List of soccer clubs in the United States
This is a list of soccer clubs in the United States. For clarity, teams based outside the United States that play in USSF-recognized leagues are also listed below, with their home country noted.
Men's soccer clubs
Three professional leagues of soccer teams are sanctioned by the Professional Division of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF or U.S. Soccer). The top-level [league is Major League Soccer (MLS) and the second level is the USL Championship. The third level is USL League One and the National Independent Soccer Association. The USL Championship and USL League One are operated by the United Soccer League (previously "Leagues"), which also operates the semi-professional USL League Two (formerly the Premier Development League).
Major League Soccer (MLS)
MLS currently has 27 clubs. As early as 2013, the league had expressed a desire to expand to 24 teams by 2020.[1] FC Cincinnati entered the league for the 2019 season as the 24th team, while Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF began play in the 2020 season, as the 25th and 26th teams. Austin FC is scheduled to start play in 2021, with Charlotte FC following in 2022, and Sacramento Republic FC and St. Louis City SC in 2023.
| Future teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Joining League | |
| Charlotte FC[5] | Charlotte, North Carolina | Bank of America Stadium | 75,523 | 2022 | |
| Sacramento Republic FC[6] | Sacramento, California | Railyards Stadium | 20,100 | 2023 | |
| St. Louis City SC[7] | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis MLS stadium | 22,500 | ||
- * – Team based in Canada
USL Championship
The United Soccer League is the parent organization for the USL Championship (USSF Division II), USL League One (applied for USSF Division III sanctioning), USL League Two, and the youth Super Y-League.
MLS-owned club
MLS-affiliated club
no MLS affiliation
future club
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Future teams
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joining | Head coach | MLS affiliate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planned Expansion Clubs | |||||||
| Queensboro FC | Queens, New York | New stadium at York College[lower-roman 1] | 7,500 | 2019 | 2022 | ||
| Monterey Bay FC | Seaside, California | Freeman Stadium | 6,000 | 2021 | 2022 | ||
| USLC Rhode Island[8] | Pawtucket, Rhode Island | Riptide Stadium[lower-roman 1] | 7,500 | 2020 | 2022 | ||
USL League One
Former
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Joined | Final season | MLS affiliation | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansing Ignite FC | Lansing, Michigan | Cooley Law School Stadium | 7,527 | 2019 | 2019 | Chicago Fire | Folded[10] |
| Orlando City B | Kissimmee, Florida | Osceola County Stadium | 5,400 | 2019 | 2020 | Orlando City SC | Withdrawn by MLS parent club[11] |
Club; Future club- * – Team based in Canada
National Independent Soccer Association
Launched in 2019, NISA is a USSF third division league independent from USL.
- Fall 2020 club
- Future club
- Club on hiatus
Women's soccer clubs
National Women's Soccer League
As of its next season in 2021, the National Women's Soccer League has 10 clubs.[15] Former commissioner Jeff Plush announced that the league planned to expand to 14 teams by 2020. At the time, Plush suggested that the league was in varying stages of talks with a dozen different potential expansion groups, including some from MLS organizations. In April 2016, MLS commissioner Don Garber stated that half of MLS teams could be running National Women's Soccer League teams in the near future.[16] In May 2017, FC Barcelona announced that it had approved a plan to launch an expansion team in the league as soon as 2018,[17] but those plans have yet to materialize.
The league's most recent expansion took place in 2021, with a new team in Louisville, Kentucky starting play as Racing Louisville FC.[18] The following year will see the debut of Angel City FC in Los Angeles[19] and an as-yet-unnamed team in Sacramento, California.[20]
- Current teams
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Red Stars | Bridgeview, Illinois | SeatGeek Stadium | 20,000 | 2006 | 2013 |
| Houston Dash | Houston, Texas | BBVA Stadium | 7,000 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Kansas City | Kansas City, Kansas | Field of Legends | 10,385 | 2020 | 2021 |
| North Carolina Courage | Cary, North Carolina | WakeMed Soccer Park | 10,000 | 2009 | 2013 |
| Orlando Pride | Orlando, Florida | Exploria Stadium | 25,500 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Portland Thorns FC | Portland, Oregon | Providence Park | 25,218 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Racing Louisville FC | Louisville, Kentucky | Lynn Family Stadium | 15,304 | 2019 | 2021 |
| OL Reign | Tacoma, Washington | Cheney Stadium | 6,500 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Sky Blue FC | Harrison, New Jersey | Red Bull Arena | 25,000 | 2007 | 2013 |
| Washington Spirit | Washington, D.C. | Audi Field | 20,000 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Leesburg, Virginia | Segra Field | 5,000 |
- Future teams
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel City FC | Los Angeles, California | Banc of California Stadium | 22,000 | 2020 | 2022 |
| Sacramento | Sacramento, California | TBA | TBA | 2021 | 2022 |
Indoor soccer clubs
Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
- Eastern Conference
- Western Conference
- Dallas Sidekicks (Texas)
- Mesquite Outlaws
- Monterrey Flash (Monterrey, Mexico)
- Ontario Fury (California)
- San Diego Sockers (California)
- Sonora Suns
- Tacoma Stars (Washington)
- Turlock Cal Express
By city
- Currently scheduled to begin play in 2022.
- Currently scheduled to begin play in 2023.
- Will cease USL operations after the 2022 season, with the name to be taken over by the city's new MLS side.
- The city's former NWSL team, Utah Royals FC, ceased operations after the 2020 season; its player-related assets were transferred to a group in the Kansas City area that will start fielding an expansion team in 2021. Once the sale of the Royals' parent, Real Salt Lake, is completed, the new owners have the option to reestablish the Royals franchise in 2023.
- Voluntarily dropped from the USL Championship to League One after the 2018 season.
See also
Notes
- Soccer specific stadium
- Shared facility; not a soccer-specific stadium
- Baseball park
- Opening in 2021; not to be confused with the former Weidner Field, now known as Switchbacks Training Stadium, which had been the team's venue from 2015 to 2020.
- To be replaced by a soccer-specific stadium.
References
- "Major League Soccer to expand to 24 teams by 2020 season, says Commissioner Don Garber". MLSsoccer.com.
- Couch, Ben (January 29, 2018). "Miami MLS expansion team to begin play in 2020". MLSSoccer.com. MLS Digital. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- Rosano, Nick (December 20, 2017). "Nashville awarded MLS expansion club". MLSSoccer.com. MLS Digital. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- "Austin FC to Begin Play in MLS in 2021". MLSSoccer.com (Press release). MLS Digital. January 15, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- "Major League Soccer awards expansion team to Charlotte, which will begin play in 2021". USA Today. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- Bogert, Tom (October 21, 2019). "Major League Soccer awards expansion team to Sacramento". MLSSoccer.com. MLS Digital. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- Bogert, Tom (August 20, 2019). "MLS awards expansion team to St. Louis". MLSSoccer.com. MLS Digital. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- "Rhode Island Unveils 7,500-Seat Soccer-Specific Stadium Anchored by USL Championship Club". USL Championship. December 2, 2019.
- "CHI Memorial Hospital Unveiled as Naming Rights Sponsor for Chattanooga Stadium". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- "Three MLS Teams Withdraw from USL Competition" (Press release). United Soccer League. October 16, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- Zeigler, Mark (July 28, 2020). "San Diego 1904 FC will skip fall soccer season". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- https://www.njteamstersfc.com/news/breaking-news
- Girard, Wayne (August 17, 2020). "Descending the Pyramid: The New Jersey Teamsters Are Building a Soccer Institution". Urban Pitch. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
The Don Ahern Veterans Stadium can fill 7,000 — we want to set our attendance at 2,500, and from there we will be able to expand.
- Green, Lauren. "Report: LAFC up next for NWSL expansion in 2018". Excelle Sports. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- Kassouf, Jeff (June 9, 2016). "City Football Group could bring NWSL team to New York". The Equalizer. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- Rosenblatt, Ryan (May 12, 2017). "FC Barcelona approve plans to launch a women's team in NWSL". Fox Sports. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- "National Women's Soccer League announces expansion to Louisville in 2021" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- "National Women's Soccer League awards expansion team rights to Los Angeles" (Press release). National Women’s Soccer League. July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- [://www.si.com/soccer/2021/01/12/nwsl-us-soccer-expansion-sacramento-draft "U.S. Soccer Not Managing NWSL Anymore; League Expanding to Sacramento in 2022"] Check
|url=value (help). Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.