2026 U.S. Open Cup qualification
The 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification served as local qualification for the 111th edition of the oldest soccer tournament in the United States. The tournament proper will feature both professional and amateur teams in the States soccer league system.
Qualification for the 2026 tournament included local qualifying matches contested by 145 amateur teams, fighting for 16 local qualifying slots, and will take place in 2025. United Premier Soccer League has the highest representation with 66 teams entering the tournament. Three teams have already qualified, West Chester United SC by winning the 2025 National Amateur Cup, Tennessee Tempo FC by winning the 2025 United Premier Soccer League Spring Championships, and the 2025 John Motta Trophy Winner El Farolito SC, the Open Division Prize Winner from the 2025 tournament.
Qualification procedure
Clubs based in the United States that play in a league that is an organization member of U.S. Soccer are generally eligible to compete for the U.S. Open Cup, so long as their league includes at least four teams and has a schedule of at least 10 matches for each club. To be eligible, teams must be members in good standing of their leagues on December 31, 2025, and remain so through the 2026 final. Any team that started its first season of competition in an existing league must have started its new league's schedule no later 30 days prior to the Open Division Entry Deadline.Starting in 2019, the winner of the previous year's National Amateur Cup automatically qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup. The cup winner enters the tournament proper in the first round with the other local qualifiers. Beginning in 2024, the United Premier Soccer League Spring Champion also earned a direct entry into the first round proper of the tournament. Starting in 2025, the Open-Division team that performed the best in the previous tournament are awarded the John Motta Trophy and granted direct access into the tournament proper. These three teams along with the 16 local qualifiers account for 19 of the 32 amateur teams that qualify for the tournament proper in 2025. The other 13 teams come from the National Premier Soccer League and USL League Two. Four teams from National Premier Soccer League and nine teams from USL League Two qualify through national league pathways, which use previous summer season standings to determine teams that qualify.
Amateur qualification
National Amateur Cup
West Chester United SC defeated RWB Adria 4–3 in extra time, to win the 2025 National Amateur Cup and qualify for the 2026 U.S. Open Cup.United Premier Soccer League Spring Champions
Tennessee Tempo FC defeated LA10 FC 1–0, to win the 2025 UPSL Spring Championships and earning a direct qualification into the 2026 U.S. Open Cup.John Motta Trophy winner
El Farolito SC advanced the furthest in the 2025 U.S. Open Cup, earning both the $50,000 bonus and the John Motta Trophy. Based on their performance in the previous tournament, El Farolito qualifies directly into the 2026 U.S. Open Cup.Local qualifying
U.S. Soccer originally announced that 146 teams would participate in local qualifying. Four rounds of local qualifying matches will result in 16 clubs advancing to the tournament proper. The teams will be organized into 16 regional pools prior to the qualifying round draw.Number of teams by state and league
A total of 29 states and the District of Columbia are represented by clubs in the U.S. Open Cup Qualification this year.| States | Number | League | Teams | |
| 1 |  FloridaFirst Qualifying RoundThe first qualifying round matches were held on September 13 & 14, 2025. 101 clubs got first qualifying round byes.
Second Qualifying RoundThe second qualifying round matches took place October 10–14, 2025. 5 clubs got second qualifying round byes.
Re-playReplay was ordered by USSF after Sharktopus successfully protested the first match after discovering the referee was a member of the Bellevue Athletic organization.Third Qualifying RoundThe fifty-nine second round winners and five teams that received second round byes played the third qualifying round November 1-2.Final Qualifying RoundThe thirty-two third round winners played the fourth and final qualifying round November 22–23. The winner of each of the 16 ties officially qualified for the 2026 U.S. Open Cup. |