U.S. Soccer announces new format, schedule plan for 2021 Open Cup

Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesThe U.S. Open Cup is coming back in 2021 but it will look rather different than fans remember. America’s club soccer cup competition was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will return this May with major changes. The 107th edition of the tournament will be reduced to just a five-round tournament with just 24 teams, instead of 84 from 2019. Only eight of the 24 teams for the Open Cup will be from Major League Soccer.

The Open Cup is scheduled to begin on May 4 and 5 with the preliminary round and conclude on June 29 or 30 with the tournament’s final. This congested schedule to complete the tournament is due to…