For those not existing in our section of the soccer world, this announcement was almost certainly ignored and probably with good reason. Any fan of an MLS club or even a USL Championship side needn’t waste time or energy with us lower league types. But if you’re one of us sickos, US Soccer made a big announcement yesterday that will impact your club of choice and their pathway to the Open Cup.

The Big Picture in Two Parts

Effectively the announcement was two parts. The first (and probably not as interesting to most) is the qualifying schedule of the 16 open division spots. These are play-in spots that teams compete for every year, usually in three or four rounds (depending on number of applicants). For the lower league sickos, qualifying is really the best time of the year, almost like the group stages of the World Cup. Everyone’s playing matches, people are punching tickets, and everything is hope and sunshine. Of course, when they qualify for the Cup proper, that’s when the big boys start stomping them out (but that’s a topic for a different day).

The dates for the qualifying rounds, should you be a true sicko, are as follows:

September 12-13, 2026
October 3-4, 2026
October 31-November 1, 2026
November 21-22, 2026

So that’s the first part of the announcement, though the second part will be the more interesting section of this article. The second half focused on the means of dispersal of the remaining 16 Open Division slots for the US Open Cup: who gets in and from where. While 16 of those 32 are achieved through the play-in tournament, the other 16 entries are a combination of tournament winners, league champions, and league allocations.

David Applegate, US Soccer’s Director of Competitions, offered some insight on how the slots were divided. “The factors we consider when we evaluate competitions to receive byes into the First Round include historical competitiveness in the Open Cup, the ability of clubs to field a full roster, and the operational ability to hosting a high-level match. We also consider that multiple leagues do not operate during the Qualifying Rounds. We want to keep engaging strong leagues and clubs that are critical to our pathways work and provide meaningful opportunities for development for young American players.”

I’d argue that the way US Soccer is divvying up the remaining 16 spots for the Open Cup offers some insight into where the organization is placing value, :

John Motta Trophy holder (amateur team that advances the furthest in the tournament the year before)
USASA Amateur Cup Champion
2026 Steinbrecher Cup Champion
NPSL 2026 Champion
The League for Clubs 2026 Champion
UPSL Spring 2026 Champion
USL League Two 2026 Champion

If you’re counting, that’s seven teams qualifying for the Open Cup either by succeeding in the tournament the year before, winning either of the two big amateur tournaments, or winning in one of the four national amateur leagues (NPSL, UPSL, TLfC, USL2). But, as you can probably tell, seven spots leaves another nine tickets to be punched. These were divided between the NPSL (2), UPSL (1), and USL2 (6).

So What Does It Mean?

I have a few thoughts here and you’re welcome to disagree with me, but here goes:

US Soccer continues to place value on the Amateur Cup and Hank Steinbrecher Cup. I 100% agree with that value. Cup competitions are a great way for lower league clubs to build value and importance. Even the smallest club can put a good run in and find a way into the US Open Cup. On the flip side, those competitions need to be tweaked and modified to remain relevant, but, regardless, long live cup competitions!
It’s definitely a vote of confidence for The League for Clubs from US Soccer. While the league is brand new, it’s well-run and growing. US Soccer giving them a champion’s spot is a win for the young league, without a doubt. Dennis Crowley, one of the founders of TLfC and Kingston Stockade, sees the guaranteed spot as “incredibly exciting.” He further responded that “chasing a USOC spot was a big part of Stockade’s origin story and I’m psyched that the new clubs entering TLfC will be able to dream big and chase the same milestone we set our sights on.” David Applegate, when asked about the potential expansion of slots for TLfC’s, responded that “League for Clubs could gain slots in the future. The slot allocations will be reviewed annually and can evolve as the elite adult amateur landscape also grows and evolves.”
While the UPSL has had its issues, there is zero denying that it’s an important part of the amateur soccer ecosystem and having two spots allows the league to either reward the Fall champion or do something more creative with the second spot.
USL League Two is the top dog now. There was a time when the NPSL was considered the most important men’s amateur league in the country, that is simply no longer the case now. USL League Two features 158 teams competing in 20 divisions across the country and is now the league of record. Gifting the league seven slots for the Open Cup is a direct reflection of the value US Soccer is placing on the USL’s preprofessional work.

All that being said, it’s exciting to see that the qualifying rounds for the US Open Cup are less than two months away from kick off.

- Dan Vaughn

Dennis Crowley and David Applegate responded to media requests and their quotes have been added to the article.