# 2024 U.S. Open Cup qualification

The 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification served as local qualification for the 109th edition of the oldest soccer tournament in the United States. The tournament proper featured both professional and amateur teams in the United States soccer league system.
Qualification for the 2024 tournament included local qualifying matches contested by 109 amateur teams scheduled to take place in 2023. One team also qualified by winning the 2023 National Amateur Cup and one team qualified by winning the 2023 United Premier Soccer League Spring Championships. Clubs playing in fully professional leagues are required to enter the tournament.

## Qualification procedures

The United States Soccer Federation's Open Cup Committee manages both the tournament proper and the local qualification process.
Clubs based in the United States that play in a league that is an organization member of U.S. Soccer are generally eligible to compete for the U.S. Open Cup, so long as their league includes at least four teams and has a schedule of at least 10 matches for each club.
U.S.-based teams in Division I, II and III professional leagues qualify for the U.S. Open Cup automatically, provided they are eligible. To be eligible, these teams must be members in good standing of their leagues on December 31, 2022, and remain so through the 2024 final. The league must have been in operation prior to the open division entry deadline and remain in operation through the 2024 final. A new Division I, II or III professional league must have its match schedule announced to the public by January 31, 2023, and the first match must be scheduled for no later than seven days before the first scheduled round of the U.S. Open Cup tournament proper that involves the team's division. If a new club joins an existing Division I, II or III league, the league must meet the aforementioned criteria applicable to new leagues in order for the new club to be eligible for the U.S. Open Cup.
A professional team that is majority owned by a higher-level professional team or whose player roster is materially managed by a higher-level professional team is ineligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup.
Clubs that are below Division III are Open Division teams. To be eligible for the 2024 U.S. Open Cup, an Open Division team must remain a playing member in good standing within its competition from the Open Division Entry Deadline through the 2024 final. The league must have been in operation since no later than the open Division Entry Deadline, and remain so until the 2024 final. A team that started its first season of competition in an existing league must have started its new league's schedule no later than Open Division Entry Deadline.
Starting in 2019, the winner of the previous year's National Amateur Cup automatically qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup. The cup winner enters the tournament proper in the first round with the other Open Division clubs.
National leagues may elect to use the results of their previous year's seasons to determine which of their teams qualify for the U.S. Open Cup in lieu of having their teams play local qualifying matches. If a national league so elects, its teams are not eligible to participate in local qualifying. To qualify as a national league, the league must
* Have a minimum of 50 active U.S.-based teams in good standing,
* Have a common championship each season that is only available to league teams and is compulsory,
* Use a league format with a standings table as opposed to a single-elimination (knockout) format,
* Have teams in at least three U.S. time zones among Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific, with the three time zones containing the most teams each having at least 15% of the member teams,
* Have two time zones represented by at least three different U.S. states or the District of Columbia and a third time zone represented by at least two different U.S. states or the District of Columbia,
* Have teams in at least 10 different U.S. states or the District of Columbia,
* Timely pay the team-based Open Cup entry fee for all teams in the league.
* Must have operated over the last 12-month period and over the next 12-month period in compliance with these criteria.
Eligible Open Division clubs that did not win the National Amateur Cup and are not members of national leagues must have submitted an application to enter local qualifying by July 31, 2023.
Once applications for local qualifying are approved, U.S. Soccer preliminary estimates of the number of Open Division teams needed in the U.S. Open Cup, based on the anticipated participation of professional teams and anticipated structure of the tournament bracket. One of these slots is allocated to the National Amateur Cup champions. Starting with the 2024 U.S. Open Cup, the United Premier Soccer League spring champions will be allocated one slot. The remainder are allocated among the pool of local qualification teams and the national leagues, based on the relative number of teams in each, resulting in a target number of local qualifiers. The Commissioner will establish the number of qualifying rounds needed to achieve the number of surviving local qualifying teams after the target number of First Round slots is determined. The Commissioner will attempt to minimize the number of byes in order to ensure teams that advance to the First Round have played the same number of games. Byes are distributed randomly and are meant to avoid unnecessary travel but are kept to a minimum to preserve the integrity of the qualification tournament. Once the qualification tournament format has been finalized, the number of local qualifiers becomes fixed, unless a team that qualifies later becomes ineligible. After the professional clubs entry application deadline, the final number of Open Division teams needed in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup will become known. From this number, the fixed number of local qualifiers plus one for the National Amateur Cup champion, and one for the UPSL Spring Champions are subtracted to determine the number of slots for clubs from the national leagues. These slots are allocated among the leagues based on their relative numbers of U.S. based eligible teams.

## Professional qualification
### Major League Soccer

In March 2024, the top seven American-based MLS teams to not qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, as well as the defending U.S. Open Cup champion, Houston Dynamo FC, qualified for the U.S. Open Cup.
Overall MLS standings table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | FC Cincinnati (S) | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 69 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 2 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 63 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 3 | Columbus Crew (C) | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 67 | 46 | +21 | 57 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 |
| 4 | St. Louis City SC | 34 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 56 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 5 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 55 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 6 | New England Revolution | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 55 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 7 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 53 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 8 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 52 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 9 | Houston Dynamo FC (U) | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 51 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One and U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 10 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 51 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 11 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 50 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 12 | Nashville SC | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 49 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 13 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (V) | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 55 | 48 | +7 | 48 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 14 | FC Dallas | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 46 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 15 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 44 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 16 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 44 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 17 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 43 | |
| 18 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 43 | |
| 19 | Charlotte FC | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 43 | |
| 20 | CF Montréal | 34 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 41 | |
| 21 | Minnesota United FC | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 41 | |
| 22 | New York City FC | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 41 | |
| 23 | D.C. United | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 40 | |
| 24 | Chicago Fire FC | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 40 | |
| 25 | Austin FC | 34 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 39 | |
| 26 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 51 | 67 | −16 | 36 | |
| 27 | Inter Miami CF (L) | 34 | 9 | 18 | 7 | 41 | 54 | −13 | 34 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 |
| 28 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 5 | 17 | 12 | 26 | 54 | −28 | 27 | |
| 29 | Toronto FC | 34 | 4 | 20 | 10 | 26 | 59 | −33 | 22 | |
* ↑ As 2023 MLS Supporters' Shield champions
* ↑ As highest-ranked club in 2023 MLS Supporters' Shield not already qualified
* ↑ As 2023 MLS Cup champions
* ↑ As 2023 Western Conference regular season champions
* ↑ As 2023 Leagues Cup third place
* ↑ As second highest-ranked club in 2023 MLS Supporters' Shield not already qualified
* 1 2 3 As one of the top seven teams in the overall table to not qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup
* ↑ Qualify for both the Champions Cup and U.S. Open Cup as 2023 U.S. Open Cup champions
* ↑ As 2023 Leagues Cup runner-up
* ↑ As 2023 Canadian Championship winners
* ↑ As 2023 Leagues Cup champion

## MLS Next Pro

The following nine clubs qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open Cup.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Awards |
| 1 | Colorado Rapids 2 | 28 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 70 | 37 | +33 | 66 | Regular season champion and U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 2 | Crown Legacy FC | 28 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 60 | 34 | +26 | 66 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 3 | Tacoma Defiance | 28 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 57 | |
| 4 | New England Revolution II | 28 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 56 | |
| 5 | Columbus Crew 2 | 28 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 54 | |
| 6 | New York Red Bulls II | 28 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 51 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 7 | Sporting Kansas City II | 28 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 60 | 42 | +18 | 49 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 8 | Austin FC II | 28 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 49 | |
| 9 | St. Louis City 2 | 28 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 49 | 39 | +10 | 47 | |
| 10 | Orlando City B | 28 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 59 | 61 | −2 | 46 | |
| 11 | San Jose Earthquakes II | 28 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 45 | |
| 12 | Houston Dynamo 2 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 43 | |
| 13 | Minnesota United FC 2 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 43 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 14 | Chicago Fire FC II | 28 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 43 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 15 | Philadelphia Union II | 28 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 54 | 57 | −3 | 42 | |
| 16 | New York City FC II | 28 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 60 | 55 | +5 | 41 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 17 | Huntsville City FC | 28 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 38 | |
| 18 | North Texas SC | 28 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 36 | |
| 19 | Atlanta United 2 | 28 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 35 | |
| 20 | Portland Timbers 2 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 40 | 63 | −23 | 34 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 21 | Whitecaps FC 2 | 28 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 34 | |
| 22 | Real Monarchs | 28 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 27 | 54 | −27 | 31 | |
| 23 | Toronto FC II | 28 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 29 | |
| 24 | FC Cincinnati 2 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 37 | 65 | −28 | 27 | |
| 25 | Los Angeles FC 2 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 39 | −9 | 25 | |
| 26 | LA Galaxy II | 28 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 36 | 74 | −38 | 25 | U.S. Open Cup First Round |
| 27 | Inter Miami CF II | 28 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 34 | 68 | −34 | 22 | |

## Amateur qualification
### National Amateur Cup

SC MesoAmerica defeated Newtown Pride FC 2–1, to win the 2023 National Amateur Cup and qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open Cup.

### United Premier Soccer League Spring Champions

AS Frenzi defeated Sporting Wichita SC 2–1, to win the 2023 UPSL Spring Championships and earning a direct qualification into the 2024 U.S. Open Cup.

### Local qualifying

U.S. Soccer originally announced that 109 teams would participate in local qualifying. Four rounds of local qualifying matches will result in 11 clubs advancing to the tournament proper. Local qualifying will be competed in a single-game, knockout format and match-ups will be organized geographically to minimize travel time and expenses. Random selection will be used to determine matchups when possible and coin flips will determine home teams.

#### Schedule

Schedule for 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Qualifying :
| Round | Match day | New Teams | Entrants | Teams entered to date |
| First Qualifying Round | September 9–10, 2023 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
| Second Qualifying Round | September 30–October 1, 2023 | 67 | 88 | 109 |
| Third Qualifying Round | October 21–22, 2023 | 0 | 44 | 109 |
| Fourth Qualifying Round | November 18–19, 2023 | 0 | 22 | 109 |

#### Number of teams by state and league

A total of 22 states and the District of Columbia are represented by clubs in the U.S. Open Cup Qualification this year.
| | States | Number | League | Teams |
| 1 | California | 11 | UPSL | Elk Grove Blues, Escondido FC, FC Folsom, Irvine FC, Irvine Zeta, Laguna United FC, Murrieta Soccer Academy, Rebels Soccer Club, Santa Monica Surf, Trojans FC, Valley 559 FC |
| 1 | California | 4 | NISA Nation | Bay Area United, Capo FC, Jasa RWC, Temecula FC |
| 1 | California | 3 | San Francisco Soccer Football League | International San Francisco SC, San Francisco Vikings Soccer Club, Olympic Club |
| 1 | California | 2 | National Soccer League | Marin County Union SC, Real San Jose |
| 1 | California | 1 | West Coast Soccer Association | UC Davis Soccer Club |
| 2 | Florida | 9 | UPSL | FC America CFL Spurs, Chargers Soccer Club, Dade County FC, Deportivo Lake Mary FC, Florida Premier FC, Harbor City FC, Leg-AZ World FC, Parkland Soccer Club, Royal Palms Soccer Club |
| 2 | Florida | 8 | United States Soccer League | City Soccer FC, Florida Brothers, Hodler Miami FC, Miami Soccer Academy, Miami United FC, Orlando FC Wolves, O'Shea's FC, Soccer Paradise FC |
| 2 | Florida | 1 | Florida Gold Coast League | Hurricane FC |
| 3 | New York | 4 | Eastern Premier Soccer League | Lansdowne Yonkers, New York Greek-American, New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, Zum Schneider FC 03 |
| 3 | New York | 3 | UPSL | New York Braveheart SC, NY Renegades FC, Sahara Gunners FC |
| 3 | New York | 1 | Cosmopolitan Soccer League | Manhattan Kickers SC |
| 3 | New York | 1 | Rochester District Soccer League | IASC Boom |
| 3 | Texas | 3 | UPSL | Alamo City Soccer Club, Foro SC, Tenfifteen FC |
| 3 | Texas | 2 | Austin Men's Soccer Association | Austin Longhorns, Austin Thunder |
| 3 | Texas | 2 | Gulf Coast Premier League | Central Texas Lobos, Daggers CTX |
| 3 | Texas | 2 | United States Soccer League | Athletic Katy FC, Houston FC |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 4 | United Soccer League of Pennsylvania | Colonial SC, Philadelphia Ukrainians Nationals, United German Hungarians, Vereinigung Erzgebirge |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 2 | UPSL | Lancaster Elite, Philadelphia Lone Star |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 2 | Eastern Premier Soccer League | Kensington Soccer Club, Philadelphia Heritage SC |
| 6 | Colorado | 4 | Colorado Premier League | Azteca FC, Colorado Rovers, FC Denver, Harpos |
| 6 | Colorado | 1 | Mountain Premier League | Peak Eleven Football Club |
| 7 | Illinois | 3 | Midwest Premier League | Berber City FC, Chicago House AC, Edgewater Castle Football Club |
| 7 | Illinois | 2 | UPSL | Chicago Strikers, Wisloka Chicago |
| 8 | Georgia | 2 | UPSL | Kalonji Pro-Profile, North Georgia United |
| 8 | Georgia | 2 | Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League | Majestic Soccer Club, Terminus FC |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 2 | Bay State Soccer League | CD Faialense, FC Omens |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 2 | UPSL | Boston Street FC, Brockton FC United |
| 8 | Virginia | 3 | UPSL | Arlington SA, VA Revolution Pro, Villarreal CF Virginia |
| 8 | Virginia | 1 | Eastern Premier Soccer League | NoVa FC |
| 11 | Arizona | 2 | UPSL | Coronado Athletic Club, SC Union Maricopa |
| 11 | Arizona | 1 | Southwest Premier League | Sporting Arizona FC |
| 11 | District of Columbia | 2 | American Premier League | Aegean Hawks, Yinz United |
| 11 | District of Columbia | 1 | DC Premier League | DCFC |
| 11 | Maryland | 2 | Maryland Super Soccer League | Christos, Steel Pulse |
| 11 | Maryland | 1 | UPSL | MoCo 1776 FC |
| 11 | New Jersey | 1 | Eastern Premier Soccer League | Real Central NJ |
| 11 | New Jersey | 1 | Garden State Soccer League | SC Vistula Garfield |
| 11 | New Jersey | 1 | UPSL | New Jersey Alliance |
| 11 | Washington | 2 | UPSL | Bellevue Athletic FC, Holac FC |
| 11 | Washington | 1 | Recreational Adult Team Soccer | Sharktopus Football Club |
| 16 | Alabama | 1 | UPSL | FC Birmingham |
| 16 | Connecticut | 1 | UPSL | Ole Football Club |
| 16 | New Mexico | 1 | UPSL | UDA Soccer |
| 16 | Nevada | 1 | NISA Nation | Battleborn FC |
| 16 | North Carolina | 1 | UPSL | Mint Hill FC |
| 16 | Ohio | 1 | Ohio Valley Premier League | Valhalla FC |
| 16 | South Carolina | 1 | UPSL | South Carolina United Heat |
| 16 | Tennessee | 1 | UPSL | Tennessee Tempo FC |
| 16 | Utah | 1 | UPSL | Provo Athletic Club |
* States without a team in the Open Cup Qualification: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

#### First qualifying round

The first qualifying round matches were played on September 9 and 10. 67 clubs will get First qualifying Round Byes.
* Byes: Arlington SA, Athletic Katy FC, Austin Longhorns, Austin Thunder, Berber City FC, Boston Street FC, Brockton FC United, CD Faialense, CFL GOSA Spurs, Chargers Soccer Club, Chicago House AC, Chicago Strikers, Christos FC, City Soccer FC, Colonial SC, Coronado Athletic Club, Daggers CTX, Deportivo Lake Mary FC, Edgewater Castle Football Club, Escondido FC, FC Birmingham, FC Denver, FC Omens, Florida Brothers, Florida Premier FC, Foro SC, Harbor City FC, Hodler Miami FC, Houston FC, IASC Boom, Kalonji Pro-Profile, Leg-AZ World FC, Majestic Soccer Club, Miami United FC, Mint Hill FC, Murrieta Soccer Academy, New Jersey Alliance FC, North Georgia United, NoVa FC, Orlando FC Wolves, Parkland Soccer Club, Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, Provo Athletic Club, Real Center NJ Soccer, Rebels SC, Royal Palms Soccer Club, Sahara Gunners FC, Santa Monica Surf, SC Union Maricopa, SC Vistula Garfield, Sharktopus Football Club, Soccer Paradise FC, South Carolina United Heat, Sporting Arizona FC, Steel Pulse FC, Temecula Football Club, Tenfifteen FC, Tennessee Tempo FC, Terminus FC, Trojans FC, UDA Soccer, United German Hungarians, Valhalla FC, Vereinigung Erzgebirge, Villarreal CF Virginia, Wisloka Chicago, Yinz United

#### Second qualifying round

The second qualifying round matches were played on September 30 and October 1 & 3, 2023.

#### Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round matches were played on October 21 & 22, 2023.

#### Fourth qualifying round

The fourth qualifying round matches were played on November 18 & 19, 2023.