Open Cup field. The 2024 US Open Cup included 8 MLS teams and 9 MLS Next Pro sides.
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