The path for Futbol Club Cincinnati through the early rounds of its first-ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament has been revealed.

FC Cincinnati will play Indy Eleven NPSL of the National Premier Soccer League Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup second-round game at Nippert Stadium. Awaiting the winner of the Indy-Cincinnati game is Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League, the second-tier league in American soccer. Tampa Bay will host the winner in a June 1 third-round game at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Indy Eleven NPSL earned passage to the second round game in Cincinnati by defeating Cincinnati Dutch Lions of the Premier Development League, 1-0, in a Wednesday match played in Westfield, Indiana. Indy Eleven NPSL's visit to Nippert for the Cincinnati game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Tampa Bay will await the winner. Tampa Bay made headlines recently when it signed former Chelsea FC and England international player Joe Cole.

Tampa Bay also features in its team forward Freddy Adu, the well-traveled, now-26-year-old former American soccer phenom.

FC Cincinnati is no stranger to playing in Florida as it participated in and won the IMG Academy Suncoast Pro Classic tournament in February. The team posted a 2-0-1 record in the Bradenton, Florida tournament and won its first piece of silverware as it won the tournament championship.

What is the U.S. Open Cup?

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a knockout-style tournament open to all American teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). The 2016 U.S. Open Cup is the 103rd edition of the tournament.

Teams involved span from amateur adult clubs all the way up to Major League Soccer teams. The tournament is more than 100 years old and steeped in history and tradition. Winning the U.S. Open Cup is undoubtedly an end in itself. That being said, the tournament feeds into other competitions that culminate with the FIFA Club World Cup.

The winner of the U.S. Open Cup progresses to the CONCACAF Champions League, a tournament that feeds into the Club World Cup.

USL clubs, which enter U.S. Open Cup play in the second round of the competition, have a proud history in the tournament. Upsets against Major League Soccer teams occur, and Rochester Rhinos won the U.S. Open Cup in 1999.

The winner of the 2016 U.S. Open Cup will claim a cash prize of $250,000 and be automatically drawn into the 2017-18 CONCACAF Champions’ League – the confederation tournament of North and Central America, and the Caribbean.

FC Cincinnati would earn a $15,000 cash prize if it advances further in the tournament than any other USL team. The team to advance furthest from each lower division is awarded $15,000.

Why should you care about the Open Cup?

The American pyramid of soccer leagues is ordered and tiered, with Major League Soccer, the North American Soccer League and USL making up the first, second and third tiers, respectively.

A win against Indy Eleven Wednesday would give FC Cincinnati a chance at a third-round game against a higher-division NASL club. It's a nice feather in the cap of a club and its supporters to beat a team from a higher division.

Win two games in U.S. Open Cup play, and FC Cincinnati will be joined in the competition's fourth round by U.S.-based Major League Soccer teams (Canada-based teams have their own open cup tournament — the Amway Canadian Championship). By that point in the competition, FC Cincinnati could have a chance to upset one or more MLS teams as it progresses.

An FC Cincinnati pairing with an MLS team or teams would make for some mouth-watering discussion points, not to mention an opportunity for local fans to enjoy an away day in an MLS city.

We're a long way from FC Cincinnati advancing far enough to earn a U.S. Open Cup pairing with an MLS team, but therein lies a rationale to get invested in the competition's early rounds. For FC Cincinnati, it all starts Wednesday at Nippert and there's all to play for.