It’s been a long and arduous process but it appears that we have clarity regarding the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

U.S. Soccer finalized the tournament format for the upcoming 2024 version of the historic competition on Friday afternoon. This year’s version of the U.S. Open Cup includes 96 teams from across the amateur and professional ranks who will compete in 95 games from March to September.

Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer reached an agreement that includes eight MLS clubs and 11 MLS NEXT Pro teams competing in the Open Cup in 2024.

The eight MLS clubs include defending champion Houston Dynamo and the top seven ranked U.S.-based clubs according to the 2023 MLS Supporters’ Shield standings, other than clubs playing in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. MLS Cup Champion Columbus Crew and Supporter Shield winners FC Cincinnati will not compete in the historic tournament.

In addition to Houston, fans will see Atlanta United, FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas City, Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders.

Joining the MLS clubs from MLS NEXT Pro are Austin FC II, Carolina Core, Chattanooga FC, Chicago Fire II, Colorado Rapids 2, Crown Legacy FC (Charlotte), Los Angeles Galaxy II, Minnesota United II, New York City FC II, New York Red Bull II, and Portland Timbers FC II.

“We look forward to continuing our work with U.S. Soccer and all Open Cup stakeholders to elevate the tournament, benefiting players, clubs, and fans alike,” the league said in a statement released Friday. Which is a deviation from what MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in Spring 2023.

” (The tournament is) a very poor reflection on what it is that we’re trying to do with soccer at the highest level,” Garber said during an open session of the U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors meeting in Frisco, Texas. He doubled down on those claims saying “games are hard to find for viewers and are played on subpar fields.”

Despite the claims from Garber, U.S. Soccer will make its largest-ever investment into the tournament this season. New commercial partners such as Marriott, Michelob Ultra, and Nike have come aboard to help provide financial incentives for competing teams, including significantly raising travel reimbursement for all clubs involved.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer’s Club Championship and has crowned a champion annually since 1914 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). The historic tournament is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer and is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world’s third-longest continuously run national cup tournament.