In the US, football can be hard to get excited about at times. Our leagues aren’t the best in the world, and there are times when organisational issues separate leagues and teams. Also, we lose professional clubs way too often. But there are always good things about things. And some great things are on their way to
In the US, football can be hard to get excited about at times. Our leagues aren’t the best in the world, and there are times when organisational issues separate leagues and teams. Also, we lose professional clubs way too often. But there are always good things about things. There are also some great things coming to American football in 2024.
The Copa América
The 48th Copa América game will be held in the United States this summer. After the World Cup, it is thought to be the second most important international tournament in the world.
There will be ten teams from CONMEBOL and six teams from Concacaf, including the US and Mexico. They will all be competing for the title of best team in the Americas.
It’s a chance for the USMNT to show what they can do against the best teams from South America. This is a key tournament coming up to the 2026 World Cup, which will also be held in the US.
Leo Messi and Argentina will play in the first game of the event on June 20 in Atlanta. The final will be held in Miami on July 14.
The US will play Uruguay, Bolivia, and Panama in the first round.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
MLS tried to pull its first teams out of the oldest national football competition in the United States for 2024, which caused a lot of controversy. That plan was shot down by the USSF, though, and it looks like the 109th event will go ahead as planned, at least for now.
It’s always exciting to watch this magical game, and hopefully there will be a few giant killings and Cinderella runs.
From March 19 to September 25, the Open Cup will be held.
There are new pro clubs and a new league.
The game keeps getting bigger in the US. In 2024, there will be eight brand-new professional teams in all three professional levels and five leagues. One team that is coming back is the Utah Royals of the NWSL. They played in the league from 2018 to 2020. Only Major League Soccer is the only professional league that won’t have a new team this season. San Diego FC, on the other hand, is planning to play in 2025.
Bay FC (NWSL – D1 Women)
Utah Royals (NWSL – D1 Women)
Rhode Island FC (USL Championship – D2 Men)
Spokane Velocity FC (USL League One – D3 Men)
Calabasas FC (NISA – D3 Men)
Irvine Zeta (NISA – D3 Men)
Arizona Monsoon FC (NISA – D3 Men)
Carolina Core FC (MLS NEXT Pro – D3 Men)
There is also a new event on the US soccer calendar. The game, which doesn’t have a name yet, will be a cup for USL League One clubs during the season.
When does everything begin? In 2024, this is when everything starts:
U.S. Open Cup: March 19
MLS: February 21
NWSL: March 15 (Challenge Cup)
USL Championship: March 9
USL League One: March 9
League One Cup: April 27
NISA: TBA
MLS NEXT Pro: TBA
But wait, there are more new clubs on the way. With the start of a brand-new league with nine more clubs, the women’s first division will almost double in size:
The Super League of the USL
A new women’s league called the Super League is being started by USL. It will begin in August 2024 and be in Division 1. The league is the only one of its kind in the US, and it will follow the world football schedule from autumn to spring.
In its first season, the Super League will have nine more teams in the first flight. And more people are planning to join in the years to come. These are the new clubs that will start up in 2024. Some of them don’t have names yet.
Charlotte
Dallas-Fort Worth
Fort Lauderdale
Lexington
Phoenix
Spokane Zephyr FC
Tampa Bay Sun FC
Tucson
Washington, D.C.
As soon as the Super League starts up in 2024, American professional football will be played almost all year, which is great news.
The CPKC Stadium
In Kansas City, both physically and figuratively new ground has been broken in the world of women’s football.
The Kansas City Current will play their home games at CPKC Stadium starting in March, when the new NWSL season starts. With 11,500 seats, the venue is unique because it was the first venue ever built privately for a women’s professional club.
This is a big day for women’s football all over the world, not just in the US. Most of the time, women’s teams play in places that were built for men’s games or other sports. Not any longer. We hope that CPKC is the first of many places like it that will be built in the US and other countries.
A whole year of Messi
Last summer, when Lionel Messi left PSG to join Inter Miami in the MLS, American football was turned on its head.
He got there just in time to play in the redesigned League Cup, which Miami easily won in Messi’s first month with the team. The club was also in the U.S. Open Cup, but MLS and Apple might not want you to know about it. Messi helped them win a semifinal on penalty kicks and finish as runners-up (he didn’t play in the final).
But Inter Miami had a terrible start to the season before Messi came along, and they didn’t make it to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
A full season in the United States will give fans and the media a chance to see what the Argentine master can do. The ticket prices, on the other hand, may not make them as excited.
It looks like 2024 will be a great year for American football. Today is the start of the first of many big international tournaments that the US will hold. We’ll also let more clubs and teams from all over the country join. For sure, a lot of football moments will be made.
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