Format and Teams Finalized for 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Features the Most Matchups Ever Between Amateur and Professional Teams; First Round Returns to Exclusively Professional Versus Amateur Format;

Eight Division I, 24 Division II, 32 Division III and 32 Open Division Teams to Compete for 2024 Title

CHICAGO (March 1, 2024) – U.S. Soccer has finalized the format for the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup which will include 96 teams from across the amateur and professional ranks playing a total of 95 games from March to September.

In a historic shift for the tournament, the upcoming First Round will mark the first time since 2008 that all 32 matchups will be exclusively between amateur and professional teams. Overall, this year’s edition of the tournament will feature the most First Round matchups between amateur and professional teams in the tournament’s 109-year history, more than doubling the previous amount of 16.

U.S. Soccer will be making its largest-ever investment in the tournament in 2024. With new commercial partners – including Marriott, Michelob Ultra, New York Life, and Nike – U.S. Soccer has prioritized enhanced financial incentives for participating teams, including significantly increased travel reimbursement. The Federation’s financial commitment also represents the most significant effort to date towards promotion of the tournament, underscoring U.S. Soccer’s dedication to fostering a more vibrant Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup experience for teams and fans alike. Detailed schedule and comprehensive broadcast details to follow.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer's Club Championship and has crowned a champion annually since 1914 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). The historic tournament is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer and is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third-longest continuously run national cup tournament.

The First Round of the 2024 U.S. Open Cup will consist of 32 games with 32 amateur clubs from the Open Division meeting 32 professional teams from Division III. The Open Division representatives include 11 Qualifying Round winners, 11 USL League Two teams, eight NPSL teams, the USASA National Amateur Cup champion and the UPSL Spring Champion. Division III representatives include 12 USL League One teams, nine NISA teams and 11 MLS Next Pro teams. The winners of the First Round will play each other in the Second Round of the tournament.

The winners of the Second Round will then be matched up against the 16 Division II professional teams from the USL Championship which will enter the competition in the Third Round. The remaining eight USL Championship teams and eight MLS teams will enter in the Round of 32, along with the winners from the Third Round. The eight USL Championship teams include 2023 league champion Phoenix Rising FC and the next seven best teams from 2023 standings enter Round of 32.

The MLS clubs participating in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, and their MLS Next Pro teams, were excluded from the selection process for the 2024 U.S. Open Cup, which was determined based on results in the 2023 MLS regular season. See below for the full list of participating teams.

"First and foremost, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all our members for their invaluable input over the past couple of months— sharing with us of the reasons the U.S. Open Cup is so great, and what we can do to make it even better,” said U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson. “After extensive discussions, we have put together a competitive format specific to the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, promising exciting matchups from the First Round and through the entire tournament. U.S. Soccer values the tradition and importance of the U.S. Open Cup, and we will continue to have

conversations with all our members to explore avenues for enhancing future editions of the tournament and how we all

work together to grow soccer in every community in the country”.

2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule

First Round                         Tuesday, March 19 - Thursday, March 21 Second Round            Tuesday, April 2 - Wednesday, April 3 Third Round            Tuesday, April 16 - Wednesday, April 17 Round of 32           Tuesday, May 7 - Wednesday, May 8 Round of 16              Tuesday, May 21 - Wednesday, May 22 Quarterfinal          Tuesday, July 9 - Wednesday, July 10 Semifinal Tuesday, Aug. 27 - Wednesday, Aug. 28

Final                                      Wednesday, Sept. 25

*Dates are subject to change

Complete List of Teams for 2024 Open Cup Proper

Professional Division Teams

Division I 8 teams

Major League Soccer

(All 8 teams enter in the Round of 32)

Atlanta United FC FC Dallas

Houston Dynamo FC (Defending U.S. Open Cup Champion) Los Angeles FC

Real Salt Lake

San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City

Division II 24 teams

USL Championship

(16 teams enter in the Third Round and 8 teams in the Round of 32)

Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery*

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC* Detroit City FC

El Paso Locomotive FC Tulsa

Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven

Las Vegas Lights FC Loudoun United FC Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC Miami FC Monterey Bay FC New Mexico United

North Carolina FC Oakland Roots SC

Orange County Soccer Club* Phoenix Rising FC* Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC* Rhode Island FC

Sacramento Republic FC* San Antonio FC*

Tampa Bay Rowdies*

* USL Championship league champion (Phoenix Rising FC) and next seven best teams from 2023 standings enter Round of 32

Division III 32 teams

USL League One, NISA, MLS Next Pro (All teams entering in the First Round)

USL League One 12 teams

(Teams entering in the First Round)

Central Valley Fuego FC Charlotte Independence Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC

One Knoxville SC Lexington SC

Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Richmond Kickers

South Georgia Tormenta FC Spokane Velocity FC

Union Omaha

MLS Next Pro 11 teams

(Entering in the First Round)

Austin FC II Carolina Core FC Chattanooga FC Chicago Fire II Colorado Rapids 2 Crown Legacy FC

Minnesota United FC2 LA Galaxy II

New York City FC II New York Red Bulls II Portland Timbers 2

NISA (National Independent Soccer Association) 9 teams

(Teams entering in the First Round)

Arizona Monsoon FC

Capo FC

Club de Lyon FC Georgia Lions FC Irvine Zeta FC

Los Angeles Force Maryland Bobcats FC Michigan Stars FC Savannah Clovers FC

Open Division Teams

Division IV/Open 32 teams

(Teams entering in the First Round)

SC MesoAmerica (California / USASA / USASA National Amateur Cup Winner) AS Frenzi (Florida / UPSL Spring Champion)

Open Division Local Qualifiers

11 teams – winners from the Four Rounds of Local Qualifying / Fall 2023

Azteca FC (Colorado, Colorado Premier League / USSSA-Soccer) Chicago House AC (Illinois / Midwest Premier League / USASA) Christos FC (Maryland / Maryland Super Soccer League/ USASA)

FC America CFL Spurs (Florida / United States Soccer League / USSSA-Soccer) FORO SC (Texas / UPSL)

SCU Heat (South Carolina / UPSL)

Brockton FC United (Massachusetts / UPSL)

Vereinigung Erzgebirge (Pennsylvania / United Soccer League of Penn. / USASA) Miami United FC (Florida / United States Soccer League / USSSA-Soccer)

FC Folsom (California / UPSL) Irvine Zeta FC II (California / UPSL)

National Premier Soccer League (NPSL)

8 teams – based on 2023 league competition

Tulsa Athletic (Oklahoma) Apotheos FC (Georgia)

West Chester United SC (Pennsylvania) El Farolito (California)

Steel City FC (Pennsylvania) FC Motown (New Jersey) Lubbock Matadors SC (Texas) Duluth FC (Minnesota)

USL League Two

11 teams – based on 2023 league competition

Ballard FC (Washington) Chicago City SC (Illinois)

Asheville City SC (North Carolina)

Brave SC (Formerly The Villages SC, Florida) Redlands FC (California)

South Carolina United Bantams (South Carolina) Des Moines Menace (Iowa)

Western Mass Pioneers (Massachusetts)