After a confusing and exhausting back-and-forth between U.S. Soccer and MLS, the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will indeed go forward as the nation’s oldest soccer competition continues unabated into its 109th all-time edition.
Only eight senior Major League Soccer clubs will participate, while 11 others will be represented by their MLS NEXT Pro youth squads. The agreement was reached to have partial top flight participation after Major League Soccer threatened to pull all its clubs as they look to navigate the installment of the Leagues Cup as part of the league’s regular schedule.
As a result, lower league clubs have never had a better chance to emerge with a historic Cup title since the inception of MLS in 1996. Since that time, only one lower league clubs has ever won the U.S. Open Cup crown, being the now-defunct Rochester Rhinos in 1999.
Defending champions Houston Dynamo were eliminated by lower-league side Detroit City on penalties in the Round of 32, so there will not be a consecutive title winner this season, as someone else will claim the Cup.
The Sporting News brings you a look at the 2024 U.S. Open Cup schedule, as well as where to access all the games, with every single match of the competition available to stream online or access on TV.
MORE: Why are only a handful of MLS clubs participating in the 2024 US Open Cup?
All matches of the 2024 U.S. Open Cup will be broadcast for fans to watch, streamed by both MLS and U.S. Soccer, as both hope to increase the tournament’s visibility and show MLS that it can be sustainable through the future. Some first and second round matches will also be streamed on the official USL website.
Full broadcast details of the entire tournament have not yet been announced, but it was revealed that all matches through the Round of 16 will be streamed on the official websites of U.S. Soccer, Major League Soccer, and USL. Likely, as the later rounds arrive, U.S. Soccer will lean on their rights deal with Turner Sports for much of the tournament’s coverage.
The idea of this is to give lower league sides matches with greater visibility while enjoying the chance to generate upsets.
For the first time since 2008, the U.S. Open Cup will be formatted so that the First Round is made up exclusively of matchups between professional teams against amateur clubs.
Expanding that concept further, all MLS clubs, who enter in the Round of 32, will be forced to match up against lower-league opponents until that is no longer possible based on other restrictions.
MORE: A full list of all clubs qualified for the 2024 US Open Cup and what round they enter
Matchups in the Round of 32 were created by placing two Third Round winners into a four-team group alongside one club entering from MLS and one club entering from the USL Championship based on geography. The winners of these matchups will meet the winner from the other matchup in their given group in the Round of 16, and from there a new draw will be conducted for the rest of the bracket.
Home teams were determined at random, with clubs who meet minimum venue requirements given priority.
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** Georgia Lions forfeited their opening round fixture against Apotheos FC after being unable to fulfill the fixture
Kyle Bonn is a soccer content producer for The Sporting News.
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