U.S. Soccer announced today the competition format approved by the U.S. Soccer Open Cup Committee for the 2022 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Sporting Kansas City will be one of eight MLS teams to enter the single-elimination competition in the Round of 32, while the remaining 17 MLS clubs participating in the tournament will enter one round earlier.
- Teams entering in Round of 32: Colorado Rapids, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, New York City FC, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City
The 2020 and 2021 editions of U.S. Soccer’s national championship were canceled due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Sporting Kansas City has won the U.S. Open Cup four times in club history with triumphs in 2004, 2012, 2015 and 2017.
The 2022 format increases the number of matches between MLS teams and those from lower divisions and it also increases the opportunity for up to 24 lower division clubs to reach the Round of 32, up from 11 in 2019.
Additionally, the Open Cup Committee determined that all eligible professional Division II and Division III sides will enter in the Second Round, while teams from the Open Division – which encompasses all clubs and leagues outside of the three professional divisions – will begin in the First Round (March 22-23).
The expanded tournament calendar will allow rounds to take place at least two weeks apart, providing additional time for home teams to market and sell tickets and for visiting clubs to arrange travel earlier at lower cost. In 2019, only one week separated the First and Second Rounds, as well as the Rounds of 32 and 16.
As importantly, for the first time in the Open Cup’s modern era when all eligible pro teams are participating (2012 to present), all rounds involving professional clubs will take place outside of national team call-up periods. This scheduling feature, customary for all major domestic cup competitions throughout the world, will allow all the top players, barring injury or suspension, to be available for selection for every round.
2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule
March 22-23: First Round (Open Division teams enter)
April 5-7: Second Round (Division II and III teams enter)
April 19-21: Third Round (17 MLS teams enter)
April 22: Round of 32 Draw
May 10-11: Round of 32 (remaining 8 MLS teams enter)
May 12: Round of 16/Quarterfinal Draw
May 24-25: Round of 16
June 21-22: Quarterfinals
June 23: Semifinal/Final Hosting Draw
July 26-27: Semifinals
Sept. 6-7 or 13-14: Final
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Heading into its 107th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer's national championship – is the only high-profile competition in American team sports where amateur sides can face professionals in meaningful competition. The history-filled tournament, conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, crowned a champion annually from 1914 until 2019, with a hiatus for the last two years due to the pandemic.
In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third-longest continuously running open soccer tournament was renamed to honor United States soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2022 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League 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.
The official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is usopencup.com. Matches during the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
