Sporting Kansas City will kick off its 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign next April, entering in the Third Round of U.S. Soccer's National Championship.
U.S. Soccer announced today its first major restructuring of the U.S. Open Cup since 2012. In a significant move, the competition format for 2020 will require 11 MLS clubs—including Sporting Kansas City—to enter in the Third Round, one round earlier than in recent years.
The remaining 12 MLS clubs, which will include the four USA entrants to the 2020 Concacaf Champions League and the next four best American regular-season finishers in each of the league's Eastern and Western Conferences in 2019, will enter in the Round of 32 (previously labeled the Fourth Round).