Sporting Kansas City–St. Louis City SC rivalry explained

The Sporting Kansas City–St. Louis City SC rivalry, is a soccer rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs Sporting Kansas City and St. Louis City SC.

Background

The cities of St. Louis and Kansas City have a longstanding rivalry, being the two major metropolitan areas in the state of Missouri. St. Louis's addition to MLS for the 2023 season created a new outlet for the inter-city rivalry.

Prior to the clubs' first meeting, Sporting Kansas City accused the Soccer Capitol Podcast, a St. Louis fan podcast, of infringing on the trademark "The Soccer Capital of America," which was registered to Kansas Training Partners LLC, an affiliate company of Sporting Kansas City. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

St. Louis City won the first meeting at CityPark in May 2023, but Sporting KC won the second meeting, which took place at Children's Mercy Park the following September.^[5] The two teams played in their first postseason matchup in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs,^[6] with Sporting Kansas City (the #8 seed) upsetting the #1 seeded St. Louis in a best-of-three series.^[7]

Supporters, players, and staff of St. Louis City SC have referenced the fact that Sporting Kansas City, despite previously claiming to represent the state of Missouri in MLS, plays in Kansas City, Kansas, often referring to the club simply as "kansas".^[8]

Names for the rivalry include:

• Soccer Capital Derby - A reference to the trademark dispute between Sporting Kansas City and the Soccer Capital Podcast, as well as both franchise's claim to their home city being "The Soccer Capital of America".^[9]
• I-70 Derby - A reference to the I-70 Series of Major League Baseball, and the Interstate highway connecting the two cities.
• The Darbecue - A reference to the barbecue cultures of both St. Louis and Kansas City.
• Heartland Derby
• Cease & Desist Derby - Another reference to the trademark dispute.

Results

Summary

	Matches	SKC wins	Draws	STL wins	SKC goals	STL goals
MLS regular season	6	1	2	3	8	16
MLS Cup Playoffs	2	2	0	0	6	2
Total	8	3	2	3	14	18

Matches

Season	Date	Competition	Stadium	Home team	Result	Away team	Attendance	Series	Ref
2023	May 20			St. Louis City SC	4–0	Sporting Kansas City	22,423	STL 1–0–0	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2023/matches/stlvsskc-05-20-2023/
	September 2			Sporting Kansas City	2–1	St. Louis City SC	21,650	Tied 1–1–0	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2023/matches/skcvsstl-09-02-2023/
	September 30		CityPark	St. Louis City SC	4–1	Sporting Kansas City	22,423	STL 2–1–0	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2023/matches/skcvsstl-09-30-2023/
	October 30		CityPark	St. Louis City SC	4–1	Sporting Kansas City	22,423	Tied 2–2–0	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-cup-playoffs/2023/matches/stlvsskc-10-29-2023/
	November 5		Children's Mercy Park	Sporting Kansas City	2–1	St. Louis City SC	21,650	SKC 3–2–0	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2023/matches/skcvsstl-09-02-2023/
2024	April 20		Children's Mercy Park	Sporting Kansas City	3–3	St. Louis City SC	21,650	SKC 3–2–1	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2024/matches/skcvsstl-04-20-2024/
	July 20	MLS	Children's Mercy Park	Sporting Kansas City	1–1	St. Louis City SC	19,876	SKC 3–2–2	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2024/matches/skcvsstl-07-20-2024/
	September 28	MLS	CityPark	St. Louis City SC	3–1	Sporting Kansas City	22,423	Tied 3–3–2	https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2024/matches/stlvsskc-09-28-2024

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sporting KC, St. Louis City bring I-70 rivalry to MLS. Fox4kc.com. Cisneros. Juan. October 13, 2022. November 6, 2022. November 7, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221107002712/https://fox4kc.com/sports/sporting-kc/sporting-kc-st-louis-city-bring-i-70-rivalry-to-mls/. live.
2. Web site: Preseason mailbag, Part 2: St. Louis-Sporting KC rivalry, Atlanta's teardown & more . 2023-02-20 . Major League Soccer. March 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230312110329/https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/preseason-mailbag-part-2-st-louis-sporting-kc-rivalry-atlanta-s-teardown-more . live .
3. Web site: City . Sporting Kansas . MLS to bolster longtime rivalry between Kansas City and St. Louis . 2023-02-20 . Sporting Kansas City . January 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230119230102/https://www.sportingkc.com/news/mls-bolster-longtime-rivalry-between-kansas-city-and-st-louis . live .
4. Web site: 2022-10-13 . Sporting KC, St. Louis City bring I-70 rivalry to MLS . 2023-02-20 . FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV . November 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221107002712/https://fox4kc.com/sports/sporting-kc/sporting-kc-st-louis-city-bring-i-70-rivalry-to-mls/ . live .
5. Web site: City . Sporting Kansas . SKCvsSTL 09-02-2023 . 2023-09-03 . Sporting Kansas City . September 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230903214941/https://www.sportingkc.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2023/matches/skcvsstl-09-02-2023/ . live .
6. Web site: Sporting KC book rivalry date with St. Louis CITY: "This is crazy". Butler. Dylan. October 26, 2023. October 26, 2023. Major League Soccer. October 27, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231027011030/https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/sporting-kc-book-rivalry-date-with-st-louis-city-this-is-crazy. live.
7. Web site: Sporting KC upsets number one seed St. Louis City SC in MLS Cup Playoffs. Headlee. Peyton. kmbc.com. November 5, 2023. November 5, 2023. November 6, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231106032739/https://www.kmbc.com/article/sporting-kc-upsets-number-one-seed-st-louis-city-sc-in-mls-cup-playoffs/45746964. live.
8. Web site: Hochman . Benjamin . 2024-04-18 . St. Louis’ soccer rivalry is now next-level with Kansas City . 2024-05-14 . Columbia Missourian .
9. Web site: 2023-05-15 . Sporting KC vs. St. Louis City SC: ‘Soccer capitals’ to meet in inaugural ‘Heartland Derby’ . 2024-05-14 . KSHB 41 Kansas City News .