Bay Area amateur teams El Farolito and San Ramon FC will play a professional team in the first round of the 2026 US Open Cup in March, but they will not face off against the Oakland Roots, who did not qualify for next year’s tournament.
If either of the two amateur sides advances past the first round, they will likely face the MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park in the tournament’s second round.
Open to any American pro or amateur team that qualifies, the US Open Cup is one of the oldest cup tournaments in the world, having crowned a champion every year (except during the 2020-21 Covid-19 pandemic) since 1914. In 2025, El Farolito reached the third round of the tournament, advancing farther than any other amateur team, beating pro sides Real Monarchs 3-1 and Monterey Bay 2-1, before falling to Sacramento Republic 1-0.
Because of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in the USA, taking several weeks out of the club teams’ summer schedules, the tournament had to be reduced from the typical eight rounds to seven. As a result, only 48 pro teams qualified for the tournament, down from 64 in the 2025 edition.
The first round will pit the top 17 Division II teams and the 15 Division III teams (excluding MLS Next Pro affiliates) against the 32 amateur team qualifiers. Sixteen MLS teams will join the competition in the second round, which includes the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Division II sides were ranked by their 2025 league standings. Oakland Roots did not finish among the top 17 teams in the second division USL Championship and did not qualify for the 2026 tournament.
El Farolito qualified for the 2026 US Open Cup after winning the 2025 John Motta Trophy.
San Ramon made the tournament by winning three qualifier games, including a 2-1 triumph over The Olympic Club in November, which booked its ticket to the tournament.
According to the tournament rules, first-round games will be based on geography, but random selection will be used to solve a lack of logical geographic fit.
The only lower-division Northern California pro team to qualify for the 2026 US Open Cup was Sacramento Republic. They will possibly face either El Farolito or San Ramon FC in the first round, while the other team’s opponent will be selected at random.
The US Open Cup first round will take place between March 17 and March 19, while the second round will take place between March 31 and April 1. US Soccer will announce the draws for both rounds in January.
