The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a tournament in which all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S Soccer can join.
The first tournament took place in 1914, making the Open Cup the longest-running soccer competition in the United States.
The competition was renamed to honor Lamar Hunt in 1999, an American soccer pioneer.
Hunt founded the American Football League in 1959, which later merged into the NFL and coined the name ‘’Super Bowl’’. Hunt was also one of the original founding investors of the MLS, which debuted in 1996, where he owned two teams (Columbus Crew and the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City)). He later on bought the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) and financed the construction of soccer-specific stadiums. Hunt was inducted into the soccer hall of fame in 1992 and was awarded its Medal of Honor in 1999.
This tournament is played in a single-game-knockout method, which means excitement is guaranteed!
The MLS joined the Open Cup competition in the 1996 season and their teams have dominated the competition since. However, in 1999 the Rochester Rhinos were able to win the U.S. Open Cup as a lower division team and Charleston Battery was able to reach the final in 2008.
Forward Madison has had success in the Open Cup in the past, being the last USL League One squad in the competition in 2019. FMFC beat USL Championship squad El Paso Locomotive before eventually falling to St. Louis of the USL Championship (at the time). Forward Madison FC will be hosting its first U.S. Open Cup game on April 6th this year! The Flamingos will either play against Cleveland SC or Chicago FC United who will have their First Round match March 22nd at 6:15 CT.
