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SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake has competed in the 111-year-old U.S. Open Cup tournament for the entirety of its 20-year existence as a club, but that will change in 2025.
RSL announced Tuesday that MLS NEXT Pro development squad Real Monarchs will represent the club for the 2025 Open Cup.
MLS initially tried in 2024 to replace all of its teams in the Open Cup with NEXT Pro squads, but was denied by U.S. Soccer and, instead, reached a compromise to only send NEXT Pro squads for the teams that were also participating in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, as RSL is in 2025.
It was also announced Tuesday that the summer Leagues Cup tournament against Mexico's Liga MX will now include just 18 of the 30 MLS clubs, with RSL also included in that group.
Just five other MLS clubs are part of this year's CONCACAF, Open Cup and Leagues Cup tournaments, including Seattle, Miami, LAFC, Columbus, Cincinnati and Kansas City.
count us in on 2025 cup competitions 🏆
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) January 28, 2025
CONCACAF Champions Cup ✔️
Leagues Cup ✔️
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ✔️
RSL's best run in the Open Cup came in 2013 when it hosted the tournament final at then-Rio Tinto Stadium and lost 1-0 to D.C. United.
The Monarchs competed in the USL from their start in 2015 up until 2021, winning the regular season championship in 2017 and the USL Championship in 2019, with current first-team mainstay Andrew Brody included on both of the trophy-winning rosters.
The move to MLS NEXT Pro in 2021 brought with it an emphasis on the development of younger players, including many teenagers from the RSL Academy in Herriman, where the team has historically played its home games.
Recent RSL signings Owen Anderson, Aiden Hezarkhani, Omar Marquez and Juan Gio Villa all played with the Monarchs in 2024 and figure to be part of the Open Cup squad this year.
Other RSL prospects such as Zavier Gozo, Axel Kei, Lucas Moisa, Tommy Silva and Luis Rivera, along with any draft picks that choose not to return to college could also be included with the Monarchs.
The team plans to play most of its home games at America First Field in Sandy this year.
