Atlanta United to participate in 2026 U.S. Open Cup
Atlanta will be one of 16 MLS teams participating in the domestic cup, with a Concacaf Champions Cup berth at stake.
Atlanta United announced today that it will be back in the U.S. Open Cup this season, a tournament it won in 2019. Atlanta United is one of 16 MLS teams that will enter the tournament in the Round of 32, with matches scheduled to take place April 14 or 15.
It was publicized earlier this week that season ticket holders’ “18th game” on their package would be for the United States’ World Cup tuneup match against Belgium on March 28 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In prior years, that extra game would’ve been Atlanta United’s opening U.S. Open Cup match, so anyone looking to attend U.S. Open Cup games will need to purchase tickets, though information (including the venue where the team will play) will be made public at a later date.
Atlanta United will be one of 80 teams contesting a $1 million purse with a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup also up for grabs. CBS Sports will return as the multi-media rights partner for the 2026 competition.
Here’s more detail on the tournament format according to Atlanta United’s press release:
The 2026 U.S. Open Cup format will feature seven rounds – one fewer than recent editions – to avoid overlap with the FIFA Men’s World Cup calendar.
Because the competition features one fewer round, the field of professional teams has been reduced from 64 to 48, with slots for each professional division allocated as evenly as possible. League standings will serve as qualifying criteria to determine which professional teams are eligible, therefore all teams participating in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup must have played a league season in 2025.
The First Round will be played on March 17, 18 and 19 and will continue its format of 32 matches featuring teams from the Open Division facing off against a professional opponent. The amateurs will face off against one of 17 professional teams from Division II or 15 professional teams from Division III. The 32 winners from the First Round will face off in a Second-Round matchup on March 31 or April 1.
Each of the 16 teams that advance from the Second Round will face one of the 16 Division I professional teams from MLS in the Round of 32 on April 13 or 15. Eight of the MLS teams will be seeded as home and eight will be seeded as away ahead of this draw based on the qualifying criteria.
The final 32 teams will play down to a field of four semifinalists in May before the competition breaks until the semifinals on Sept. 15 or 16. The final match is slated for Wednesday, Oct. 21.
2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule
First Round: Tuesday, March 17 – Thursday, March 19
Second Round: Tuesday, March 31 – Wednesday, April 1
Round of 32: Tuesday, April 14 – Wednesday, April 15
Round of 16: Tuesday, April 28 – Wednesday, April 29
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, May 19 – Wednesday, May 20
Semifinals: Tuesday, Sept. 15 - Wednesday, Sept. 16
Final: Wednesday, Oct. 21
First and Second Round draws and schedules will be announced by U.S. Soccer in January. The first live draw will be held Tuesday, April 2, when the Round of 32 and subsequent round pairings will be determined.
The overall format, draw groups and pairings will be based on geography, along with the basic mathematic principles of a single-elimination competition. Random selection will be used to solve a lack of logistical geographic fit. Draw groups may be created to account for venue availability in any round, based on the league schedule of competing teams or other conditions per tournament regulations.