CHICAGO (March 1, 2024) – US Soccer has finalized the format for the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, which will feature 96 teams from all amateur and professional ranks playing a total of 95 games from March to September.
In a historic turnaround for the tournament, the upcoming first round will mark the first time since 2008 that all 32 matches will be played exclusively between amateur and professional teams. Overall, this year's edition of the tournament will feature the most first-round encounters between amateur and professional teams in the tournament's 109-year history, more than doubling the previous tally of 16.
US Soccer will make its largest-ever investment in the tournament in 2024. With new commercial partners – including Marriott, Michelob Ultra, New York Life and Nike – US Soccer has prioritized increased financial incentives for participating teams, including significantly increased travel reimbursements. The association's financial commitment also represents the most significant effort to promote the tournament to date and underscores US Soccer's commitment to fostering a more vibrant Lamar Hunt US Open Cup experience for teams and fans alike.
The Lamar Hunt US 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 as a single-game knockout tournament and is open to all professional and amateur U.S. Soccer teams. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the third longest continuously played national cup tournament in the world.
The first round of the 2024 US Open Cup will consist of 32 games, pitting 32 amateur clubs from the Open Division against 32 professional teams from Division III. Open Division representatives include 11 qualifying round winners, 11 USL League Two teams, eight NPSL teams, the USASA National Amateur Cup champions 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 play against each other in the second round of the tournament.
The winners of the second round will then be compared to the 16 professional teams from Division II of the USL Championship that will compete in the third round. The remaining eight USL Championship teams and eight MLS teams will advance to the Round of 32 along with the winners of the third round. The eight USL Championship teams include 2023 league champion Phoenix Rising FC, and the next seven best teams from the 2023 rankings advance to the Round of 32.
The MLS clubs participating in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup and their MLS Next Pro teams have been excluded from the selection process for the 2024 US Open Cup, which was determined based on the results of the 2023 MLS regular season. Below you can find the full list of participating teams.
“First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of our members for their invaluable contributions over the past few months – sharing with us why the US Open Cup is so great and what we can do to make it better,” said JT Batson, CEO of US Soccer. “After extensive discussions, we have put together a competition format specifically for the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, which promises exciting encounters from the first round to the entire tournament. US Soccer values the tradition and importance of the US Open Cup, and we will continue to have conversations with all of our members to explore ways to improve future editions of the tournament and how we all work together to grow soccer in every community across the country support financially.”
2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup schedule
First round Tuesday, March 19th – Thursday, March 21st
Second round Tuesday, April 2nd – Wednesday, April 3rd
Third round Tuesday, April 16th – Wednesday, April 17th
Round of 32 Tuesday, May 7th – Wednesday, May 8th
Round of 16 Tuesday, May 21st – Wednesday, May 22nd
Quarterfinals Tuesday, July 9th – Wednesday, July 10th
Semifinals Tuesday, August 27th – Wednesday, August 28th
final Wednesday, September 25th
*Dates are subject to change
Full list of teams for the 2024 Open Cup
Professional division teams
First League
8 teams
Major League Soccer
(All 8 teams advance to the round of 32)
Atlanta United FC
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo FC (defending US Open Cup champions)
Los Angeles FC
Real salt lake
San Jose earthquake
Seattle Sounders FC
Sporting Kansas City
Division II
24 teams
USL Championship
(16 teams take part in the third round and 8 teams take part 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 Football Club*
Phoenix Rising FC*
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC*
Rhode Island F.C
Sacramento Republic FC*
San Antonio FC*
Tampa Bay Rowdies*
* USL Championship League champions (Phoenix Rising FC) and the next seven best teams from the 2023 rankings advance to the Round of 32
Division III
32 teams
USL League One, NISA, MLS Next Pro
(All teams take part in the first round)
USL League One
12 teams
(Teams entering the first round)
Central Valley Fuego FC
Charlotte Independence
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Madison FC striker
Greenville Triumph SC
A Knoxville SC
Lexington SC
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
Richmond Kickers
South Georgia Tormenta FC
Spokane Velocity FC
Union Omaha
MLS Next Pro
11 teams
(Entry into 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 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
Department IV/Open
32 teams
(Teams entering the first round)
SC MesoAmerica (California / USASA / Winner of the USASA National Amateur Cup)
AS Frenzi (Florida / UPSL Spring Champion)
Open Division Local Qualifiers
11 teams – winners of the four rounds of local qualification / 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)
Erzgebirge Association (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 the 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 the 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)
Threat from Des Moines (Iowa)
Western Mass Pioneers (Massachusetts)
Vermont Green FC (Vermont)
Hudson Valley Hammers (New York)
*TBA
*The final team will be announced soon
About the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, now in its 109th year, has crowned a champion every year since 1914, with the exception of 2020 and 2021. The storied tournament is conducted on the basis of single-game knockouts and is open to all affiliated Professional and amateur teams open with US Soccer. In 1999, the oldest running national soccer competition in the United States was renamed in honor of American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The winner of the 2024 US Open Cup will receive $300,000 in prize money, a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions League and have their name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will receive $100,000, while the team that advances furthest from each lower division will take home a cash prize of $25,000.
Houston Dynamo FC is the defending Open Cup champion and secured the club's second tournament title thanks to a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami on September 27 in front of a sold-out crowd at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Fans can also watch the competition here Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.