Every League One club to face pre-professional opposition, eight to play on the road | Image Credit: Minnesota United FC
CHICAGO - U.S. Soccer today announced the First Round schedule for the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. U.S. Soccer's annual club championship kicks off with 64 teams and 32 First Round matches across the country between March 19 and 21. All 12 USL League One clubs will enter in the First Round and face pre-professional opposition.
Just four of the 12 teams - Madison, South Georgia, Richmond and Chattanooga - will host a First Round match, while the remaining eight clubs will be on the road. Notable matchups include former USL League Two South Central Division rivals Asheville and Knoxville rekindling their Smoky Mountain Series, 2023 USL League Two champions Ballard hosting its first-ever U.S. Open Cup match against first-year side Spokane, and 2022 U.S. Open Cup darlings Union Omaha traveling across the country to face historic USL side Western Mass.
The upcoming First Round will mark the first time since 2008 that all matchups will be exclusively contested between pre-professional and professional teams. Overall, this year's edition of the tournament will feature the most First Round matchups between amateur and professional teams in the tournament's 109-year history, more than doubling the previous amount of 16.
The 32 winners of the First Round will play each other in the Second Round of the tournament in early April. Streaming and additional information will be available at a later date.
The 2024 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup and have its 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 will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.
Tuesday, March 19
Wednesday, March 20
Thursday, March 21