One of the biggest challenges for lower division teams to compete in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is beginning in 2010, the US Soccer Federation decided to start scheduling the first three rounds of the competition on consecutive weeks. This has made it very difficult for teams to prepare, arrange travel, and if they are hosting, it gave them less than a week to promote and sell tickets for a cup game.

Now, it appears that the federation will rectify that for the 101st edition of the Open Cup.

The USSF held their Annual General Meeting in New York City the weekend of Feb. 28 – March 2 and according to their report, the 2014 US Open Cup will feature a more spread out schedule.

The US Open Cup committee portion of the report, written by chairman Mike Edwards says the following:

Additionally, the competition schedule has been stretched out to eliminate games on consecutive mid-weeks, thus providing participating clubs more time before each round to market games, arrange travel more cost-efficiently, avoid fixture congestion and fatigue, and other benefits.

The report also mentions what many have expected which is that with expansion among the North American Soccer League and USL Pro, the tournament field is “certain to have the largest field ever in the competition’s modern era (1995-present).” Last year, a record 64 teams took part in the 100th edition of the tournament. The Open Cup began allowing all professional clubs into the competition back in 2012 and, according to the report, that trend is expected to continue in 2014.

How much of an impact will the extra time in between games have? Will we see attendance figures increase and possibly more upsets with teams given more chance to rest and prepare for their opponents? Share your thoughts in the comments below.