U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Soccer Adult Council has announced that Vermont Green FC will compete in the 2026 Hank Steinbrecher Cup.
Founded in 2013, the Steinbrecher Cup was established for the champions of various U.S. men’s amateur and pre-professional leagues and competitions to compete in a single-elimination tournament to determine the Champion of Champions.
The Green qualified for the tournament as champions of USL League Two. They’ll be joined by National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) champs Hickory FC, USASA National Amateur Cup champs West Chester United SC, and the winner of the 2026 USSSA National Champions League (NCL).
- Vermont Green FC, reigning champions of USL2.
- Hickory FC, reigning champions of NPSL.
- West Chester United SC, reigning champions of the USASA National Amateur Cup.
- The winner of the 2026 USSSA National Champions League (NCL), which will be determined in May.
Vermont Green will travel to North Carolina to face Hickory FC in the semifinal match on May 30. West Chester United will host the other semifinal on the same date.
If Vermont emerge victorious over Hickory in the semifinal, the final will be held in Burlington on June 5.
“It’s an honor to compete in the 2026 Steinbrecher Cup,” said Vermont Green co-founder Matthew Wolff. “For a pre-professional club like ours, it’s a bit like our own Club World Cup—champions from different competitions coming together to compete for one trophy. We’re proud to represent USL2.”
Hickory FC qualified by winning the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), defeating amateur darlings and current Steinbrecher Cup holders, El Farolito 3-2 in San Francisco last summer. The Hickory, North Carolina-based club achieved the historic feat in only their second season in existence. After winning the NPSL in 2025, the club moved to USL2 ahead of the 2026 season, and will now compete in the South Atlantic Division. The Trees, as they are known, routinely get 5,000+ fans at their 8,500-seat Moretz Stadium.
West Chester United SC is based in West Chester, PA and competes in multiple state and national leagues. The club qualified for the Steinbrecher Cup by winning the USASA National Amateur Cup, but The Predators also field teams in the NPSL and USL2. The club has been a staple in American amateur soccer for much of its 50-year history, with success in the U.S. Open Cup, National Amateur Cup, Werner Fricker Cup, and Pennsylvania State Cups. It will be West Chester United’s third appearance in the Steinbrecher Cup (2016, 2023, 2025). They won the tournament in 2023.
The 2025 edition of the Hank Steinbrecher Cup was held in Manchester, New Hampshire. El Farolito (NPSL) defeated New Hampshire’s Seacoast United Phantoms (USL2) 1-0 in the final.
The Steinbrecher Cup honors former U.S. Soccer Secretary General Hank Steinbrecher. Steinbrecher, who passed away in 2025, oversaw the 1994 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and was instrumental in the birth of Major League Soccer.
STEINBRECHER CUP CHAMPIONS
2013 Carolina Dynamo (USL PDL)
2014 RWB Adria (USASA NAC)
2015 Chattanooga FC (NPSL)
2016 Chicago Fire U23 (USL PDL)
2017 Michigan Bucks (USL PDL)
2018 Michigan Bucks (USL PDL)
2019 Flint City Bucks (USL2)
2022 Flint City Bucks (USL2)
2023 West Chester United SC (NPSL)
2025 El Farolito SC (NPSL)