Atlanta United selected as 1 of 8 MLS teams in U.S. Open Cup

Atlanta United will take part in the 96-team 2024 U.S. Open Cup, it was announced Friday.

U.S. Soccer finalized the format for the U.S. Open Cup, which includes teams from across the amateur and pro ranks playing a total of 95 matches from March to September.

In a shift for the tournament, the first round will mark the first time since 2008 that all 32 matchups will be exclusively between amateur and professional teams.

In addition to Atlanta United, the MLS teams that will participate are FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, Los Angeles FC, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC and Sporting Kansas City.

Atlanta United will field a mix of first team and Atlanta United 2 players, as it has done in the past.

The first round consists of 32 games with 32 amateur clubs from the Open Division meeting 32 professional teams from Division III. The Open Division representatives include 11 qualifying-round winners, 11 USL League Two teams, eight NPSL teams, the USASA National Amateur Cup champion and the UPSL spring champion. Division III representatives include 12 USL League One teams, nine NISA teams and 11 MLS Next Pro teams. The winners of the first round will play each other in the second round of the tournament.

The second-round winners then will be matched up against the 16 Division II professional teams from the USL Championship, which enter the competition in the third round. The remaining eight USL Championship teams and eight MLS teams enter in the Round of 32, along with the winners from the third round. Those eight USL Championship teams include 2023 league champion Phoenix Rising FC and the next seven best teams from the 2023 standings.

The MLS clubs participating in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, and their MLS Next Pro teams, were excluded from the selection process, which was determined based on results in the 2023 MLS regular season.

The U.S. Open cup has been played every year since 1914 except for a pause for COVID19 in 2020.