CHICAGO – Due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States,, U.S. Soccer’s Open Cup Committee has been forced to cancel the 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, it was announced Monday.

The committee also cancelled 2021 Open Division qualifying, which was to be held this fall for teams from local amateur leagues looking to advance to next year’s tournament.

Sports Ilustrated had the original story last week.

The 38 Open Division teams from the local qualifying track and eligible National Leagues (National Premier Soccer League, USL League Two) who had qualified for the 2020 competition and who maintain Open Cup eligibility through next year will automatically be invited for 2021.

“Despite this setback, the importance and significance of U.S. Soccer’s National Championship continues to grow, and we look forward to launching the 2021 tournament next spring with the same enthusiasm that was planned for this year’s 100-team competition,” Open Cup Commissioner Paul Marstaller said in a statement. “Every club cherishes the chance to compete for a major national trophy and the U.S. Open Cup will be waiting for them next year.”

The 2020 Open Cup was scheduled for eight rounds, opening on March 24 and concluding with the final on Sept. 22 or 23. The reallocation of the 2021 Concacaf Champions League berth awarded to the Open Cup champion will be determined in the future.

The cancelation of the tournament snaps a 106-consecutive-year run of crowning a national champion. The streak was the second-longest in soccer for national cup competitions worldwide, trailing only the Irish Cup in Northern Ireland.

The Open Cup had faced an interruption early in its existence during the pandemic of 1918-1920 when the tournament was known as the National Challenge Cup. During this period, the Open Cup played through, with record five-time champion Bethlehem Steel winning its third and fourth titles in the spring of 1918 and 1919, respectively, while Saint Louis club Ben Miller FC won in the spring of 1920.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.