{"id":823022,"date":"2025-01-30T10:11:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T16:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/30\/north-american-cups-where-mls-teams-will-compete-in-2025-qualification-criteria-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T10:11:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T16:11:58","slug":"north-american-cups-where-mls-teams-will-compete-in-2025-qualification-criteria-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/30\/north-american-cups-where-mls-teams-will-compete-in-2025-qualification-criteria-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"North American cups: Where MLS teams will compete in 2025, qualification criteria | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div role=\"main\" id=\"main-content\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-label=\"Page main content\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\n<section data-bucket-name=\"main-content-before-middle-adv\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Major League Soccer has announced MLS club qualification criteria for official North American cup competitions during the <strong>2025 and 2026 seasons<\/strong>, as well as <strong>2025 participants<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>The <strong>four tournaments<\/strong> \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-league\/\">Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/leagues-cup\/\">Leagues Cup<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/u-s-open-cup\/\">US Open Cup<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/canadian-championship\">Canadian Championship<\/a> \u2013 provide important opportunities for clubs to compete for championships <strong>outside of MLS play<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In addition to these North American tournaments, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/seattle-sounders-fc\/\">Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/inter-miami-cf\/\">Inter Miami CF<\/a> will also represent MLS in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-club-world-cup\/\">FIFA 2025 Club World Cup<\/a>, joining other top teams from around the world this summer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>MLS club participation in North American cup competitions rewards club performance, manages player workload and ensures every MLS club can compete in <strong>at least one, but no more than two<\/strong>, North American competitions that <strong>run concurrently with the MLS league season<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This qualification structure <strong>will be in place for the 2025 and 2026 MLS seasons<\/strong>, providing a guideline for MLS\u2019 qualification parameters as the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup and FIFA 2026 World Cup are played in North America.<\/p>\n<p>This process will be <strong>re-evaluated for 2027<\/strong> as the competition landscape continues to evolve.<\/p>\n<p><h3><strong>Concacaf Champions Cup<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Criteria set by Concacaf.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Leagues Cup<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>18 MLS clubs qualify<\/strong> to match the 18 participating LIGA MX clubs.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>top nine teams in each MLS conference<\/strong> from the prior season qualify.<\/li>\n<li>Due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/vancouver-whitecaps-fc\/\">Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a>\u2019s participation in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup and defending their Canadian Championship title, Vancouver will not participate in Leagues Cup 2025. Instead, expansion club <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/san-diego-fc\/\">San Diego FC<\/a> will join Leagues Cup 2025.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>US Open Cup<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>From last year, the number of MLS first teams participating in the US Open Cup has <strong>increased from 8 to 16<\/strong>. In addition, <strong>10 MLS NEXT Pro teams<\/strong> will compete in the tournament.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>16 participating MLS teams<\/strong> are determined as follows:\n<ul>\n<li>Only US-based clubs are eligible to participate in the US Open Cup.<\/li>\n<li>MLS teams not competing in Leagues Cup or Concacaf Champions Cup <strong>automatically qualify<\/strong> for the US Open Cup. For the 2025 tournament, this accounts for <em>9 of the 16 MLS teams<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>remaining teams<\/strong> are determined by Supporters\u2019 Shield standings, excluding teams competing in Concacaf Champions Cup. For the 2025 tournament, this accounts for <em>7 of the 16 MLS teams<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Canadian Championship<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>All three Canadian-based MLS clubs compete.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3><strong>Concacaf Champions Cup<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ten (10) MLS clubs<\/strong> will compete in the 2025 tournament, which begins Feb. 4 and concludes June 1.<\/li>\n<li>The reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi champion (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/la-galaxy\/\">LA Galaxy<\/a>) and the reigning Leagues Cup champion (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/columbus-crew\/\">Columbus Crew<\/a>) enter in the Round of 16.<\/li>\n<li>Eight (8) other MLS teams begin play in Round One.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Leagues Cup<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Eighteen (18) MLS clubs<\/strong> will face off against all 18 LIGA MX teams. Leagues Cup takes place from July 29 to August 31.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>US Open Cup<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>16 competing MLS teams<\/strong> will enter the US Open Cup in the Round of 32, with eight of those teams hosting their opening matches.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>10 MLS NEXT Pro teams<\/strong> will enter the tournament in the First Round.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Canadian Championship<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/cf-montreal\/\">CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/toronto-fc\/\">Toronto FC<\/a> and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will compete in the tournament. The Canadian Championship takes place from April through October.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<table readabilityDataTable=\"1\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>\n<p>CLUB<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th>\n<p>COMPETITIONS<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Atlanta United FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Charlotte FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Leagues Cup, US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Chicago Fire FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>FC Cincinnati<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Columbus Crew<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>D.C. United<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Inter Miami CF<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>CF Montr\u00e9al<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Leagues Cup, Canadian Championship<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Nashville SC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>New England Revolution<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>New York City FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Leagues Cup, US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>New York Red Bulls<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Leagues Cup, US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Orlando City SC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Leagues Cup, US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Philadelphia Union<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Toronto FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Canadian Championship<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<div>\n<table readabilityDataTable=\"1\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>\n<p>CLUB<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th>\n<p>COMPETITIONS<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Austin FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Colorado Rapids<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>FC Dallas<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Houston Dynamo FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Leagues Cup, US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>LA Galaxy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>LAFC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Minnesota United FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Leagues Cup, US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Portland Timbers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Leagues Cup, US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Real Salt Lake<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>San Diego FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>San Jose Earthquakes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Seattle Sounders FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Sporting Kansas City<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>St. Louis CITY SC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>US Open Cup<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<p>Concacaf Champions Cup, Canadian Championship<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Colorado Rapids<\/li>\n<li>Columbus Crew<\/li>\n<li>FC Cincinnati<\/li>\n<li>Inter Miami CF<\/li>\n<li>LAFC<\/li>\n<li>LA Galaxy<\/li>\n<li>Real Salt Lake<\/li>\n<li>Seattle Sounders FC<\/li>\n<li>Sporting Kansas City<\/li>\n<li>Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Atlanta United FC<\/li>\n<li>Charlotte FC<\/li>\n<li>FC Cincinnati<\/li>\n<li>Colorado Rapids<\/li>\n<li>Columbus Crew<\/li>\n<li>Houston Dynamo FC<\/li>\n<li>Inter Miami CF<\/li>\n<li>LA Galaxy<\/li>\n<li>LAFC<\/li>\n<li>Minnesota United FC<\/li>\n<li>CF Montr\u00e9al<\/li>\n<li>New York City FC<\/li>\n<li>New York Red Bulls<\/li>\n<li>Orlando City SC<\/li>\n<li>Portland Timbers<\/li>\n<li>Real Salt Lake<\/li>\n<li>San Diego FC<\/li>\n<li>Seattle Sounders FC<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Austin FC<\/li>\n<li>Charlotte FC<\/li>\n<li>Chicago Fire FC<\/li>\n<li>D.C. United<\/li>\n<li>FC Dallas<\/li>\n<li>Houston Dynamo FC<\/li>\n<li>Minnesota United FC<\/li>\n<li>Nashville SC<\/li>\n<li>New England Revolution<\/li>\n<li>New York City FC<\/li>\n<li>New York Red Bulls<\/li>\n<li>Orlando City SC<\/li>\n<li>Philadelphia Union<\/li>\n<li>Portland Timbers<\/li>\n<li>San Jose Earthquakes<\/li>\n<li>St. Louis CITY SC<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><em>Additionally, 10 MLS NEXT Pro teams will compete in the 2025 US Open Cup:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ol>\n<li>Carolina Core FC (Independent)<\/li>\n<li>Chattanooga FC (Independent)<\/li>\n<li>Columbus Crew 2<\/li>\n<li>FC Cincinnati 2<\/li>\n<li>Inter Miami CF II<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<p><strong>Western Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ol>\n<li>LAFC 2<\/li>\n<li>Real Monarchs<\/li>\n<li>Sporting KC II<\/li>\n<li>Tacoma Defiance<\/li>\n<li>Ventura County FC<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>CF Montr\u00e9al<\/li>\n<li>Toronto FC<\/li>\n<li>Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/mls-teams-cups-qualify-criteria-concacaf-leagues-us-canadian-2025-season\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Randy Motsinger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Major League Soccer has announced MLS club qualification criteria for official North American cup competitions during the 2025 and 2026 seasons, as well as 2025 participants. The four tournaments \u2013 Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, US Open Cup and Canadian Championship \u2013 provide important opportunities for clubs to compete for championships outside of MLS [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":823023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1963,1319,2005],"tags":[5637,7876],"class_list":{"0":"post-823022","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-american","8":"category-north","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-american","11":"tag-north"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}