Written by Chris Dailey

FC Monmouth will make club history as the club officially announced it will compete in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup qualifying rounds this coming fall. In an unprecedented move, the Blue and Gold will look to field a squad of Monmouth County’s premier talents as the bulk of the current squad will be competing in their respective collegiate seasons.

Anticipation within the organization is building towards what’s set to be a momentous opportunity to qualify for the nation’s longest ongoing soccer competition.

“Extremely excited is an understatement. It’s a big jump for us going outside of the standard ‘summer league’ model but there’s only one way to find out how we’d fare against local talent in our region that we may or may have not faced in the past,” stated FC Monmouth’s general manager James Davis.
The US Open Cup was founded in 1914 and played consecutively for 106 years. The tournament resumed in 2022.

Over its century plus long existence, the tournament has been the one constant in the ever-changing US Soccer landscape. Champions of the early 20th century include the likes of the New Jerse- based Elizabeth S.C. and Paterson FC, as well as the nearby Fall River Marksmen – one of American soccer’s most legendary teams of the past.

With its entry into the qualifying stages, FC Monmouth stands at the precipice of the club’s biggest mountain in its 8 year history: qualifying for the tournament proper.

Thanks to some recent changes in how official qualifying works, 16 amateur sides qualified for the tournament automatically through varying criteria. FC Monmouth will have to win several games against top-level clubs from the surrounding area in order to gain entry into tournament proper – which would hypothetically mean FC Monmouth could play against a professional outlet, including nearby MLS Next Pro and USL sides such as New York City FC II and Westchester SC.

Davis later spoke about plans to sculpt FC Monmouth’s roster, as the college season means much of the 2025 The League for Clubs squad will not be able to play.

“We’re going to have a talented pool of current, former, and new players that will represent Monmouth county with pride. Hopefully with a home match draw at Count Basie.”

As preparations ramp up for the fall qualifying rounds, the club will continue to provide further information on its social media platforms @wearemonmouth. Additional interviews and thoughts from Chris Dailey and Lucas Francis can be found on the next episode of the FC Monmouth podcast on FC Monmouth’s YouTube channel & Spotify.

FC Monmouth to Enter US Open Cup Qualifiers