The 2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was planned to be the 107th edition of the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. After the 2020 competition was suspended and ultimately canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

announced that qualification for the 2021 Open Cup would be canceled and all 100 teams that had qualified for that competition would be invited back. On February 8, 2021, the U.S. Soccer Federation backtracked and stated that only 24 teams would be allowed to participate in a new abbreviated tournament, with the exact qualification details still being determined. On March 29, US Soccer announced the tournament would be downsized to 16 teams who would play four rounds. The opening round was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the Open Cup Committee will convene to decide whether the competition can proceed. The tournament will feature eight

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

teams, four

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

teams, one

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

team, one

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...

team, and two teams from the Open Division determined by a random draw. On April 16, US Soccer announced that the tournament would not be held in the spring due to a combination of financial and logistical issues, and that they were evaluating holding the tournament later in the year. On July 20, US Soccer finally announced that the tournament would be cancelled for 2021 and would resume in 2022.

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began p ...

won the previous tournament after defeating

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Soc ...

in the 2019 final.

Qualification

The list of eligible teams for the 2021 tournament features 102 teams including 64 professional sides. Two professional teams became eligible since the 2019 tournament (

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American semi-professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The team served as a ...

and

FC Tucson FC Tucson is an American soccer club based in Tucson, Arizona that plays in USL League Two. The club has an amateur women’s team, FC Tucson Women, that play in the WPSL. Organized in 2010, the club first fielded a team in March 2011, then joine ...

) and two have folded (

Reno 1868 FC Reno 1868 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 2015, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in March 2017 and ceased operations after the 2020 season. History Previously, northern Nevada has ...

and 2019 quarterfinalists

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wi ...

). Entrants include the American clubs from across the soccer leagues system, with timing determined by league division. These include the 24 American clubs of

, as well as the teams in the

and

that are not owned or operated by an MLS and USL Championship (in case of USL League One). ; MLS-affiliated clubs from these leagues are eligible. In addition, clubs from the

(NISA), a sanctioned Division III league, are set to take part. This would be the first time two professional leagues from the same tier have both competed in the tournament since 2017. Both Crossfire Redmond and

GPS Portland Phoenix GPS Portland Phoenix was an American soccer team based in Portland, Maine. Founded in 2009, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. It has not played ...

qualified for the 2020 tournament through league results in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the U ...

and

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

respectively. However, neither were listed as eligible in U.S. Soccer's announcement. The four participating USL Championship teams will be the USL Championship 2020 semifinal playoff teams: El Paso Locomotive FC, Louisville City FC, Phoenix Rising FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Number of teams by state

The eligible 2021 field represents a total of 34 states and the District of Columbia. States without a team in the Open Cup: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Broadcasting

All matches from the first round to the final were expected to be streamed on

ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. U.S. Soccer and ESPN signed a 4-year deal to air the tournament in 2019.

References

External links

* at

U.S. Soccer The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a ...

TheCup.us
an independent news site covering the U.S. Open Cup {{2021–22 in North and Central America, and Caribbean football (CONCACAF) U.S. Open Cup

U.S. Open Cup, 2021 US Open Cup, 2021