MLS

Real Salt Lake to Participate in Trio of 2025 North American Cup Competitions

RSL U-17 Head Coach Andrew May Heads to France to Participate in Elite Formation Coaching License Program

January 28, 2025 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release

HERRIMAN, UT / NEW YORK – Major League Soccer today announced MLS club qualification criteria for official North American cup competitions during the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and the 2025 participants – which include Real Salt Lake and its Real Monarchs (MLS NEXT Pro) affiliate – are defined for the next two seasons. The four tournaments – CONCACAF Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the Canadian Championship – provide important opportunities for Clubs to compete for championships outside of MLS play.

Coming off a record-breaking 2024 season, Real Salt Lake has qualified for CONCACAF Champions Cup for the fourth time in its history, boasting an 11W-5L-6T record in continental competition. The 2025 campaign also marks the third consecutive season that RSL will participate in Leagues Cup against LIGA MX powers, along with fellow MLS competitors. The Claret-and-Cobalt pyramid also returns to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2025, represented by Real Monarchs, the Club’s MLS NEXT Pro (USSF Division III) side.

Last year, RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side finished sixth overall out of 29 MLS teams, while rising to third in the Western Conference with its 59-point haul in 2024, the highest point-total in its 20-season history. RSL now joins six other MLS sides – Seattle, Miami, LAFC, Columbus, Cincinnati and Sporting KC – to participate in each of this year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup, U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Cup tourneys, while also jostling for the MLS Supporters Shield bragging rights and MLS Cup 2025 supremacy.

In addition to these North American tournaments, Seattle Sounders FC and Inter Miami CF will also represent MLS in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, joining other top teams from around the world this summer.

CUP QUALIFICATION OVERVIEW

The framework for MLS club participation in North American cup competitions rewards club performance, manages player workload, and ensures that every MLS club has the opportunity to compete in at least one, but no more than two, North American competitions that run concurrently with the MLS league season.

This qualification structure will be in place for the 2025 and 2026 MLS seasons, providing a guideline for MLS’ qualification parameters during this exceptional moment – as the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and FIFA World Cup 2026 are played in North America. This process will be re-evaluated for 2027 as the landscape of competitions…

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