Wikipedia

MLS Next Pro

Not to be confused withMLS Next.

MLS Next Pro(MLSNP) is a men's professionalsoccerleague in the United States and Canada that is affiliated withMajor League Soccer(MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clubs and 2 independent clubs. MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of theUnited States soccer league system.[1]

MLS Next Pro
Organising bodyMajor League Soccer
FoundedJune 21, 2021;3 years ago(2021-06-21)
First season2022
CountryUnited States
Other club(s) fromCanada
ConfederationCONCACAF
Number of clubs29
Level on pyramid3
Domestic cup(s)U.S. Open Cup
Current championsNorth Texas SC
(2024)
Current regular
season title		North Texas SC
(2024)
TV partnersMLS Season Pass
YouTube
Websitemlsnextpro
Current:2025 MLS Next Pro season

History

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On June 21, 2021,Major League Soccerannounced the creation of a new professional league which would begin play in 2022. MLS has applied to theUnited States Soccer Federationfor the league to be sanctioned as a Division III professional league, the same level currently occupied byUSL League Oneand theNational Independent Soccer Associationand one level below theUSL Championship.[2]MLS announced that Next Pro would start with at least 20 teams, many of them owned by Major League Soccer and development teams between their first-teams and their youth academies.[2]All MLS clubs with reserve teams in theUSL ChampionshiporUSL League Oneinitially planned to move those sides to MLS Next Pro by 2023.D.C. United's formerly owned-and-operatedreserve teamwas sold to independent buyers.[2]

The inaugural match of MLS Next Pro was played on March 25, 2022, atHermann Stadiumin St. Louis.St. Louis City 2defeatedRochester New York FC2–0.Wan Kuzainscored the first ever goal in the 20th minute.[3][4][5]

The league makes use of unique rules such as all regular season draws being decided bypenalty shootoutsand the addition of concussion substitutions. On July 6, 2022, new rules for the league were introduced in the middle of the season. This included an off-field treatment rule meant to curbgamesmanshipand timewasting and a new rule for red card suspensions: The suspension a player gets for getting a red card or two yellow cards in the same game will be served by the player when next playing against the same opponent.[6]

Competition format

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The league runs from spring to fall with the season kicking off in March. Each team plays 28 regular-season games, followed by an 14-team playoff tournament. The league is divided into Eastern and Western Conferences.[7]

Unlike Major League Soccer, MLS Next Pro does not feature a salary cap and player contracts are held by the teams, not the league. Team rosters can have up to 24 professional players (not including amateur academy players) with a maximum of seven international players.[8]An MLS Next Pro club's active roster contains up to 35 players, all of whom are eligible for selection to each official match roster during the MLS Next Pro season.[9]

Teams

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Locations of announced teams in MLS Next Pro:
  • Eastern Conference - Northeast DivisionEastern Conference - Southeast Division
  • Western Conference - Frontier DivisionWestern Conference - Pacific Division
  • future teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity Founded Joined Head coach Affiliate
Eastern Conference
Northeast Division
Chicago Fire FC II Bridgeview, Illinois SeatGeek Stadium 20,000[10] 2021 2022 Mike Matkovich Chicago Fire FC
Columbus Crew 2 Columbus, Ohio Historic Crew Stadium 19,968[11] 2021 2022 Kelvin Jones Columbus Crew
FC Cincinnati 2 Highland Heights, Kentucky NKU Soccer Stadium 1,000[12] 2021 2022 Tyrone Marshall FC Cincinnati
New England Revolution II Foxborough, Massachusetts Gillette Stadium 20,000[13] 2019 2022 Richie Williams New England Revolution
New York City FC II New York City, New York Belson Stadium 2,168[14] 2021 2022 Matt Pilkington New York City FC
New York Red Bulls II Montclair, New Jersey MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field 5,000[15] 2015 2023 Ibrahim Sekagya New York Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union II Chester, Pennsylvania Subaru Park 18,500[16] 2015 2022 Ryan Richter Philadelphia Union
Toronto FC II Toronto, Ontario York Lions Stadium 4,000[17] 2014 2022 Gianni Cimini Toronto FC
Southeast Division
Atlanta United 2 Kennesaw, Georgia Fifth Third Bank Stadium 8,318 2017 2023 Steve Cooke Atlanta United FC
Carolina Core FC High Point, North Carolina Truist Point 4,500[18] 2022 2024 Donovan Ricketts Independent
Chattanooga FC Chattanooga, Tennessee Finley Stadium 20,412 2009 2024 Chris Nugent Independent
Crown Legacy FC Matthews, North Carolina Sportsplex at Matthews 5,000[19] 2022 2023 José Tavares Charlotte FC
Huntsville City FC Huntsville, Alabama Joe W. Davis Stadium 6,000[20] 2022 2023 Chris O'Neal Nashville SC
Inter Miami CF II Fort Lauderdale, Florida Chase Stadium 21,550[21] 2019 2022 Federico Higuaín Inter Miami CF
Orlando City B Kissimmee, Florida Osceola County Stadium 5,300[22] 2015 2022 Manuel Goldberg Orlando City SC
Western Conference
Frontier Division
Austin FC II Austin, Texas Parmer Field 1,000 2022 2023 Brett Uttley Austin FC
Colorado Rapids 2 Denver, Colorado Dick's Sporting Goods Park(Commerce City)
Denver Soccer Stadium 		18,061
2,000 		2021 2022 Erik Bushey Colorado Rapids
Houston Dynamo 2 Houston, Texas SaberCats Stadium 3,200[23] 2021 2022 Marcelo Santos Houston Dynamo FC
Sporting Kansas City II Kansas City, Missouri Swope Soccer Village 3,500[24] 2015 2022 István Urbányi Sporting Kansas City
Minnesota United FC 2 Saint Paul, Minnesota Allianz Field
National Sports Center(Blaine) 		19,400[25]
5,500[26] 		2021 2022 Jeremy Hall Minnesota United FC
North Texas SC Arlington, Texas Choctaw Stadium 48,114[27] 2018 2022 John Gall FC Dallas
St. Louis City 2 St. Louis, Missouri Energizer Park 22,423 2021 2022 David Critchley St. Louis City SC
Pacific Division
Los Angeles FC 2 Fullerton, California Titan Stadium 10,000[28] 2023 2023 Junior Gonzalez Los Angeles FC
Portland Timbers 2 Portland, Oregon Providence Park[29] 25,218[30] 2014 2022 Serge Dinkota Portland Timbers
Real Monarchs Herriman, Utah Zions Bank Stadium 5,000[31] 2014 2022 Mark Lowry Real Salt Lake
The Town FC Moraga, California Saint Mary's Stadium 5,500[32] 2021 2022 Dan DeGeer San Jose Earthquakes
Tacoma Defiance Tukwila, Washington Starfire Sports Complex 4,500[33] 2014 2022 Hervé Diese Seattle Sounders FC
Ventura County FC Thousand Oaks, California William Rolland Stadium 2,000[34] 2014 2023 Matt Taylor LA Galaxy
Whitecaps FC 2 Burnaby, British Columbia Swangard Stadium 5,228[35] 2021 2022 Ricardo Clark Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Future teams

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Team[36] Location Stadium Capacity Founded Joining Affiliate
Jacksonville Armada FC Jacksonville, Florida New Eastside Stadium 2,500 2013 2026 Independent
Connecticut United FC Bridgeport, Connecticut New Waterfront Stadium 10,000 2024 2026[37]
Cleveland Pro Soccer Cleveland, Ohio TBD 2022 2026[38]
West Michigan Soccer Grand Rapids, Michigan Amway Stadium 8,500 2024 2027

Former teams

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Club City Stadium Capacity Founded Joined Last season Affiliate
Rochester New York FC Brighton, New York John L. DiMarco Field 1,500[39] 1996 2022 2022 Independent

Timeline

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League memberFormer memberFuture memberOther leagues

Champions

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Season Playoff champions Regular season champions
2022 Columbus Crew 2 Columbus Crew 2
2023 Austin FC II Colorado Rapids 2
2024 North Texas SC North Texas SC

Finals

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Year Winner Score Runner-Up Venue MVP Attendance Ref.
2022 Columbus Crew 2 4–1 St. Louis City 2 Lower Field Marco Micaletto(CC2) 7,446 [40]
2023 Austin FC II 3–1 Columbus Crew 2 Lower Field Valentin Noël(AU2) 7,500 [41]
2024 North Texas SC 3–2 Philadelphia Union II Toyota Stadium Herbert Endeley(NTX) 7,692 [42]

Individual game highest attendance

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Regular season

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Home team Score Away team Attendance Stadium Date Ref
1 St. Louis City 2 5–0 Tacoma Defiance 12,022 CityPark October 6, 2024 [43]
2 St. Louis City 2 2–0 Sporting Kansas City II 10,671 CityPark June 23, 2024 [44]
3 St. Louis City 2 4–1 LA Galaxy II 9,626 CityPark September 17, 2023 [45]
4 St. Louis City 2 4–0 Real Monarchs 9,489 CityPark August 6, 2023 [46]
5 The Town FC 0–0
Pen: 4-2		 Austin FC II 5,500 PayPal Park April 20, 2024 [47]

MLS Next Pro Cup Playoffs

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Home team Score Away team Attendance Stadium Date Ref
1 North Texas SC 3–2 Philadelphia Union II 7,700 Toyota Stadium Nov 9, 2024 [48]
2 Columbus Crew 2 1–3 Austin FC II 7,500 Lower Field October 22, 2023
3 Columbus Crew 2 4–1 St. Louis City 2 7,446 Lower Field October 8, 2022 [49]
4 St. Louis City 2 0–2 San Jose Earthquakes II 5,227 CityPark October 1, 2023 [50]
5 Philadelphia Union II 4–0 Columbus Crew 2 4,727 Subaru Park November 2, 2024 [51]
Key
MLS Next Pro Cup
Conference Final
Conference Semifinal
Otherwise, it is a previous knockout round

See also

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References

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  1. ^Straus, Brian (December 6, 2021)."MLS Next Pro Adds Another Element to U.S. Soccer's Ever-Evolving Lower Club Tier".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedDecember 6,2021.
  2. ^abcBonagura, Kyle (June 21, 2021)."Major League Soccer to launch development league in 2022".ESPN.RetrievedJune 21,2021.
  3. ^Schneider, Jacob (March 24, 2022)."St Louis CITY2 hosts RNY FC in Inaugural MLS NEXT Pro Match".mlsnextpro.RetrievedMarch 25,2022.
  4. ^"Match Report: stlvsroc 03-25-2022".mlsnextpro.March 25, 2022.RetrievedMarch 25,2022.
  5. ^Schneider, Jacob (March 25, 2022)."Historic Day in St. Louis as CITY2 beats RNY FC to begin the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro campaign".mlsnextpro.RetrievedMarch 25,2022.
  6. ^"MLS NEXT PRO IMPLEMENTING TWO NEW COMPETITION RULES FOR SECOND HALF OF INAUGURAL SEASON".MLS Next Pro.July 6, 2022.RetrievedJuly 7,2022.
  7. ^"MLS NEXT Pro unveils 21 clubs for inaugural season starting March 2022".mlssoccer.December 6, 2021.RetrievedDecember 7,2021.
  8. ^Rueter, Jeff (January 14, 2022)."MLS Next Pro to have no salary cap, other key differences from MLS structure, sources say".The Athletic.RetrievedJanuary 16,2022.
  9. ^"2022 MLS NEXT PRO Roster Guidelines".MLS Next Pro.January 31, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 1,2022.
  10. ^"Fun Within Reach".Toyota Park. Archived fromthe originalon December 30, 2018.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  11. ^"Historic Crew Stadium".ColumbusSports.org.Greater Columbus Sports Commission.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  12. ^"NKU Soccer Stadium".Northern Kentucky University Athletics.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  13. ^"Gillette Stadium Overview".revolutionsoccer.net.March 8, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon October 5, 2013.RetrievedOctober 20,2013.
  14. ^"BELSON STADIUM".RedStormSports.St. John's University.RetrievedSeptember 13,2023.
  15. ^"MSU Soccer Park".MontclairAthletics.Montclar State University.RetrievedSeptember 14,2023.
  16. ^"About Talen Energy Stadium".philadelphiaunion.Archivedfrom the original on May 26, 2022.RetrievedJune 15,2011.
  17. ^"York Lions Stadium Conversion".YorkU.CA.York University.RetrievedSeptember 14,2023.
  18. ^"Ball Park A-Z".High Point Rockers.2019.RetrievedSeptember 25,2019.
  19. ^"Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews".MatthewsNC.gov.Town of Matthews, NC.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  20. ^Brazelton, Dave (May 19, 2023)."Huntsville businesses benefit from new Joe Davis Stadium".WAAY 31 ABC.Huntsville, AL.RetrievedSeptember 13,2023.
  21. ^"Inter Miami CF Announces Increased Stadium Capacity Ahead of 2024 Season Due to Unprecedented Demand"(Press release). Inter Miami CF. January 31, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 31,2024.
  22. ^"Osceola County Stadium".OHPark.RetrievedSeptember 14,2023.
  23. ^"Sabercats Stadium".HoustonSabercats.Houston Sabercats.RetrievedSeptember 13,2023.
  24. ^"Swope Soccer Village".KCParks.org.Kansas City Parks & Recreation.RetrievedSeptember 14,2023.
  25. ^"Stadium Facts".MNUFC.Minnesota United.RetrievedSeptember 13,2023.
  26. ^"NSC Stadium".
  27. ^Sullivan, T. R. (October 30, 2012)."Rangers Resume Fan-Focused Park Renovations".Major League Baseball Advanced Media.Archived fromthe originalon May 10, 2013.RetrievedMarch 7,2013.
  28. ^"Titan Stadium".RetrievedOctober 8,2018.
  29. ^Timbers2, Portland."Portland Timbers2".Portland Timbers2.RetrievedAugust 30,2023.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^"Providence Park Stadium".Portland.gov.City of Portland.RetrievedSeptember 14,2023.
  31. ^Meyer, Taran (April 25, 2018)."Zions Bank Stadium Provides Unique Soccer Experience".RSL.Real Salt Lake.RetrievedSeptember 14,2023.
  32. ^"Facilities".Saint Mary's Athletics.RetrievedMarch 11,2024.
  33. ^"Outdoor Fields".StarFireSports.Star Fire Sports.RetrievedSeptember 14,2023.
  34. ^"William Rolland Stadium".RetrievedMarch 16,2024.
  35. ^"Swangard Stadium – Home of your Whitecaps".Vancouver Whitecaps FC.Archived fromthe originalon April 11, 2009.RetrievedOctober 16,2009.
  36. ^"Seven MLS Affiliated Clubs To Join MLS Next Pro In 2023".mlsnextpro.August 4, 2022.RetrievedAugust 6,2022.
  37. ^"CONNECTICUT AWARDED MLS NEXT PRO EXPANSION TEAM".CTUnited.Connecticut United.RetrievedJanuary 9,2024.
  38. ^"Cleveland's MLS NEXT Pro Team".Cleveland Pro Soccer.2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023.
  39. ^Reuter, Jeff (March 10, 2023)."Jamie Vardy's U.S. club Rochester New York FC ceases operations".The Athletic.San Francisco, California.RetrievedSeptember 26,2023.
  40. ^Tellitud, Jesus (October 8, 2022)."Columbus Crew 2 hoist MLS NEXT Pro Cup with 4-1 win over St Louis CITY2".MLS Next Pro.RetrievedOctober 8,2022.
  41. ^"Austin FC II Defeats Defending Champion Columbus Crew 2 To Win 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Cup".MLS Next Pro. October 22, 2022.RetrievedOctober 22,2022.
  42. ^Snipes, Tyler (November 9, 2022)."New champs! North Texas SC win 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Cup".MLS Next Pro.RetrievedNovember 9,2022.
  43. ^Rolstad, Skylar (October 7, 2024)."Decision Day: The Best of MLS NEXT Pro's Wild Final Day!".mlsnextpro.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
  44. ^"Decision Day: The Best of MLS NEXT Pro's Wild Final Day!".stlcitysc.June 23, 2024.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
  45. ^"CITY2 locked up their playoff spot in front of a record-breaking 9,626-person crowd".stlcitysc.September 17, 2023.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
  46. ^"Match Recap St Louis CITY2 Dominates in Front of Record-Breaking Crowd".stlcitysc.August 6, 2023.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
  47. ^"A Letter to Quakes season ticket holders".thetownfc.April 16, 2024.RetrievedNovember 29,2024.
  48. ^"North Texas SC's Matt Denny Named 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year".mlsnextpro.November 21, 2024.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
  49. ^Johnson, Bailey (October 8, 2022)."Columbus Crew 2 wins inaugural MLS Next Pro Cup with dominant 4-1 victory".dispatch.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
  50. ^Timmermann, Tom (October 1, 2023)."City2's season ends with 2-0 loss to San Jose in MLS Next Pro playoffs".stltoday.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
  51. ^Jones, Tim (November 2, 2024)."Playoff match report: Philadelphia Union II 4 -0 Columbus Crew 2".phillysoccerpage.net.RetrievedNovember 28,2024.
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