On Friday, the US Soccer Federation announced that New York Red Bulls II had been selected to compete in the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Meanwhile, the first team, the New York Red Bulls, will not compete.
The Red Bulls II, led by head coach Ibrahim Sekagya, will participate in the in-season tournament for the first time since 2015. The Red Bulls II will be one of 11 MLS NEXT Pro teams that will compete, excluding teams with an MLS first team competing in the US Open Cup or CONCACAF Champions League.
The list of MLS NEXT Pro clubs competing includes Red Bulls II's rival NYCFC II and 11 other clubs. 19 MLS and MLS NEXT Pro clubs will compete, or roughly 20 percent of the total 96 clubs participating in the tournament.
Only 8 MLS teams will participate in the US Open Cup this year.
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According to ussoccer.com, all 32 first-round matchups will be between amateur and professional teams. These matchups will involve 32 amateur clubs from the "Open Division" meeting 32 professional clubs from "Division III." The first round will take place from March 19 to 21.
The Open Division will include 11 qualifying round winners, 11 USL League II 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. Potential opponents for Red Bulls II include FC Motown of NPSL or Newtown Pride FC, USASA Region I champion in 2023.
Only eight out of Major League Soccer's 26 American teams will compete in the US Open Cup, including Atlanta United FC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, Sporting Kansas City, LAFC, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, and Seattle Sounders.
Inter Miami is a notable team that will not compete, which means fans will not be able to see former FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi compete in the US Open Cup. However, superstars are not what the US Open Cup is about; it's about giving amateur clubs that don't usually get shown in the national spotlight a chance to show what they can do and this year's iteration of the 109-year-old tournament will do just that. Who knows we may see Newtown Pride FC face the New York Red Bulls II in the first round on Mar. 19 so stay tuned!
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