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The Miami FC Preseason Scrimmage Against Inter Miami CF Postponed.

MIAMI (March 19, 2021) – The Miami FC announced today that its previously scheduled preseason scrimmage against Inter Miami CF has been postponed. The scrimmage was set to take place on Saturday, March 20 at the Inter Miami CF Training Center.

The decision to postpone the scrimmage has been made out of an abundance of caution following one of the club’s covered persons testing positive for COVID-19. The individual has been immediately isolated at home, is recovering in good spirits under the care of team physicians and infectious disease experts, and all league, local and state health and wellness protocols are being followed.

A rescheduled date for the postponed scrimmage will be announced when available.

Miami FC to visit Inter Miami on March 20

MIAMI (March 3, 2021) — The Miami FC announced their preseason schedule on Wednesday, with the highlight being the first-ever meeting between Miami FC and Inter Miami CF. That match will take place in Ft. Lauderdale at Inter Miami CF Stadium on Saturday, March 20.

The 2021 preseason kicked off mid-February, with Miami FC training at Florida International University, which will be where the club will play all its USL Championship home matches this season.

Miami FC’s preparation for their second USL Championship season will kick off on Saturday, March 13, when they visit Naples United FC at Paradise Coast Sports Complex on the west coast of Florida. The following Saturday, Miami FC will travel north to Ft. Lauderdale to face Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami. This match will be closed-doors to fans.

The club will continue playing high-level opposition with a March 27 match scheduled against New York Red Bulls at IMG Academy. The four match will feature an away trip up to Orlando on March 6, when Miami FC faces MLS’ Orlando City. All three MLS opponents will present tough challenges for Miami FC, as all of them reached the 2020 MLS Playoffs.

All kickoff times are to be determined, while all preseason tests against Major League Soccer opponents will be played behind closed-doors. 

2021 PRESEASON SCHEDULE

Saturday, March 13th – at Naples United FC – Paradise Coast Sports Complex
Saturday, March 20th – at Inter Miami CF – Inter Miami CF Stadium
Saturday, March 27th – at New York Red Bull’s – IMG Academy
Tuesday, April 6th – at Orlando City SC – Orlando City SC Training Facility

31 teams to compete across four divisions in 32-game regular season.

TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship today announced its league alignment for the 2021 regular season. The Miami FC will enter the 2021 season in the Atlantic Division, alongside defending Eastern Conference Title-holder Tampa Bay Rowdies. Alongside Miami’s in-state rival will be the Charleston Battery, Charlotte Independence, Hartford Athletic, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Loudoun United FC and the New York Red Bulls II.

The league will feature 31 teams across four divisions and two conferences in the upcoming season, with the clubs set to embark on a 32-game regular-season schedule that will be conducted over 27 weeks. 

As previously announced, the Championship’s regular season will begin on or about May 1st, while employing a flexible start date that allows clubs to begin to play anywhere between April 24th and May 15th.

The four divisions are aligned across the country producing the Atlantic, Central, Mountain and Pacific Divisions. The Atlantic and Central Division will make up the Eastern Conference, while the Mountain and Pacific Divisions will make up the Western Conference.

Six-time Eastern Conference Finalist Louisville City FC leads the Central Division, where it is joined by local rival Indy Eleven and the trio of Atlanta United 2, Birmingham Legion FC, and Memphis 901 FC. Oklahoma rivals FC Tulsa and OKC Energy FC also join the Central Division, which is completed by Sporting Kansas City II.

Back-to-back Western Conference Finalist El Paso Locomotive FC leads the quartet of Texas clubs in the Mountain Division, with Austin Bold FC, Rio Grande Valley FC and San Antonio FC set to compete for the Copa Tejas throughout the campaign. The lone seven-team division is completed by Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, New Mexico United and Real Monarchs SLC.

Defending Western Conference Title-holder Phoenix Rising FC enters the campaign as part of the Pacific Division, where it will square off with the Championship’s five California-based clubs – the LA Galaxy II, newcomer Oakland Roots SC, Orange County SC, Sacramento Republic FC and San Diego Loyal SC. Las Vegas Lights FC and Tacoma Defiance complete the Pacific Division lineup. 

2021 USL CHAMPIONSHIP CONFERENCE ALIGNMENT
EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division
Charleston Battery
Charlotte Independence
Hartford Athletic
Miami FC
New York Red Bulls II
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Tampa Bay Rowdies

Central Division
Atlanta United 2
Birmingham Legion FC
FC Tulsa
Indy Eleven
Louisville City FC
Memphis 901 FC
OKC Energy
Sporting Kansas City II

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Mountain Division
Austin Bold FC
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
El Paso Locomotive FC
New Mexico United
Real Monarchs SLC
Rio Grande Valley FC
San Antonio FC

Pacific Division
LA Galaxy II
Las Vegas Lights
Oakland Roots SC
Orange County SC
Phoenix Rising FC
Sacramento Republic FC
San Diego Loyal SC
Tacoma Defiance

During the regular season, each team will play its division opponents four times – twice home, twice away. In the Atlantic, Central and Pacific Divisions, the four remaining games will be played against regional or cross-conference opponents. In the Mountain Division, the remaining eight games will be played against regional or cross-conference opponents. 

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for competition-related announcements on home openers for the 2021 USL Championship season, the 2021 ESPN national broadcast schedule, and the full 2021 regular-season schedule.

MIAMI (February 17, 2021) – The Miami FC announced on Wednesday the signing of left back Luca Antonelli, pending league and federation approval. Antonelli brings a wealth of experience to the club having played for the Italian national team, while also featuring in over 200 Serie A matches and several Europa League fixtures.

“Luca’s quality speaks for itself,” said Miami FC head coach and technical director Paul Dalglish. “The former Italian international and A.C. Milan defender has plenty of miles left in his tank and we’re excited to have him here for this upcoming season. We’ve got plenty of young players on our team and bringing in someone with his experience will help us develop them both on and off the field.”

Born in Monza, Italy, Antonelli began his career at Italian giant A.C. Milan, working his way up the youth ranks until reaching the first team. Despite not making an appearance in his first season, Antonelli was on the bench in two 2006/07 UEFA Champions League matches, which A.C. Milan would go on to defeat Liverpool 2-1 in the final. A year later he would be loaned out to Serie B club Bari, where he would make 20 appearances in his six months at the club.

His impressive performances earned him another loan spell, this time with Serie A’s Parma. After featuring in eight matches, Parma acquired Antonelli permanently in June 2008 to help the club’s fight for promotion after being relegated after the 2007/08 campaign.

His 2008/09 season in Serie B saw him feature in 16 total matches, helping Parma return to Serie A. The club went on to secure Antonelli’s remaining rights from A.C. Milan towards the end of the 2009 season. The left back would remain at Parma until the end of 2010, having played a total of 61 matches, scoring one goal and adding two assists to his name. Towards the end of his time at Parma, Antonelli caught the eye of the Italian national team, making his senior debut in October 2010 in a UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifiers against Faroe Islands.

His success at Parma earned him a transfer to Serie A’s Genoa, where in a short time he earned the starting spot over Domenico Criscito. Antonelli, 33, spent nearly five seasons at Genoa, making 109 appearances for the club while netting eight goals and recording ten assists.

In February 2015, Antonelli would rejoin his childhood club A.C. Milan and a year later would play a part in the club’s 2016 Supercoppa Italiana victory over Juventus. In four seasons at one of Italy’s most prominent clubs, the defender played in 69 matches, where he scored five goals and had five assists. Following the 2017/18 campaign, he departed Milan to join FC Empoli, where he would feature until the end of the 2020 season.

In total, Antonelli would make 13 appearances for the Italian national team from 2010 to 2016, while also playing in 215 Serie A and 42 Serie B matches. He now joins Miami FC ahead of the club’s second USL Championship season, with the goal of using his experience to help the club continue its winning tradition.

With the signing of Antonelli, the club’s roster is as follows:

Goalkeeper (2): Brian Sylvestre, Connor Sparrow
Defenders (7): Paco Craig, Ramon Martin Del Campo, Sean McFarlane, János Löbe, Othello Bah, Callum Chapman-Page, Luca Antonelli
Midfielders (5): Lance Rozeboom, Devon “Speedy” Williams, Junior Palacios, Bolu Akinyode, Jahshaun Anglin
Forwards (7): Christiano François, Billy Forbes, Pierre da Silva, Richard Ballard, Ariel Martinez, Adonijah Reid, Lamar Walker

Select Super Brillant has provided outstanding on-field performance over past three seasons

TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship and its official match ball provider, Select, revealed today its new Select Super Brillant match ball for the 2021 Championship season. 

The Select Super Brillant has been the official ball of the Championship since the 2018 season and has provided high-level performance for the Championship’s clubs since its introduction. All league balls for the new season will have a new gold, black and turquoise design, and will be embossed with the Championship’s logo.

“The partnership between the USL and Select has gone from strength to strength over the past three seasons,” said USL President Jake Edwards. “The Select Super Brillant has provided outstanding consistency to our players on the field. We look forward to many more great performances by our players and teams as they compete for the chance to claim victory in the USL Championship Final this year.

The Super Brillant features a Zero-Wing bladder made of high-performance latex, a concept that has been developed to ensure that both the ball and the bladder remain as round as possible. The ball – which also serves as the official ball of the German Bundesliga – also incorporates a built-in balance point at the opposite side of the valve hole, which helps ensure a perfectly balanced ball with a very lively bounce.

Additionally, the 32-panel design of the ball is lined with several layers of textile material, which helps to adjust the softness and stabilize the panels to ensure the ball retains its perfect shape. The ball’s outer layer is made of synthetic leather in polyurethane, with the two surfaces of the cover combining to provide a strong material with consistent softness. 

MIAMI (February 16, 2021) – As The Miami FC prepares to hit the training field on Thursday for their first session, we caught up with Head Coach Paul Dalglish to chat about what goes through a head coach’s mind in planning preseason.

“To be honest, right now I am just excited to get back on the training field and start coaching,” said Dalglish. “2020 was a year with so many emotions on and off the field, which included being in quarantine for most of it and then the abnormal short USL Championship season. We have a brand-new team and I know everyone in the club can’t wait to get to know each other and start taking the steps towards building a successful team.”

Miami FC, like most teams in the world, has faced several challenges in preparation for this 2021 preseason, which has included immigration hurdles as shown by defender Paco Craig and his journey to Poland to secure a U.S. Visa. This last example has been the tip of the iceberg, but both the coaching and operations staffs have worked diligently to try to get ahead of all protocols and make sure preseason can start as soon as possible with as many signed players in-market.

“Everyone in the staff has done an excellent job to go above and beyond to get preseason rolling so I think the players and myself know we need to put in the hard work to recognize their efforts,” mentioned Dalglish. “Planning preseason has been a real challenge as we are having several players and staff members arrive a week or two later than those already in the country. With that being said, we’ve adapted and prepared a preseason that we feel will get our players ready for the start of the season. We will start slow in order to make sure all players, both those in-market and those who haven’t been able to arrive, will be on the same page. We don’t want to create a big gap between those two group, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to really create a plan that takes that into consideration.”

With only four returning players from the 2020 squad, Miami FC will look quite different on the pitch this season. Putting together the roster has been a welcomed challenge for Paul Dalglish and his staff, as they have worked extremely hard to find the right players for the style of play established at the club.

“Prior to signing players, we had to decide what our game model and our club DNA were going to be for the 2021 campaign,” explained Dalglish. “We came up with the style of play we wanted to achieve and later wrote player profiles for each position. After that, it became about pinpointing those players that we believed fit the system, and then seeing if they could make an impact on and off the field. The most important thing was our first conversation with a player, because if we got the feeling they didn’t have the right mentality we were looking for, we walked away from deals to ensure we brought in the right guys. Everyone we signed not only has shown us that they are the ideal players for the style we want to play, but they also fit the culture we want to build here at Miami FC.”

Miami FC will kick off training this Thursday, February 18, with the idea of announcing preseason matches in the coming weeks. Currently, the club’s roster is as follows:
Goalkeeper (2): Brian Sylvestre, Connor Sparrow
Defenders (6): Paco Craig, Ramon Martin Del Campo, Sean McFarlane, János Löbe, Othello Bah, Callum Chapman-Page
Midfielders (5): Lance Rozeboom, Devon “Speedy” Williams, Junior Palacios, Bolu Akinyode, Jahshaun Anglin
Forwards (7): Christiano François, Billy Forbes, Pierre da Silva, Richard Ballard, Ariel Martinez, Adonijah Reid, Lamar Walker

The Cuban attacker rejoins Miami FC, where he spent four successful seasons from 2016-2019

MIAMI (February 10, 2021) – When Ariel Martinez received a phone call with an offer to come back to play for The Miami FC, the former Cuban National Team star knew it was time to come back to South Florida. Martinez played four seasons for the club, from the inaugural 2016 season to the end of a very successful 2019 season.

“Miami FC is my home,” explained Martinez. “It’s the club that saw me grow as a player and person, but also gave me the opportunity to become a professional. I have so many stories at the club, both good and bad, which have helped shape me as a player and as a person.”

Miami is a place where Martinez built many friendships during his time here, and it was something that helped make his decision easier. At every Miami FC home game, he felt the love and support from his family and friends, which is something he dearly missed during his 2020 season at USL Championship’s FC Tulsa.

“I have so many friendships here in Miami, which made it coming back even easier,” he mentioned. “Obviously I have my kids with me, who enjoy Miami as much as I do. I am looking forward to playing in front of my friends and family once again at Riccardo Silva Stadium, a place which gave me so many fond memories.”

During the 2020 season, the attacker joined FC Tulsa where he appeared in all 15 regular season matches, while scoring two goals and recording three assists. Martinez captained the club from early on and led them to earn a spot in the playoffs. 

“I had a great season in Tulsa, where my goal was to help the team make the playoffs and I was able to help make that happen,” said Martinez. “The club treated my kids and I so well and I am very appreciative of all the love and respect that they gave me.”

In his first season in the USL Championship, Martinez noted the quality of players in the league. 

“USL Championship has grown so much and the level is great. I see it increase year-after-year and that is because the level of the players who sign in the league gets better and better.”

Martinez originally joined The Miami FC before the start of the 2016 North American Soccer League season after spending the 2015 season with USL Championship’s Charleston Battery. He has been a member of the club during all nine championship runs and knows what it takes to bring success to South Florida.

“Miami is a team that has had a winning mentality since the start,” said Martinez. “This will be the club’s second USL Championship season, and my main goal is to do everything in my power to help the team qualify for the playoffs and then go from there. Everyone from the players, the coaches, to the front office has always had the drive to achieve big things and this year won’t be any different. Every player that signs with Miami FC is welcomed, but the only thing I ask is that from day one they show their love and commitment for the crest.”

At 34, Martinez has been through plenty of ups and downs in his playing career and he is eager to always share his knowledge of the game to his teammates.

“I always tell all my teammates that a footballer’s career is a short one and everything that you do today will only be remembered in the future if you make history, and we have to start writing that story on Monday at our first training session. We all have to push and try our hardest to represent the values of this club and the best way to do that is for all players and staff to work hard towards achieving the same goals. I am very excited to be here in Miami and give this community a club they can be proud of both on and off the field.”

Martinez and the rest of Miami FC start their 2021 USL Championship journey on Monday with the start of preseason. The USL Championship season is slated to kick off anywhere between April 24th and May 15th, which gives the players ample time to familiarize themselves with their new teammates and the culture which Head Coach Paul Dalglish is looking to establish.

CHICAGO (Feb. 9, 2021) – At its meeting earlier this month, U.S. Soccer’s Open Cup Committee approved the schedule, format and a contingency plan for the 2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

U.S. Soccer’s National Championship returns to the field for its 107th edition after not crowning an annual champion in 2020 for the first time in its storied history, which dates back to the inaugural 1913-14 competition.

Competition Format Revised for 2021

The 2021 Open Cup will kick off May 4 and 5, and only be five rounds – instead of its usual eight – due to COVID-19 implications and a congested schedule later in the year. The five rounds will also take place across a much shorter timeframe of just two months, with the Open Cup Final scheduled for June 29 or 30.

“As we looked at our scheduling options, the Open Cup Committee first prioritized the health and safety of the players and decided against scheduling matches in both March and April due to the ongoing circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Open Cup Commissioner Paul Marstaller. “We also took into consideration the extended June FIFA window and the Concacaf Gold Cup taking place through August 1, along with the semifinal and final rounds of the 2021 Concacaf Champions League being scheduled in the fall.

“In the end, we all felt a shortened version for this year was the best format, and we’re excited to have the opportunity to crown a champion after not being able to in 2020.”

Number of Participating Teams

With only five rounds in the 2021 tournament, the number of teams able to compete is reduced to 24 from 101 eligible clubs.

The necessary reduction means for the first time since 2011 that not all eligible teams from U.S. Soccer’s three professional divisions will participate.

Despite the reduction, the Open Cup will still have representation from each of the four divisions that normally compete in the tournament: Professional Division I, Division II, Division III, and the Open Division (encompassing all other affiliated teams and leagues). 

The breakdown of the 24 teams from each of the four divisions is as follows:

Open Division (4)

• Four of the 36 Open Division clubs invited to participate
• The 36 eligible teams invited for the 2021 edition are those who would have played in the 2020 Open Cup had it not been canceled; they include the 12 survivors from the qualifying tournament held in the fall of 2019, the 2019 U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup champion, and qualified teams from the National Premier Soccer League and USL League Two

Division III (4)

• Two of the nine eligible sides from the National Independent Soccer Association
• Two of the eight eligible USL League One clubs

Division II (8)

• Eight of 24 eligible USL Championship squads

Division I (8)

• Eight of the 24 USA-based MLS clubs will enter at the Round of 16 on May 18-19, with each facing one of eight winners from the Opening Round.

The mechanisms to be used to determine the participating teams for the 2021 Open Cup will be announced in the coming weeks.

Contingency Plan Approved

If the COVID-19 pandemic continues to severely impact the USA into the spring, the Open Cup Committee has approved a contingency plan that allows for the cancelation of the Opening Round and a reallocation of slots for lower division teams into the Round of 16.

The Committee has identified March 29 as the deadline to determine whether conditions exist for the Opening Round to take place on May 4-5. If favorable conditions are not in place, the Committee will cancel the Opening Round and next review matters on April 19 to decide whether the Open Cup may commence with the Round of 16 on May 18-19.

If the tournament opens with the Round of 16, the allocation of eight berths for lower division teams will be as follows:

• Division II – 4 slots
• Division III – 2 slots (one each to NISA and USL League One)
• Open Division – 2 slots

Certain Deadlines and Match Quantity Eligibility Requirements Waived for 2021 Open Cup

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s adverse impact to date, the Open Cup Committee approved a waiver of the deadlines and match quantity eligibility requirements listed in Section 202(a) of the Open Cup Policy for the 2021 tournament.

This waiver allows a number of clubs to participate who would have run afoul of the regulations as many Open Division teams throughout the country (including all NPSL and USL League One clubs) did not have league games in 2020.

At the same time, with several Open Division Local Qualifiers changing leagues in recent months, the Open Cup deadline for playing in these leagues was waived.

Additionally, the professional circuits have delayed announcing schedules for 2021 beyond the Jan. 31 deadline as they navigate the current environment for starting their respective competitions this spring.

ESPN+ to Broadcast Matches
As part of a four-year deal, ESPN+ will be the home for the 2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, showing every match from the Opening Round through to the Final.

2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Competition Schedule
March 29                      Date for confirming Opening Round*
March 31                      Opening Round matchups announced
April 19                        Date for confirming Round of 16**
April 21 or 28             Round of 16/Quarterfinal Draw (held earlier if Opening Round is not played)
May 4-5                        Opening Round (8 D-II [USLC], 4 D-III [NISA/USLL1], 4 Open Division clubs)
May 18-19                   Round of 16 (8 D-I [MLS] teams vs. winners from Opening Round)
May 25-26                   Quarterfinal Round
June 15-16                   Semifinal Round
June 29 or 30              Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final

* If conditions for holding Opening Round cannot be met on March 29, Opening Round will be canceled

** If conditions for holding Round of 16 cannot be met on April 19, tournament for 2021 will be canceled

2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Eligible Teams

Professional Division Teams:
Division I – Major League Soccer (24 teams)

Atlanta United FC (reigning Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion), Austin FC, Chicago Fire FC, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, FC Cincinnati, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, Inter Miami CF, Los Angeles Football Club, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City

Division II – USL Championship (24 teams, excluding those majority-owned or otherwise controlled by a higher division professional club)

Austin Bold FC, Birmingham Legion FC, Charleston Battery, Charlotte Independence, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, FC Tulsa, Hartford Athletic, Indy Eleven, Las Vegas Lights FC, Louisville City FC, Memphis 901 FC, Miami FC, New Mexico United, Oakland Roots, OKC Energy FC, Orange County SC, Phoenix Rising FC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, Sacramento Republic FC, San Antonio FC, San Diego Loyal SC, Tampa Bay Rowdies

Division III – National Independent Soccer Association (9 teams)

1904 FC, California United Strikers FC, Chattanooga FC, Detroit City FC, LA Force, Maryland Bobcats FC, Michigan Stars FC, New Amsterdam FC, Stumptown Athletic

Division III – USL League One (8 teams, excluding those majority-owned or otherwise controlled by a higher division professional club)

Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, FC Tucson, Forward Madison FC, Greenville Triumph SC, North Carolina FC, Richmond Kickers, South Georgia Tormenta FC, Union Omaha

Open Division Teams:
Local Qualifiers (12)
East Region: Christos FC (Md.), New York Pancyprian Freedoms (N.Y.), Vereinigung Erzgebirge (Pa.), Virginia United* (Va.)

Central Region: Louisiana Krewe FC (La.), Miami United FC (Fla.), Nashville United (Tenn.), NTX Rayados* (Texas)

West Region: Cal FC* (Calif.), Chula Vista FC (Calif.), Harpos FC** (Colo.), Olympic Club (Calif.)

* Participated in 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
** Known in 2020 as FC Boulder Harpos

2019 U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup champion: Newtown Pride FC (Conn.)

National Premier Soccer League (13)

ASC San Diego, Atlantic City FC, Cleveland SC, Denton Diablos FC, FC Arizona, FC Davis, FC Motown*, Fort Worth Vaqueros, Med City FC, Minneapolis City SC, Naples United FC, Tulsa Athletic, West Chester United SC

The NPSL entered its teams via the National Leagues track under Open Cup regulations.

* Participated in 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

USL League Two (10)

Chicago FC United, Corpus Christi FC, Des Moines Menace*, FC Golden State Force*, North Carolina Fusion U23, South Carolina United Bantams, South Georgia Tormenta FC 2*, The Villages SC*, Ventura County Fusion, Western Mass Pioneers

USL League Two entered its teams via the National Leagues track under Open Cup regulations.

* Participated in 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
In its 108th year, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s National Championship – is the only high-profile competition in American team sports where amateur sides face professionals in meaningful competition. The history-filled tournament, conducted on a single-game, knockout basis, is open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. Having crowned its first champion in 1914, the oldest national soccer competition in the USA was renamed in 1999 to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

The 2021 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally-contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize, provided they advance at least one round.

Atlanta United FC is the reigning Open Cup champion, having earned the club’s first tournament title thanks to a 2-1 victory against Minnesota United FC on Aug. 27, 2019, in front of an Open Cup Final record 35,709 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.

–usopencup.com–

MIAMI (January 29, 2021) – The Miami FC announced on Friday that the club has acquired forward Lamar Walker and midfielder Jahshaun Anglin, pending league and federation approval. Both players have recently featured for the Jamaican Senior National Team, while playing domestically in the Red Stripe Premier League.

“Jahshaun and Lamar are two outstanding young players that we believe can flourish in our environment,” said Technical Director and Head Coach Paul Dalglish. “Both are already full Jamaican internationals who have ambition to play at the highest level. Lamar is a really creative player, fantastic 1v1 and has a really good eye for a final pass, while Jahshaun is a defensive midfielder with good athleticism and a really good range of passing.”

Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Walker played professionally for Portmore United from 2017 to 2020, making 28 league appearances and scoring five goals. The winger has also featured in three CONCACAF CFU Club Championship matches in their 2019 participation. Walker has won the Red Stripe Premier League with Portmore United in back-to-back seasons (2017/18 & 2018/19). At 21, he has also made ten appearances for the Jamaican National team, including six of those with the senior team. His most recent appearances with Jamaica came in their two November friendlies, where they visited Saudi Arabia.

Anglin, 19, will be joining Miami FC after spending last year with Jamaica’s Harbour View FC. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Anglin made 21 appearances for Harbour View, recording two goals. His performances earned him a call up to the Jamaican Senior National Team, making his debut with the Reggae Boyz in March 2020 at the age of 18. Anglin was also a part of Jamaica’s most recent friendlies against Saudi Arabia in November of last year.

“We believe with the staff and environment we have in place we can fulfill their potential,” said Dalglish. “We want to be pioneers at Miami FC and create an extra revenue stream through player sales. The USL Championship has made giant strides in recent years and we believe this is the next step for teams in the league.”

The Miami FC’s roster as of 1/29/2021 is as follows:

Goalkeeper (2): Brian Sylvestre, Connor Sparrow
Defenders (6): Paco Craig, Ramon Martin Del Campo, Sean McFarlane, János Löbe, Othello Bah, Callum Chapman-Page,
Midfielders (5): Lance Rozeboom, Devon “Speedy” Williams, Junior Palacios, Bolu Akinyode, Jahshaun Anglin
Forwards (7): Christiano François, Billy Forbes, Pierre da Silva, Richard Ballard, Ariel Martinez, Adonijah Reid, Lamar Walker