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), the second level is the USL Championship, and the third level is USL League One. 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 26 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, and Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF began play in the 2020 season, as the 25th and 26th teams. Austin FC and a Charlotte are scheduled to begin play in the 2021 season, and St. Louis and Sacramento Republic FC expansion franchises plan to join the league in 2022.
| Future teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Joining League | |
| Austin FC[4] | Austin, Texas | Austin FC stadium | 20,000 | 2021 | |
| Charlotte[5] | Charlotte, North Carolina | Bank of America Stadium | 75,523 | ||
| Sacramento Republic FC[6] | Sacramento, California | Railyards Stadium | 20,100 | 2022 | |
| St. Louis[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.
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Future teams
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joining | Head coach | MLS affiliate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planned Expansion Clubs | |||||||
| Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | Lincoln Yards Stadium[lower-roman 1] | 20,000 | 2017 | 2021 | TBD | TBD |
| Oakland East Bay | Concord, California | East Bay Stadium[lower-roman 1] | 15,000 | 2017 | 2021 | TBD | TBD |
| USLC Rhode Island[8] | Pawtucket, Rhode Island | Riptide Stadium[lower-roman 1] | 7,500 | 2020 | 2022 | ||
| Queensboro FC | Queens, New York | New stadium at York College[lower-roman 1] | 7,500 | 2019 | 2021 | ||
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[12] |
- * – Team based in Canada
Women's soccer clubs
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League currently has nine clubs.[13] 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.[14] In May 2017, FC Barcelona announced that it had approved a plan to launch an expansion team in the league as soon as 2018,[15] but those plans have yet to materialize.
The league's next confirmed expansion will be in 2021, when a new team in Louisville, Kentucky is scheduled to start play as Racing Louisville FC.[16]
- 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 |
| 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 |
| OL Reign | Tacoma, Washington | Cheney Stadium | 6,500 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Sky Blue FC | Harrison, New Jersey | Red Bull Arena | 25,000 | 2007 | 2013 |
| Utah Royals FC | Sandy, Utah | Rio Tinto Stadium | 20,213 | 2017 | 2018 |
| Washington Spirit | Washington, D.C. | Audi Field | 20,000 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Leesburg, Virginia | Segra Field | 5,000 | |||
| Boyds, Maryland | Maryland SoccerPlex | 5,200 |
- Future teams
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racing Louisville FC | Louisville, Kentucky | Lynn Family Stadium | 14,000 | 2019 | 2021 |
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 2021.
- Will cease USL operations after the 2021 season, with the name to be taken over by the city's new MLS side.
- Voluntarily dropped from the USL Championship to League One after the 2018 season.
- Resuming play in 2021, after having suspended professional operations after the 2017 USL (now USL Championship) season.
See also
Notes
- Soccer specific stadium
- Shared facility; not a soccer-specific stadium
- Loudoun United opened its inaugural 2019 season at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., home to its parent club of D.C. United.
- Baseball park
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.
- Staff, USLChampionship com (December 2, 2019). "Rhode Island Unveils 7,500-Seat Soccer-Specific Stadium Anchored by USL Championship Club". USL Championship.
- "CHI Memorial Hospital Unveiled as Naming Rights Sponsor for Chattanooga Stadium". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- "Fort Lauderdale Club de Fútbol Announced as Name for Club's USL League One Team", intermiamicf.com, retrieved February 1, 2020
- "Inter Miami FC, New England Revolution Launch League One Clubs", uslleagueone.com, USL League One, retrieved October 9, 2019
- Green, Lauren. "Report: LAFC up next for NWSL expansion in 2018". Excelle Sports. Retrieved 31 July 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 31 July 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.