Indy Eleven’s U.S. Open Cup Semifinal against Sporting Kansas City is arguably the biggest game in the club’s decade-long history.

And thanks to the Concacaf Champions Cup rulebook – and, somehow, Leagues Cup – it could be a historic game for both the Boys in Blue and the USL Championship.

Why, you ask?

Because a win could take Indy into the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup, depending on the result of the other semifinal.

Here’s how:

The starting point is that the winner of the U.S. Open Cup earns a berth into the CCC.

However, if the winner has earned a CCC spot through a different qualification process, the runner-up gets the spot allotted to the Open Cup.

So, if LAFC – who recently secured a CCC spot by advancing to the 2024 Leagues Cup Final – defeats the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night to advance to the Open Cup Final, then the Open Cup CCC berth would automatically be given to the other finalist.

So, all Indy Eleven needs to do is defeat Sporting KC on Tuesday night then hope LAFC gets the job done.  

Simple, right?

We say all they need to do, but beating SKC on the road is actually the hardest part of all of this.

There is precedent, though. Both the Richmond Kickers in 2011 and Orlando City SC in 2013 went into Children’s Mercy Park and emerged victorious.

Should Indy claim victory, it could be on its way to the biggest club tournament in the region.