FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men’s soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The competition was first held during the 1913–1914 season as the National Challenge Cup, with Brooklyn Field Club winning a trophy donated by Thomas Dewar for the promotion of American soccer. It was renamed and dedicated to North American Soccer League (NASL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) executive Lamar Hunt by the United States Soccer Federation in 1999.
The 2022 U.S. Open Cup marked the return of the competition after the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ending 106 years of consecutive play.
In its current format, the U.S Open Cup is contested by approximately 100 clubs from the professional leagues sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation – Major League Soccer (MLS), the United Soccer League’s Championship and League One divisions, the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), and MLS Next Pro – as well as amateur clubs in the earlier rounds of the tournament that qualify through their respective leagues. The overall champion is awarded $300,000 in prize money and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, while the runner-up receives $100,000, and the furthest-advancing team from each lower-division league receives $25,000.
MLS teams have dominated the competition since the league began play in 1996. No lower division team has won the Open Cup since the Rochester Rhinos in 1999, and the most recent lower division team to reach the final was Sacramento Republic FC in 2022. The most recent champions of the competition, Orlando City SC, won their first title after defeating the Republic 3–0 in the 2022 final.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The competition is a single-elimination tournament that has been contested by at least 80 teams since the 2014 edition. This pool consists of the American clubs in the professional leagues, which are Major League Soccer, the league now known as the USL Championship, USL League One and National Independent Soccer Association as well as amateur teams from the Premier Development League (now USL League Two), National Premier Soccer League, the United States Adult Soccer Association, and US Club Soccer. The first three rounds, consisting of amateur and lower-league teams, are played during consecutive weekdays in May with amateur teams advancing to face USL clubs in geographical pairings in the second round. The winner of each match progresses to the next round and the loser is eliminated from the tournament. MLS clubs enter play in the fourth round, matched geographically with the winners of the third round to play on a date in June that is determined by the home side specifically selected for non-interference with league games. After the fourth round, no new teams are introduced, leading to a quarterfinal round in July, a semifinal round in August, and a final match to determine the champion in September. Every match, including the final, lasts 90 minutes plus any additional stoppage time. If no clear winner has been determined after 90 minutes of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time is played. If the score is still level after extra time then the winner is decided by a penalty shoot-out.
PAST CHAMPIONS
HOW MLS TEAMS HAVE FARED
BROADCASTING
ESPN+ had exclusive broadcast rights for the 2019 and 2022 Open Cups. Prior to 2019, the tournament had little broadcast exposure, with the final and select matches being broadcast on ESPN networks and all other matches streamed through the USSF’s YouTube channel.
On March 1, 2022, U.S. Soccer and Turner Sports announced an 8-year exclusive multimedia rights deal for the United States men’s and women’s national teams. Cindy Parlow Cone, president of U.S. Soccer, confirmed in a separate interview that the new deal would include the Open Cup. Early round U.S. Open Cup matches will air on the Bleacher Report app and the Bleacher Report Football YouTube channel.
