Format, Schedule and Participating Teams Finalized for 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
MLS St. Louis City SC

Format, Schedule and Participating Teams Finalized for 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Published on December 4, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
St. Louis City SC News Release


U.S. Soccer has announced the format, schedule and participating teams for the tournament proper of the 111th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

U.S. Soccer's historic national club championship, that celebrates elite amateur and pro soccer in communities across the country, begins in mid-March and will conclude with a showpiece final on October 21.

A field of 80 teams will contest for a $1 million purse with a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup also up for grabs. CBS Sports will return as the multi-media rights partner for the 2026 competition.

The U.S. Open Cup format will feature seven rounds - one fewer than recent editions - to avoid overlap with the FIFA Men's World Cup™ calendar.

Because the competition features one fewer round than recent editions, the field of professional teams has been reduced from 64 to 48, with slots for each professional division allocated as evenly as possible. League standings will serve as qualifying criteria to determine which professional teams are eligible, therefore all teams participating in 2026 U.S. Open Cup must have played a league season in 2025.

In addition to the qualifying criteria for the professional divisions, the competition has adjusted two rules to align with the current ecosystem for professional and amateur clubs.

First, a one-club, one-entry rule applies to all divisions. Under this rule, a professional club must enter its highest-level professional team. For the Open Division, the National League qualifying track was eliminated and all amateur teams are entered directly via U.S. Soccer.

Second, all numerical limits to the number of players that can be eligible for a competition roster have been removed across all divisions. All players from a club are eligible to participate, and players can be added up to one day prior to a match -- subject to league and U.S. Soccer player registration regulations as well as competition eligibility rules related to cup-ties, length of loan and disciplinary action.

The First Round will be played on March 17, 18 & 19 and will continue its format of 32 matches featuring teams from the Open Division facing off against a professional opponent. The amateurs will face off against one of 17 professional teams from Division II or 15 professional teams from Division III. The 32 winners from the First Round will then face off in a Second-Round matchup on March 31 or April 1.

Each of the 16 teams that advance from the Second Round will face one of the 16 Division I professional teams from Major League Soccer in the Round of 32 on April 14 or 15. Eight of the MLS teams will be seeded as home, and eight will be seeded as away ahead of this draw based on the qualifying criteria.

The final 32 teams will play down to a field of four semifinalists in May before the competition breaks until the semifinals on September 15 or 16. The final match is slated for Wednesday, October 21.

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule

First Round: Tuesday, March 17 - Thursday, March 19

Second Round: Tuesday, March 31 - Wednesday, April 1

Round of 32: Tuesday, April 14 - Wednesday, April 15

Round of 16: Tuesday, April 28 - Wednesday, April 29

Quarterfinals: Tuesday, May 19 - Wednesday, May 20

Semifinals: Tuesday, Sept. 15 - Wednesday, Sept. 16

Final: Wednesday, October 21

First and Second Round draws and schedule will be announced by U.S. Soccer in January. The first live draw will be held Tuesday, April 2, when the Round of 32 and subsequent round pairings will be determined.

The overall format, draw groups and pairings will be based on geography, along with the basic mathematic principles of a single-elimination competition. Random selection will be used to solve a lack of logical geographic fit. Draw groups may be created to account for venue availability in any round, based on the league schedule of competing teams or other conditions per tournament regulations.

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.

It is the longest running national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third longest continuously run national cup tournament. It is the only competition in USA-based team sports where amateurs have the chance to play professionals in direct competition.

Division I - 16 Teams entering in the Round of 32

Major League Soccer

Qualifying Criteria:

Teams participating in Concacaf Champions Cup are excluded from the Open Cup

Teams not participating in the 2026 Leagues Cup qualify for the Open Cup. The top four teams from this list from each conference will be seeded as home teams based on 2025 league standings for the Round of 32 draw (pending venue availability at a primary or approved secondary venue).

The next best teams in the Supporters' Shield Standings that are not in the Concacaf Champions Cup will enter the Open Cup.

Atlanta United

Austin FC

Charlotte FC

Chicago Fire FC

Colorado Rapids

Columbus Crew

D.C. United

Houston Dynamo FC

Minnesota United FC

New England Revolution

New York City FC

Orlando City SC

Red Bull New York

San Jose Earthquakes

St. Louis CITY SC

Sporting Kansas City

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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