March 1, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – U.S. Soccer today confirmed the format for the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. This year’s edition of the storied tournament will include 96 teams from the amateur and professional ranks competing from March to September.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies will enter this year’s Open Cup in the Round of 32 on either May 7 or 8. Tampa Bay earned a spot in the Round of 32 based on their finish as one of top seven teams in the 2023 regular season standings. The Rowdies join all USL Championship clubs in confirming their participation in the historic competition.
“The USL has supported the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for nearly 30 years, and we are proud to be part of it again in 2024,” said USL President Paul McDonough. “We applaud all the USL clubs who have decided to participate in this year’s U.S. Open Cup, despite being handed the option to decline. We appreciate and share the fans’ passion for our country’s most historic and authentic competition, and we look forward to watching the drama unfold over the course of the tournament.”
The U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer’s club championship and has crowned a national 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 oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world’s third-longest continuously run national cup tournament.
The First Round of the 2024 U.S. Open Cup will consist of 32 games with 32 amateur clubs from the Open Division meeting 32 professional teams from Division III.
USL League Two, part of the Open Division, will be represented by 11 clubs who qualified through their regular season performance in the 2023 season. USL League One, the preeminent Division III league in the country, will see all 12 clubs participate as part of the 32 professional teams in the First Round.
The 32 winners of the First Round will be paired up and face each other in the Second Round.
The 16 Second Round winners will then be matched up in the Third Round with 16 teams from the USL Championship, the top tier of the USL pyramid. These 16 USL Championship teams will be determined based on sporting merit through the USL Championship Players’ Shield standings.
The eight Third Round winners will advance to the Round of…