MLS Returns to U.S. Open Cup in 2026

MLS is heading back to the U.S. Open Cup – and this time, it’s all in.

After last year’s stand-off, the league will re-enter the historic competition in 2026, with its clubs joining at the round of 64 in mid-July. Every MLS side involved will host its tie, forcing lower-division and amateur teams to step into MLS stadiums if they want to keep their cup dreams alive.

It’s a sharp turn from 2023, when MLS walked away from the tournament and pointed to fixture congestion as the culprit. The league tried to send its MLS Next Pro reserve teams instead. U.S. Soccer said no. The standoff left a sour taste, especially as the newly expanded Leagues Cup filled the summer calendar.

The backlash was loud and pointed. Supporters across the league accused MLS of abandoning the country’s oldest soccer competition in favor of a made-for-TV, made-for-money summer showcase. In Seattle, the anger boiled over. Seattle Sounders fans, long proud of their club’s Open Cup pedigree, boycotted Leagues Cup matches and accused MLS of turning its back on tradition for a more lucrative product.

Now, the reversal lands as a clear win for those fans, who argued that the Open Cup’s history and open-door format matter more than another branded tournament. The decision restores a pathway that lets amateur sides and lower-league outfits test themselves against the country’s biggest clubs on a national stage.

It’s also a timely boost for the rest of the American pyramid. USL, which has steadily built its own identity outside MLS’s orbit, is preparing for a seismic shift of its own. From 2028, USL plans to operate as a Division I league and introduce promotion and relegation – the very structure MLS has repeatedly declined to adopt. In that context, a fully stocked Open Cup, with MLS, USL and amateurs all in the same draw, becomes an even more compelling battleground.

Every year, 32 amateur teams enter the competition. For them, the guarantee that MLS sides will be waiting in the round of 64 – and that those games will be played in big stadiums, under bright lights – is invaluable. It’s exposure, it’s experience, and sometimes, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime upset.

For all the boardroom wrangling and scheduling wars, the tournament itself has endured. The 2026 edition is rolling toward its climax, with four MLS clubs already locked into the semifinals and chasing a place in the final on Sept. 14. The U.S. Open Cup has existed in one form or another since 1914. It has outlasted leagues, owners, and eras.

Now MLS is back in the fold. The question is no longer whether the league will show up – it’s which club will embrace the chaos, the travel, the unfamiliar opponents, and add its name to a trophy that tells the story of American soccer better than any press release ever could.