How to stream LAFC vs Sporting KC

The final of this year’s US Open Cup (Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles) will bring history or frustration for one side, humiliation or redemption for the other.

Facing humiliation or redemption is Los Angeles FC, which has been unlucky in finals since winning the 2022 MLS Cup. Facing historic defeat or further disappointment in 2024 is Sporting Kansas City, which is attempting to set the record for most Open Cup wins of all time.

Los Angeles FC has appeared in four finals since its dramatic MLS Cup victory over Philadelphia Union, losing all four – including two to the Columbus Crew. In 2023, LAFC lost the Concacaf Champions Cup final to Liga MX’s Club León, the Campeones Cup on penalties to Liga MX’s Tigres, and finally the MLS Cup to the Crew. In 2024, LAFC reached the Leagues Cup final, but was defeated by its new nemesis, the Crew.

A 0-5 record in cup matches would be a bitter pill to swallow for a LAFC side that is stuck in a late-season slump and has won just one game – the US Open Cup semi-final against the Seattle Sounders – since reaching the Leagues Cup final.

Sporting Kansas City has a tough 2024 MLS season, as it is one of only two teams eliminated from the playoffs. But history beckons. Sporting Kansas City has already won four US Open Cups — along with Chicago Fire and Seattle Sounders, it is the MLS team with the most titles. A win over LAFC would put Sporting KC level with Bethlehem Steel and Maccabee Los Angeles for the most US Open Cup titles of all time.

When will the US Open Cup final between LAFC and Sporting Kansas City take place?

Kickoff for Los Angeles FC vs. Sporting Kansas City is on Wednesday, September 25th at 10:30 p.m. ET at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

How can I watch the US Open Cup final between LAFC and Sporting Kansas City?

The US Open Cup final can be streamed for free on Apple TV via the MLS Season Pass.

What is the US Open Cup?

The history of American soccer is a disjointed and often confusing endeavor that lacks the centuries-long continuity of leagues such as Major League Baseball or the National Football League. However, one common thread that connects the sport of soccer in this country over the years is the U.S. Open Cup (officially known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup). The first U.S. Open Cup (originally called the National Challenge Cup) was held in 1913, seven years before the founding of the NFL and 12 years after the inaugural season of baseball’s American League. The U.S. Open Cup—this country’s oldest annual team sports tournament—has been played every year since 1913, with the exception of the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament is modeled after England’s FA Cup, so the knockout competition is open to amateur and professional clubs from the United States. The winner of the US Open Cup – a team that is technically the national champion of American men’s club soccer – earns a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Hasn’t Los Angeles FC already qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup?

Yes!

A total of nine MLS teams will qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup, which will consist of 27 teams (four through the MLS competition, three through the Leagues Cup, one through the US Open Cup and one through the Canadian Championship).

Four MLS teams have already qualified for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup: Columbus Crew (Leagues Cup winner, starts in the round of 16), Los Angeles FC (Leagues Cup runner-up), Colorado Rapids (Leagues Cup third place) and Sporting Kansas City (US Open Cup finalist).

Also on Wednesday evening, the final of the Canadian Championship – Canada’s club cup competition – will be played between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Toronto FC, adding a fifth MLS team to the field of participants for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.

Sporting Kansas City has already qualified as a US Open finalist. If the winner of the US Open Cup also holds another Concacaf Champions Cup qualifying spot (as is the case with Los Angeles FC), the tournament runner-up will receive a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Should the US Open Cup runner-up hold multiple Concacaf Champions Cup qualifying spots, the next-best MLS club that has earned the most league points in the regular season will receive the spot. This is not the case with Sporting Kansas City, which has already been eliminated from the MLS playoffs.

MLS dominates the competition

Since 1996, MLS teams have won all but one US Open Cup; the Rochester Rhinos defeated the Colorado Rapids in the 1999 final. While MLS has participated in the US Open Cup since the league’s inception, the old North American Soccer League avoided it, so you won’t see teams like the multiple NASL Soccer Bowl winners like the New York Cosmos or Chicago Sting in the US Open Cup’s historical records.

USL teams Indy Eleven (2024 semifinalist), Sacramento Republic FC (2022 finalist) and FC Cincinnati (2017 semifinalist; FC Cincinnati has played in the MLS since 2019) have made it deep into tournaments in recent years as players in lower leagues.

Who has the most US Open Cup titles?

If the National Association Football League had stood the test of time like the MLB or NFL, American sports fans might speak of Bethlehem Steel with the same reverence as they do of the New York Yankees or Green Bay Packers. Bethlehem Steel won five U.S. Open Cups in the tournament’s first 13 years. Four years after its last U.S. Open Cup title in 1926, Bethlehem Steel was forced into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the National Association Football League was forced into bankruptcy in 1921 and essentially replaced by the American Soccer League, which folded during the Great Depression in 1933. Bethlehem Steel played in both leagues.

Although the last title was won in the 1920s, Bethlehem Steel remains tied for the most U.S. Open Cup titles (five) with Maccabi Los Angeles, a semi-professional soccer club that was active from 1971 to 1982. MLS teams are catching up to the early repeat champions, with Chicago Fire, Sporting Kansas City and Seattle Sounders each having four titles.

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How to stream LAFC vs Sporting KC

ByJasper

When will the US Open Cup final between LAFC and Sporting Kansas City take place?

How can I watch the US Open Cup final between LAFC and Sporting Kansas City?

What is the US Open Cup?

Hasn’t Los Angeles FC already qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup?

MLS dominates the competition

Who has the most US Open Cup titles?

By Jasper

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