U.S. Open Cup

Forty teams are entered in annual tournament.

(Thursday, January 29, 2004) -- All 10 Major League Soccer teams clubs will be among the 40 teams competing in the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup which begins in the first week of June.

After 34 teams participated in 2003, six additional teams will take part in the tournament this year, marking the most teams since MLS began participating in 1996. In addition to MLS, there will be a total of eight teams from the A-League (second division), six from the Pro Soccer League (third division), eight from the Premier Development League (fourth division) and eight from the United States Adult Soccer Association.

Four of the added teams will come from the USASA regional qualifiers. The fourth-division PDL of the United Soccer Leagues will go from six to eight sides.

First-round pairings will be announced May 25 with the first round will played on June 2 and 8. The defending champion Chicago Fire of MLS enters the tournament July 20 in the fourth round. The semifinals will be played August 24-25 with the title set for September 22, almost one month earlier than last year.

The first round will feature match-ups between USASA teams from the PDL and regional qualifiers. In the second round, six teams from the USL's PSL and two from the USL's second-division A-League join the mix to take on first-round winners.

The third round will be played June 30 with second-round survivors going against six more A-League teams, plus the Columbus Crew and Dallas Burn, the two MLS teams that failed to make the 2003 playoffs. The balance of MLS teams will enter in the fourth round to take on the third-round winners. The annual U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation's national championship, is open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with the USSF. The team that advances the furthest from each level except the first-division MLS earns a $10,000 cash prize. The tournament champion collects $100,000 and has its name etched on the Dewar Cup. The runnerup earns $50,000.