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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script><ul><li>Jimmy Conrad blasts MLS </li><li>League to field developmental teams in 2024 Open Cup</li><li>Asks for U.S. Soccer to punish league</li></ul>

Ex-USMNT star Jimmy Conrad blasts MLS over decision to play developmental teams in 2024 U.S. Open Cup

Conrad joined CBS Sports GOLAZO's tv show Morning Footy, and ripped the league's decision making body over their announcement regarding the country's oldest soccer tournament. The ex-Kansas City soccer legend questioned how U.S. Soccer and the game's governing bodies are going to punish them, and how MLS should be ashamed for their choice.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">"MLS did have a choice... they had a choice to be inclusive and they chose to be exclusive." U.S. Open Cup winner <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyConrad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jimmyconrad</a> weighs in on the league's decision to withdraw their teams from the country's oldest competition. <a href="https://t.co/xqX9qTQoUM">pic.twitter.com/xqX9qTQoUM</a>— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1736764201920581937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
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WHAT HAPPENED?

"This is the one tournament that we have here in this country that's for everyone. Every single team. Amateur teams all the way up have a chance to qualify and participate in this tournament. So for MLS to say…”Nah, you know what, we're just gonna make this about us… We don't want to share anything that we got, especially Lionel Messi - who is the best player in the history of the game - We don't want to share him with anybody else. So we're gonna create our own opportunities, our own tournaments and formats. It's really disappointing, because I know that MLS, I guess we look at their overall goal is to grow MLS, they don’t have the responsibility to grow soccer in this country - that's on US Soccer, the governing body - so I'm very curious to see what U.S. Soccer is going to do to hold MLS accountable because in the FIFA laws or bylaws, whatever it is, all the teams in your country have to play domestic cup competitions and so they're breaking the rules. Now of course, they're trying to get around that rule and I'm sure they looked at all the legalese about this by saying, Oh, we're gonna feel that reserved teams, but that's a choice that's being made by the league and not by the individual clubs."We've obviously seen in cup competitions around the world that yes, even Liverpool, Man City, Man United's - they're gonna play teams that are mixed with their younger players and some of their regular players, but that's the choice of the club and how they want to approach this particular trophy. So to take that away from the clubs I didn't really like that at all. And I guess what's most disappointing is the fact that MLS did have a choice. They have a choice to be inclusive, and they choose to be exclusive. They had a choice to not be like all the other American sports in this country, and to really make it about the greater good of the game and to really grow the game in a meaningful way… to work wiith USL, to work with U.S. Soccer to grow Open Cup, to work with all the youth stuff that's happening when they've created MLS NEXT and MLS NEXT Pro, and they've chosen that we're just gonna make it about growing MLS and not for the greater good of the game and that's where I'm most disappointed and upset."

WHAT CONRAD SAID

The Open Cup - the United Stated version of the famous English FA Cup or the German DFB Pokal - has been an active tournament since 1914, most recently celebrating 109 years. This year's edition of the final saw Lionel Messi's Inter Miami fall to the Houston Dynamo 2-1 in regulation time, but the Argentine did not play a role due to injury.The Open Cup is deemed as a celebration of soccer culture across the USA, with amateur sides all the way up to semi-professional teams competing alongside the best in MLS and USL. The decision by MLS to field developmental teams in the 2024 edition, per Conrad, is disrespectful to the heritage of the tournament.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The 2024 Open Cup qualifying has already begun, with amateur sides vying for a spot in the competition. The <a href="https://www.ussoccer.com/us-open-cup/2024-qualifying-rounds" target="_blank">first round begins in March</a>, with the final in late September.

WHAT NEXT FOR MLS & THE OPEN CUP

Ex-USMNT star Jimmy Conrad blasts MLS over decision to play developmental teams in 2024 U.S. Open Cup | Goal.com South Africa

Ex-USMNT star Jimmy Conrad bashed MLS over their decision to play MLS NEXT Pro teams in the 2024 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup