2021 USL Championship season

The 2021 USL Championship season will be the eleventh season of the USL Championship and the fifth season under Division II sanctioning. This will be the 3rd season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. The 2021 season will see 31 teams participate in 4 divisions during the regular season.[1]

USL Championship
Season2021
← 2020
2022 →

Changes from 2020

Expansion clubs

Departing clubs

Teams
Locations of teams for the 2021 USL Championship season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

The following teams are playing in the 2021 USL Championship season:

Team Location Stadium Capacity Head coach MLS affiliate / ownership
Atlanta United 2 Kennesaw, Georgia Fifth Third Bank Stadium [A] 8,318 Tony Annan (interim) Atlanta United FC
Austin Bold FC Austin, Texas Bold Stadium 5,000 Marcelo Serrano
Birmingham Legion FC Birmingham, Alabama BBVA Field 5,000 Tom Soehn
Charleston Battery Charleston, South Carolina Patriots Point Soccer Complex 5,000 Mike Anhaeuser
Charlotte Independence Charlotte, North Carolina American Legion Memorial Stadium 10,500 Mike Jeffries
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs, Colorado Weidner Field[B] 8,000 Brendan Burke Colorado Rapids
FC Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma ONEOK Field [A] 7,833 Michael Nsien
El Paso Locomotive FC El Paso, Texas Southwest University Park [A] 9,500 Mark Lowry
Hartford Athletic Hartford, Connecticut Dillon Stadium [A] 5,500 Harry Watling
Indy Eleven Indianapolis, Indiana IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium [A] 10,524 Martin Rennie
LA Galaxy II Carson, California Dignity Health Track Stadium 5,000 Junior Gonzalez LA Galaxy
Las Vegas Lights FC Las Vegas, Nevada Cashman Field 9,334 Frank Yallop
Loudoun United FC Leesburg, Virginia Segra Field 5,000 Ryan Martin D.C. United
Louisville City FC Louisville, Kentucky Lynn Family Stadium 11,700 John Hackworth
Memphis 901 FC Memphis, Tennessee AutoZone Park [A] 10,000 Ben Pirmann (interim)
Miami FC Miami, Florida Riccardo Silva Stadium [A] 25,000 Paul Dalglish
New Mexico United Albuquerque, New Mexico Isotopes Park [A] 13,500 Troy Lesesne
New York Red Bulls II Montclair, New Jersey MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field 5,000 John Wolyniec New York Red Bulls
OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Taft Stadium [A] 7,500 John Pascarella
Oakland Roots SC Oakland, California Laney College Football Stadium 5,500 Dario Pot
Orange County SC Irvine, California Champions Stadium 5,000 Braeden Cloutier
Phoenix Rising FC Tempe, Arizona Casino Arizona Field 6,200 Rick Schantz
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Highmark Stadium 5,000 Bob Lilley
Real Monarchs Herriman, Utah Zions Bank Stadium 5,000 Jámison Olave Real Salt Lake
Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Edinburg, Texas H-E-B Park 9,400 Houston Dynamo FC
Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento, California Papa Murphy's Park 11,569 Mark Briggs
San Antonio FC San Antonio, Texas Toyota Field 8,296 Alen Marcina New York City FC
San Diego Loyal SC San Diego, California Torero Stadium [A] 6,000 Landon Donovan
Sporting Kansas City II Kansas City, Kansas Children's Mercy Park 18,467 Paulo Nagamura Sporting Kansas City
Tacoma Defiance Tacoma, Washington Cheney Stadium [A] 6,500 Chris Little Seattle Sounders FC
Tampa Bay Rowdies St. Petersburg, Florida Al Lang Stadium [A] 7,227 Neill Collins
  MLS-affiliated
  MLS-owned
  1. ^
    Non-soccer specific stadium.
  2. ^
    Opening in 2021; not to be confused with the former Weidner Field, now known as Switchbacks Training Stadium, where the team played from 2015 to 2020.

Competition format

The Eastern and Western Conferences will be split into two divisions, The teams will play a 32-game schedule in a 27 week period starting around May 1. Individual teams can start their seasons between April 24 and May 15. The schedule, the conference and division lineups will be determined later based on the status of the COVID-19 Pandemic.[7]

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of appointment
Hartford Athletic Radhi Jaïdi Mutual separation October 20, 2020[8] Harry Watling January 13, 2021[9]
Rio Grande Valley FC Gerson Echeverry Contract not renewed November 6, 2020[10] TBD
Colorado Springs Switchbacks Alan Koch Resigned November 14, 2020[11] Brendan Burke December 12, 2020[12]

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Team GP Total High Low Average


References
  1. https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1141887
  2. "Oakland Roots Joins USL Championship". Oakland Roots SC. September 15, 2020.
  3. "North Carolina FC to Join USL League One". USLLeagueOne.com Staff. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  4. "Philadelphia Union and Portland Timbers depart USL Championship after getting great value from second teams". Paul Kennedy. SoccerAmerica Daily. October 21, 2020.
  5. "Reno 1868 folds due to 'dire' short-term financial outlook". Paul Kennedy. SoccerAmerica Daily. November 6, 2020.
  6. "STLFC to Cease Operations after 2020 Season". August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  7. "USL Championship Announces 2021 Season Format". USLChampionship.com Staff. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  8. "Athletic Begin Coaching Search as Jaidi Says Farewell". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  9. "Hartford Appoints Harry Watling as New Head Coach". USLChampionship.com Staff. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  10. "Echeverry Departs as Toros' Head Coach". USLChampionship.com Staff. November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  11. "Alan Koch Steps Down as Head Coach of Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC". Switchbacks FC. November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  12. "2020 MLS Supporter's Shield Winner Named Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Head Coach". Switchbacks FC. December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
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