CHICAGO (October 25, 2023) - The 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Rounds have reached their Fourth and Final Round. The 22 surviving amateur clubs – down from an original Open Division field of 109 – who won their Third Qualifying Round matches between October 21 and 22 move through to the 11 matches of the decisive Final Qualifying Round, which will be contested on November 18-19.
There are 11 berths on offer to the 2024 U.S. Open Cup – the 109th edition of the historic tournament – via this Fourth Qualifying Round. Five clubs are aiming to reach the competition for the second consecutive year.
Those 2023 U.S. Open Cup veterans looking to return for 2024 are Chicago House AC of the Midwest Premier League, SFSFL’s International San Francisco – undefeated through two years of Qualifying – Miami United FC (United States Soccer League), Tennessee Tempo FC (who reached the U.S. Open Cup last year under the name Beaman United) and UDA Soccer, a UPSL club side affiliated with New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
Also in the mix is one former U.S. Open Cup champion. The Queens-based NY Pancyprian Freedoms, who’ll face off at home with Massachusetts’ Bay State Soccer League (BSSL) powers Brockton FC United, won the tournament in 1980, 1982 and 1983.
Christos FC – the Baltimore-area underdog heroes of the 2017 Open Cup, when they beat pro side Richmond Kickers and briefly led MLS’ D.C. United – travel to Virginia take on Mid-Atlantic NISA Nation powers NoVa FC. Southern California rivals Irvine Zeta FC – who’ve scored ten and conceded just once so far – meet Temecula FC with a Florida derby on the menu as City Soccer FC play Miami United FC.
Tulsa Athletic scooped the prize as the Open Division team to advance the furthest in the 2023 edition of the Open Cup, with a win over local second-division USL Championship pros FC Tulsa, sending them through to a historic Third Rounder against MLS’ Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park. Chicago House AC, still alive and kicking in this year’s Qualifying Rounds and facing a date with Ohio-based Valhalla FC who won their Third Qualifying Round game 10-1 over Buffalo’s Sahara Gunners FC, also earned the right to face off with an MLS side when they met crosstown club Chicago Fire in that same Third Round in Bridgeview, Illinois.
The 11 games of the 2024 Fourth and Final Qualifying Round will take place on November 18-19. The 11 winners will move through to the 2024 U.S. Open Cup alongside this year’s USASA National Amateur Cup Champions SC MesoAmerica and AS Frenzi – the springtime national champions of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL).
Sept. 9-10, 2023 – First Qualifying Round - 21 matches
Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, 2023 – Second Qualifying Round - 44 matches
Oct. 21-22, 2023 – Third Qualifying Round - 22 matches
Nov. 18-19, 2023 – Fourth Qualifying Round - 11 matches
Tuesday, March 19 - Thursday, March 21 First Round
Tuesday, April 2 - Wednesday, April 3 Second Round
Tuesday, April 16 - Wednesday, April 17 Third Round
Tuesday, May 7 - Wednesday, May 8 Round of 32
Tuesday, May 21 - Wednesday, May 22 Round of 16
Tuesday, July 9 - Wednesday, July 10 Quarterfinal
Tuesday, Aug. 27 - Wednesday, Aug. 28 Semifinal
Wednesday, Sept. 25 Final
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer's National 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. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor United States soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third-longest continuously run national cup tournament.
Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer (MLS) won their second U.S. Open Cup title on September 27 of this year, sealing the 108th edition of the tournament with a 2-1 win over Inter Miami at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Each year’s winner earns $300,000 in prize money and has the club’s name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally-contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up earns $100,000, while the teams that advance farthest from each lower division take home a $25,000 cash prize.
For complete coverage of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, visit usopencup.com and follow the tournament's official social accounts on X and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer has been the official governing body of the sport in the United States for more than 100 years. As U.S. Soccer looks toward the future amid an unprecedented moment of opportunity, we’ve aligned our efforts around five strategic pillars: Grow the game by increasing youth and adult participation and accessibility to the sport; Foster the best playing environments through quality of referees and coaches, increase DEIB and participant safety; Develop winning teams through solidified pathways and success of professional leagues; Grow the soccer economy to fuel reinvestment by increasing membership, fandom and commercial success; and Create a world-class organization through revitalized structure and culture, best-in-class talent, progress in DEIB, and more. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision.