The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
(U.S. Soccer) as a
Division II league since 2017, placing it under
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(Division I) in the hierarchy.
The USL is headquartered in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Co ...
.
The league is owned and operated by
United Soccer League
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...
and was formed as result of the merger of their
USL First (USL-1) and
Second Divisions (USL-2), following the 2010 season which saw neither the USL-1 nor the
North American Soccer League (NASL) receive Division II sanctioning from the
USSF, resulting in the temporary
USSF Division 2 Pro League. United Soccer Leagues stated that the merger would strengthen the league's position within the American professional soccer landscape through stability, commercial growth and the professional development of soccer in four main regions throughout the United States and Canada.
Five USL Championship teams are affiliated to MLS teams. Until 2020, a majority of MLS teams had an affiliate in either the USL Championship or third-level
USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...
(USL1). With the creation of
MLS Next Pro
MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS clubs ...
, all remaining MLS affiliations will end after the 2022 season.
History
Founding (2010)
On September 8, 2010, the
United Soccer League
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...
s formally announced the creation of USL Pro in a press release.
Prior to the official announcement of the new league, on August 11, 2010, the
Dayton Dutch Lions FC revealed they would be joining the "USL-Pro Championship Division (former USL-2)" at a press conference, revealing the name of the new league before its official announcement. With this disclosure, the Dutch Lions were the first confirmed team in USL Pro for its inaugural 2011 season.
Alongside the announcement of the new league, the
Richmond Kickers
Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...
revealed they would be moving to USL Pro for 2011. With the departure of the
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
to MLS in 2011 and the defection of the
Puerto Rico Islanders
Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to:
Places
*El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain
*Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
*Puerto Colombia, Colombia
*Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela
*Puerto Galera, Orient ...
to the NASL from USL-1, the
Austin Aztex
The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer p ...
were the only remaining USL-1 team not yet a part of USL Pro.
On September 22, 2010, the "Caribbean Division" of USL Pro was announced, with teams from Puerto Rico and Antigua and Barbuda signing on to compete in the league.
With the addition of
Puerto Rico United to the league and "Caribbean Division", league representatives expressed their intent to see expansion in the region continue, with an eventual 8-team "Caribbean Conference".
With the inclusion of a team from Los Angeles, this division eventually became the International Division.
On September 22, 2010, USL announced that
Sevilla FC Puerto Rico and
River Plate Puerto Rico would be joining USL Pro in 2011 alongside
Antigua Barracuda FC as part of the building blocks of a Caribbean division.
On September 28, 2010, USL announced that one of their flagship clubs and reigning 2010 USL-2 Champions, the
Charleston Battery
The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in the ...
, would be joining USL Pro for its launch in 2011.
On September 30, 2010, nearly two months following the team's own announcement of a "USL Pro Championship Division" move, the USL formally announced Dayton Dutch Lions FC would join USL Pro.
On October 4 and 7, 2010, the USL revealed two USL-2 clubs, the
Charlotte Eagles and the Harrisburg City Islanders (later known as
Penn FC), would be making the jump to USL Pro for 2011.
The
Pittsburgh Riverhounds were added as the 9th official team on October 22, 2010. October 25, 2010, saw the addition of the
Rochester Rhinos
Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States.
Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...
who had previously committed to the
NASL, along with expansion team
Orlando City SC
Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...
(formerly the
Austin Aztex FC of USL-1) after new ownership secured and moved the team from Texas to Florida.
On November 9, 2010, former USL-2 side
Wilmington Hammerheads officially joined the league as the 12th team,
followed on November 17, 2010, by
F.C. New York.
The expected number of teams to launch league play in 2011 was announced as 18–20, alongside the announcement of the Wilmington Hammerheads joining the league.
The
Los Angeles Blues, associated with the successful women's
Pali Blues organization, were added on December 7, 2010, with a message of future "Western Conference" growth into 2012.
The "Caribbean Division" of USL Pro grew to four teams on December 9, 2010, with the addition of
Puerto Rico United to the league,
marking the last of the 15 teams that would compete in USL Pro in its inaugural 2011 season.
On September 14, 2010, United Soccer Leagues President Tim Holt expressed the desired structure for the league to launch with 14–18 teams across four specific geographic areas in 2011, expansion to 22–26 teams by 2013, and 28–32 teams by 2015.
Following USL Pro's first annual general meeting, the league confirmed it would debut with 16 teams playing a 24-game regular season schedule in 2011, with planned growth for 20–24 teams to start the 2012 season.
Play begins (2011–2012)
USL Pro debuted in 2011, starting with 15 teams playing a 24-game regular season schedule.
American and National Division teams played a home-and-away series against all opponents from the two divisions (totaling 18 games), 2 additional regional rivalry matches, with each team making an additional trip to either Los Angeles or the Caribbean to play two games while hosting International Division competition for two games.
International Division teams played each team in their division four times (twice home, twice away, totaling 16 games) while traveling to face American or National Division opponents in four games and hosting those opponents for four games.
The original playoff format saw eight teams compete in a one-game quarterfinal. Both the American and National Divisions saw their top three teams advance for an inter-divisional playoff, while the top two teams in the International Division played-off against each other to reach the semi-finals. The four remaining teams were re-seeded for a single semi-final match, again with the higher seed hosting, leading up to a single match for the
USL Cup. In all playoff matches the highest seeded team hosted.
The first league game was played on April 2, 2011. The
Richmond Kickers
Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...
defeated
Orlando City SC
Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...
2-0 at Richmond's
City Stadium.
Stanley Nyazamba scored the first goal in the 35th minute on a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
.
On May 10, 2011, early in the league's inaugural season, the league announced that it was dropping the three Puerto Rican clubs from the USL Pro schedule.
The PRSL clubs were dropped due to economic and ownership issues.
The two remaining International Division teams –
Antigua Barracuda FC and
Los Angeles Blues – were re-aligned into the American and National Divisions.
Due to the removal of the International Division, the revised playoff format featured the top four teams in each of the two divisions. The two division playoff winners met in the USL Pro Championship at the home venue of the team with the better record.
Following the 2011 season, USL Pro announced with the release of the 2012 season schedule that
F.C. New York would not be returning to play, with the former National and American Divisions being dissolved to form a single, eleven team league table.
Beginnings of MLS partnership (2013–2014)
Two expansion teams joined for the 2013 season:
Phoenix FC and the
VSI Tampa Bay FC.
On January 23, 2013, United Soccer Leagues and MLS announced a multi-year agreement to integrate
MLS Reserve League
The MLS Reserve League was a soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada.
It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2–0 victory by Chivas ...
play with USL Pro teams, first through team affiliations and "interleague" play, but eventually fully merging MLS Reserves into the USL Pro structure. The stated goals of this partnership are to improve North American player development, strengthen league competition, build long-term ties between the leagues and expand the audience for both the leagues and developing players.
While the 2013 season would feature partnered competitions between USL Pro and MLS Reserve teams, four Major League Soccer clubs opted to affiliate with an existing USL Pro team, agreeing to loan at least four MLS players to their affiliate:
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse an ...
with
Orlando City, the
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 a ...
with the
Harrisburg City Islanders,
D.C. United with the
Richmond Kickers
Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...
and the
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed ...
with the
Rochester Rhinos
Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States.
Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...
. Each MLS club will eventually be expected to either affiliate with a USL Pro team or operate an independent reserve team in the league.
The
Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establish ...
announced that they would be partnering with the
Pittsburgh Riverhounds in 2014.
However, this partnership between the Riverhounds and Dynamo was dissolved after just one year.
Following the conclusion of the 2013 season, VSI Tampa Bay folded after only one season, along with founding league member Antigua.
In December 2012,
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
announced it would begin play in 2014 as an expansion team,
and in July 2014, USL announced that
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...
would also join USL in 2014.
Orlando City announced that it would leave USL after the 2014 season to join MLS as an
expansion team
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
for the 2015 season.
The Los Angeles Blues were rebranded as
Orange County Blues FC on February 5, 2014.
The Phoenix FC franchise was revoked and replaced with
Arizona United SC on March 13, 2014.
In what would become a major trend, on January 29, 2014, the
LA Galaxy
LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...
announced the creation of LA Galaxy II, a reserve team within the club's existing development structure. The Galaxy purchased a USL Pro expansion franchise and became the first MLS club to enter its reserve team into the USL Pro.
Expansion of MLS partnership and first rebranding (2015–2016)
USL Pro nearly doubled the number of teams in the league for 2015 in large part due to MLS franchises following the path taken by the
LA Galaxy II. Seven MLS clubs announced the purchase of a USL Pro franchise for their reserve team. These MLS franchises joined four independent expansion teams that were previously announced for Colorado Springs, St. Louis, Tulsa and Austin. Additionally, Orlando City sold its franchise rights to
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
interests, which unveiled
Louisville City FC on June 3, 2014, as an affiliate of the new MLS side. The United Soccer Leagues announced that the Charlotte Eagles would drop to its Premier Development League (PDL), now known as
USL League Two
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...
, while selling their franchise rights to another Charlotte group, which formed Charlotte Independence for play beginning in 2015. Finally, on December 11, 2014, the Dayton Dutch Lions self-relegated to play in the PDL starting in 2015.
During 2014 and early 2015, the various MLS clubs in conjunction with the USL announced seven new franchises that would be owned or controlled by MLS team ownership, and would all begin play in 2015. On September 10, 2014, Real Salt Lake revealed the name of their previously announced USL Pro affiliate team would be
Real Monarchs
Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...
, and confirmed that the team would begin play in 2015.
The team played at
Rio Tinto Stadium
America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, ...
until the 5,000-seat
Zions Bank Stadium was built in
Herriman, Utah. Both the
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
and
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
created their own USL Pro squads,
Portland Timbers 2 and
Seattle Sounders FC 2 on October 14, 2014. The
Montreal Impact announced that it would field a USL Pro
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
in September 2014. On November 18, 2014,
FC Montreal officially joined the league.
On November 20, 2014,
Toronto FC
Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...
announced that it would also field a team, subsequently named
Toronto FC II
Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...
, for the 2015 season.
Whitecaps FC 2 joined USL Pro the next day.
After discussing plans for a USL Pro team in 2015,
then postponing those plans in September, the
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and ...
announced that their USL Pro team,
New York Red Bulls II would begin play in 2015.
MLS affiliations were announced for the remaining MLS teams that did not have an affiliation in 2014 and did not elect to purchase a USL Pro franchise. On September 18, 2014, the
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...
announced an affiliation partnership with the Charlotte Independence.
On January 16, 2015
New York City FC
New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owne ...
announced that it would have an affiliate relationship with the
Wilmington Hammerheads and the
Chicago Fire announced their affiliation with St Louis. On February 9, 2015,
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the leagu ...
announced it would add
Arizona United SC as its USL Pro affiliate. As a result, all 20 MLS teams for the 2015 season were either fielding their own team in the USL Pro or were affiliated with an independent USL Pro club.
The league also announced in 2015 that the league would be divided into two conferences. Teams would play a 28-game schedule with 22 games against all the teams in their conference, and the teams would be further assigned to four-club subdivisions for the other six games with an eye towards geographic rivalries between clubs.
[ Expanded USL PRO announces new league alignment, competition format for 2015 season](_blank)
(January 21, 2015). MLSSoccer.com.
On February 10, 2015, United Soccer Leagues announced a branding change for the league. It would now be called the United Soccer League or "USL" for short. They introduced a new logo and branding, and stated their intention to apply for Division II status within the United States Soccer Federation hierarchy.
During the 2015 season, USL announced several expansion teams for the 2016 season. The 25th franchise was awarded to Lone Star, LLC and the team would be named
Rio Grande Valley FC.
[.] In a first for the USL, the team has a "hybrid" affiliation with the
Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establish ...
, who are responsible for the tactical part of the club, while the ownership group, Lone Star, is responsible for operations and management.
[.][.] FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
was added as the 26th franchise
and
Bethlehem Steel FC, in the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
area and owned by the
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 a ...
, became the 27th,
Orlando City B (owned by
Orlando City SC
Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...
) as the 29th,
the
Swope Park Rangers (owned by
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse an ...
) as the 30th, and
San Antonio FC as the 31st.
The Austin Aztex announced that they would go on hiatus for the
2016 USL season on October 2, 2015. Floods damaging
House Park
House Park is a 6,000-6,500 seat American football stadium in Austin, Texas, owned and operated by the Austin Independent School District. Unlike many school districts in Texas, AISD uses multiple shared stadiums including House Park for use in a ...
midway through the 2015 season forced the team to relocate to a high school facility. The team was intended to return in 2017, pending construction of a new, soccer-specific stadium. However, stadium and ownership issues continued to plague the franchise, and they did not return.
Division II sanctioning and second rebranding (2017–2019)
Expansion continued for the 2017 season with
Reno 1868 FC, which had been announced during the 2015 season as the 28th franchise, starting play. On October 25, 2016, the USL added two teams from the
North American Soccer League (NASL): the
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second t ...
and
Ottawa Fury FC. This was the first time a club moved from the NASL to the USL. The
Montreal Impact also announced that it would fold its USL team,
FC Montreal, in favor of affiliating with
Ottawa Fury FC.
On August 31, 2016, Kyle Eng sold his majority share of Arizona United SC to an investment group led by Berke Bakay and was rebranded as
Phoenix Rising FC. Ivory Coast Soccer Legend
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...
later purchased a share of the team and played the final two seasons of his career there.
On January 6, 2017, the U.S. Soccer board of directors voted to grant provisional Division II status to the USL for the 2017 season,
placing the league on the same tier as the
North American Soccer League. The NASL was also downgraded from Division II sanctioning to a provisional status due to its membership decreasing below the 12 team minimum. Following the 2017 season, the USL gained two more NASL teams:
Indy Eleven
Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays i ...
and
North Carolina FC. For the 2018 season, the NASL's provisional sanctioning was not renewed by U.S. Soccer, while the USL was granted full sanctioning under Division II on a year-to-year basis. The NASL sued U.S. Soccer, asking a court to order U.S. Soccer to grant NASL Division II status, but the request was denied by the trial court, and denied again by the appeals court.
The USL's expansion efforts continued in the 2018 season with the additions of
Nashville SC
Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...
,
Las Vegas Lights FC,
Fresno FC
Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on March ...
(affiliated with the
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...
) and
Atlanta United 2 (owned by
Atlanta United FC
Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference.
Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began p ...
). The league also lost
Orlando City B and the
Rochester Rhinos
Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States.
Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...
, which each announced a hiatus, while the
Whitecaps FC 2 were folded after its parent team in Vancouver decided to no longer run its own development team and affiliated with the new Fresno expansion.
Four teams left the USL top flight after the 2018 season. The ownership group of FC Cincinnati was awarded an MLS franchise that started play under the FC Cincinnati name in 2019.
Penn FC, the Richmond Kickers, and Toronto FC II voluntarily dropped to
USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...
, a new third-level league that United Soccer Leagues launched in 2019. The Kickers and Toronto FC II began League One play in 2019; Penn FC suspended professional operations for 2019 and will resume play in League One in 2020. In addition, the announced hiatuses for both the Rhinos and Orlando City B became permanent departures. The Rhinos originally announced they would extend their hiatus through 2019 before resuming play in League One in 2020,
but ended up not resuming play until 2022, by which time the club had changed its name to
Rochester New York FC and joined the new third-level
MLS Next Pro
MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS clubs ...
. Orlando City B resumed play in 2019 in League One.
The league also approved several other expansion locations in
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
,
Memphis, Chicago, Oakland East Bay,
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since th ...
,
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
,
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...
,
Loudoun County, Virginia
Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...
,
and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
. All of these teams began play in 2019 except for San Diego, which began play in the 2020 season; Chicago and East Bay were both announced to launch by 2021, but were indefinitely put on hold when they had issues in securing stadium plans.
Recent history (2020–present)
Following the end of the 2019 season, three teams left the USL Championship.
Nashville SC
Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...
was awarded a
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
franchise,
Fresno FC
Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on March ...
announced that they would not be returning to Fresno, and
Ottawa Fury FC announced that they would be suspending operations after not receiving sanctioning to remain in USL by
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
and
U.S. Soccer.
An expansion team was announced for the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long Is ...
to be named
Queensboro FC. On December 11, the Ottawa Fury announced the sale of its franchise rights to the ownership group of
Miami FC, with Miami set to participate in the 2020 USL Championship season. This marked the entrance of another former NASL team into the league, with Miami having previously spent time in
NPSL and the
National Independent Soccer Association
The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...
(NISA) after the NASL folded.
Saint Louis FC folded at the end of the 2020 season. The city is set to receive an MLS franchise, with
St. Louis City SC
St. Louis City SC (stylized as St. Louis CITY SC) is an American professional men's soccer club based in St. Louis, Missouri. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference and will join in 2023 as an expansion ...
set to start play in 2023. A spokesperson for SLFC told ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' in August of that year, "The ownership decided that with the
financial impact of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
and MLS on the horizon, it didn’t make sense to continue operations." Also at the end of the 2020 season, two MLS clubs, the
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 a ...
and
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
, withdrew their reserve sides,
Philadelphia Union II
Philadelphia Union II is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania competing in MLS Next Pro. Founded in 2015 as Bethlehem Steel FC, the team is the official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. ...
and
Portland Timbers 2, from the United Soccer League system. The proposed
East Bay
The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa countie ...
club's bid had faltered due to stadium issues and its USL franchise rights were purchased by
Oakland Roots SC, which had previously played in the NISA, with plans to debut in the USLC for the 2021 season. On November 6, 2020,
Reno 1868 FC announced it was ceasing operations as a result of the financial and operational impacts of COVID-19. On January 10, 2021,
North Carolina FC club chairman
Stephen Malik announced that the club would make a "strategic move" to
USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...
.
On February 1, 2021,
Monterey Bay FC joined the USL Championship. Monterey Bay FC is a continuation of the USL Championship's
Fresno FC
Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on March ...
franchise. Fresno FC, the original club owned by Ray Beshoff, ceased operations after the 2019 season because he was unable to secure construction of a
soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...
. Beshoff, however, retained the franchise rights and managed to land the franchise to play their home matches at
Cardinale Stadium on the campus of
California State University, Monterey Bay in
Seaside, California. On November 13, 2021, it was announced that
Detroit City would join the USL Championship for the 2022 USL Championship season, becoming the third NISA team to join the league after
Miami FC and
Oakland Roots SC. On December 2, 2021,
Charlotte Independence decided to drop down to the third tier
USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...
for 2022, with the goal of better serving its youth players, as well as the fact that a new expansion franchise in the city
Charlotte FC was joining
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
that season, with whom several Independence players had signed for. On December 3, 2021,
Oklahoma City Energy FC announced that it will temporarily suspend soccer operations and will not compete in the 2022 USL Championship season. The decision comes after Energy FC's home field at Taft Stadium, which is owned and operated by the Oklahoma City Public Schools, will undergo major renovations that directly overlap with the 2022 USL Championship season and will resume play for the 2023 USL Championship season in its temporary home at Taft Stadium. On December 6, 2021, Major League Soccer announced
MLS Next Pro
MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS clubs ...
– a Division III league that will begin play in 2022. All MLS clubs with reserve teams in USL Championship or USL League One will be moving to MLS Next Pro by 2023.
On December 10, 2021, the USL Championship has approved a new ownership group for USL Championship club Austin Bold FC. The new ownership group consists of
Donnie Nelson, Neil Leibman, and Bobby Epstein. The team will not participate in the 2022 USL Championship season as it actively seeks relocation to another city in Texas.
On January 27, 2022, the USL officially awarded
USL Pro Iowa an expansion team to be based in
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, that would join the league in the 2024 season. The team's majority owner is Kyle Krause, who has been the majority owner of USL League 2 side
Des Moines Menace since 1998. On July 14, 2022, the USL announced a group that intended to bring USL Championship and Super League teams to
, with a goal for the Championship side to kick off by 2025. On August 12, 2022, ground was broken in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fal ...
, on a stadium intended for a USL Championship
expansion side that will begin play in 2024 when the stadium is completed. On August 30, 2022, the USL announced that a group of investors had formed to bring USL Championship and USL Super League expansion teams to
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
, with the goal for the Championship side to kick off in 2025. On October 19, 2022, the USL awarded an expansion team to
USL Milwaukee, set to begin play in 2025 with plans to build an 8,000-seat stadium in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
.
Teams
The following teams will play in the 2023 USL Championship season.
Expansion teams
Notes
On hiatus
Former teams
Timeline
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2025
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:80 top:5
Colors =
id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
id:line value:black
id:scale value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5)
id:bg value:white
id:otherText value:rgb(0.2,0.2,0.2)
id:Full value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) legend:Current_clubs
id:Future value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) legend:Future_clubs
id:Former value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) legend:Former_clubs
id:Other value:rgb(0.897,0.698,0.698) legend:Club_playing_in_different_league
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:scale unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2010
Legend = orientation:hor position:bottom
Define $other = color:Other textcolor:otherText
LineData =
color:scale layer:back width:2 at:01/01/2023 #> CHANGE THIS DATE TO UPDATE CURRENT SEASON <#
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
#> JOINED IN 2011 <#
bar:ANT color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2013 text: Antigua Barracuda FC
bar:CHS $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USL-2
bar:CHS color:Full from:01/01/2011 till:end text:Charleston Battery
The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in the ...
bar:CHE $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USL-2
bar:CHE color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2014 text: Charlotte Eagles
bar:CHE $other from:01/01/2015 till:end text:PDL
bar:DDL $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:PDL
bar:DDL color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2014 text:Dayton Dutch Lions
Dayton Dutch Lions is an American soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the USL Professional Div ...
bar:DDL $other from:01/01/2015 till:end text:PDL
bar:NEW color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2011 text: F.C. New York
bar:NEW $other from:01/01/2012 till:06/30/2012 text:NPSL
bar:HCI $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USL-2
bar:HCI color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2017 text: Harrisburg City Islanders
bar:HCI color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2018 text: Penn FC
bar:OCO color:Full from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2013 text: Los Angeles Blues
bar:OCO color:Full from:01/01/2014 till:12/31/2016 text: Orange County Blues
bar:OCO color:Full from:01/01/2017 till:end text:Orange County SC
Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship.
The team plays its home games a ...
bar:ORL color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2014 text:Orlando City SC
Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...
bar:ORL $other from:01/01/2015 till:end text:MLS
bar:PGH $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USL-2
bar:PGH color:Full from:01/01/2011 till:end text: Pittsburgh Riverhounds
bar:PR $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:PRSL
bar:PR color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:05/11/2011 text:Puerto Rico clubs ‡
bar:RIC $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USL-2
bar:RIC color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2018 text:Richmond Kickers
Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...
bar:RIC $other from:01/01/2019 till:end text:USL1
bar:ROC $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USSF D2
bar:ROC color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2017 text:Rochester Rhinos
Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States.
Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...
bar:ROC $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:WIL color:Former from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2016 text: Wilmington Hammerheads FC
bar:WIL $other from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2017 text:PDL
#> JOINED IN 2013 <#
bar:PHX color:Former from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2013 text: Phoenix FC
bar:TAM color:Former from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2013 text: VSI Tampa Bay FC
#> JOINED IN 2014 <#
bar:AZU color:Full from:01/01/2014 till:12/31/2016 text: Arizona United SC
bar:AZU color:Full from:01/01/2017 till:end text: Phoenix Rising FC
bar:LAG color:Full from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2023 text: LA Galaxy II
bar:LAG $other from:01/01/2023 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:OKC color:Full from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2022 text: Oklahoma City Energy FC
bar:OKC color:Full from:01/01/2023 till:end text: Oklahoma City Energy FC
bar:SAC color:Full from:01/01/2014 till:end text:Sacramento Republic FC
Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the ...
#> JOINED IN 2015 <#
bar:AUS $other from:01/01/2012 till:12/31/2014 text:PDL
bar:AUS color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2015 text:Austin Aztex
The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer p ...
bar:CLT color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2021 text: Charlotte Independence
bar:CLT $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:USL1
bar:CSS color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:end text: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
bar:MON color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2016 text: FC Montreal
bar:LOU color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:end text: Louisville City FC
bar:NYR color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2023 text: New York Red Bulls II
bar:NYR $other from:01/01/2023 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:POR color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2020 text: Portland Timbers 2
bar:POR $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:RMO color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2022 text:Real Monarchs
Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...
bar:RMO $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:STL color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2020 text: Saint Louis FC
bar:TAC color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2018 text: Seattle Sounders FC 2
bar:TAC color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2022 text:Tacoma Defiance
Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, is an American professional soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, U.S. that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the national soccer pyramid, as the reserve team of Seattle Sounde ...
bar:TAC $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:TOR color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2018 text:Toronto FC II
Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...
bar:TOR $other from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:USL1
bar:TOR $other from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 text:USL1
bar:TOR $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:TUL color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:end text: Tulsa Roughnecks FC
bar:TUL color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text: FC Tulsa
bar:VAN color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2017 text: Whitecaps FC 2
#> JOINED IN 2016 <#
bar:PHI color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2019 text: Bethlehem Steel FC
bar:PHI color:Former from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2020 text:Philadelphia Union II
Philadelphia Union II is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania competing in MLS Next Pro. Founded in 2015 as Bethlehem Steel FC, the team is the official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. ...
bar:PHI $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:CIN color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2018 text:FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
bar:CIN $other from:01/01/2019 till:end text:MLS
bar:OCB color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2017 text: Orlando City B
bar:OCB $other from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2020 text:USL1
bar:OCB $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:RGV color:Full from:01/01/2016 till:end text: Rio Grande Valley FC
bar:SAN color:Full from:01/01/2016 till:end text: San Antonio FC
bar:SPR color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:end text: Swope Park Rangers
bar:SPR color:Former from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 text: Sporting Kansas City II
bar:SPR $other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
#> JOINED IN 2017 <#
bar:OTT $other from:01/01/2014 till:12/31/2016 text:NASL
bar:OTT color:Former from:01/01/2017 till:12/31/2019 text: Ottawa Fury FC
bar:REN color:Former from:01/01/2017 till:12/31/2020 text: Reno 1868 FC
bar:TBR $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USSF D2
bar:TBR $other from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2016 text:NASL
bar:TBR color:Full from:01/01/2017 till:end text:Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second t ...
#> JOINED IN 2018 <#
bar:ATL color:Full from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2023 text: Atlanta United 2
bar:ATL $other from:01/01/2023 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:MTR color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2019 text:Fresno FC
Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on March ...
bar:MTR color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text:Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by a ...
bar:IND $other from:01/01/2014 till:12/31/2017 text:NASL
bar:IND color:Full from:01/01/2018 till:end text:Indy Eleven
Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays i ...
bar:LVL color:Full from:01/01/2018 till:end text: Las Vegas Lights FC
bar:NSH color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2019 text:Nashville SC
Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...
bar:NSH $other from:01/01/2020 till:end text:MLS
bar:NCA $other from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:USSF D2
bar:NCA $other from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2017 text:NASL
bar:NCA color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2020 text: North Carolina FC
bar:NCA $other from:01/01/2021 till:end text:USL1
#> JOINED IN 2019 <#
bar:BLD color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2021 text:Austin Bold FC
Austin Bold FC was an American professional association football, soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort Worth, ...
bar:BLD color:Full from:01/01/2024 till:end text:Fort Worth
bar:BHM color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Birmingham Legion FC
bar:ELP color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text:El Paso Locomotive FC
El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019.
Club crest and colors
The Locomotive brand was unveiled on October 4, 2018, beat ...
bar:HAR color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Hartford Athletic
bar:LDN color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Loudoun United FC
bar:MEM color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Memphis 901 FC
bar:NMU color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text:New Mexico United
New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer.
History
Former teams
The state of New Mexic ...
#> JOINED IN 2020 <#
bar:MIA $other from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2017 text:NASL
bar:MIA $other from:01/01/2018 till:06/30/2019 text:NPSL
bar:MIA $other from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:NISA
bar:MIA color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text: Miami FC
bar:SDL color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text: San Diego Loyal SC
#> JOINED IN 2021 <#
bar:OAK $other from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2020 text:NISA
bar:OAK color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text: Oakland Roots SC
#> JOINED IN 2022 <#
bar:DET $other from:01/01/2012 till:12/31/2019 text:NPSL
bar:DET $other from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2021 text:NISA
bar:DET color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Detroit City
#> FUTURE <#
bar:QBR color:Future from:01/01/2023 till:end text: Queensboro
bar:RHD color:Future from:01/01/2024 till:end text:Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but ...
bar:IOW color:Future from:01/01/2025 till:end text:Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to ...
bar:MIL color:Future from:01/01/2025 till:end text:Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
‡ Puerto Rico clubs
Puerto Rico United,
River Plate Puerto Rico, and
Sevilla Puerto Rico began play in the league, but in May 2011 United Soccer Leagues announced that the teams would not finish the season due to financial difficulties.
Competition format
USL Pro's scheduling format changed for the 2015 season to accommodate the expansion that took place during the 2014–2015 off-season, and the league's resulting need to divide teams into conferences – which eliminated the single table.
All teams played 28 regular-season matches stretching from March to September. This included a 22-game, double-round-robin schedule that pitted each team against all its conference opponents at home and on the road. The remaining six fixtures were played against regional rivals, which lead to some inter-conference regular season matches. The top six finishers in each conference went through to the October playoffs, which continued as a series of single-game knockout rounds. After three rounds of intra-conference play, the two conference champions met in the championship match, to be hosted by the team with the better regular-season record. For 2016 season the season was extended to 30 games.
Starting with the 2019 season, teams will play regular-season games only within their conference. Each team will play a home-and-home schedule within its conference, resulting in a 34-game schedule. The top 10 teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs, which will continue to be held with separate brackets for each conference and conducted entirely as one-off knockout matches. The opening round, which the league calls the "play-in round", sees the bottom four teams in action, with the 7 seed hosting the 10 seed and 8 hosting 9. The survivors join the top six sides from their respective conferences, with the lowest remaining seed visiting the 1 seed and the other play-in survivor visiting the 2 seed. All matches through the conference finals will be hosted by the higher seed. The USL Cup will be the season's only match that involves teams from different conferences; it will be hosted by the conference champion with the better regular-season record.
Media coverage
The USL has been partnered with
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
since the 2016 season. The first iteration of the deal brought 20 matches to
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...
and the championship match to one of its linear networks, while all remaining matches were broadcast directly by the league on its
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
channel.
Beginning with the launch of
ESPN+
ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, in partnership with ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co ...
on April 12, 2018, all USL matches moved to the
over-the-top service, with 18 games of the week and the championship continuing to air on one of ESPN's linear channels. The 2019 final will also air on
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (w ...
. The deal with ESPN expired after the 2019 season, but was subsequently renewed for three additional seasons. Although the ESPN+ match streams are not
blacked out in-market, individual clubs are also allowed to
syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest.
Etymology
The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndica ...
the USL-produced broadcast to local television stations.
The English-language commentary team for the
USL Championship on ESPN has included Mike Watts and Devon Kerr since 2018. Watts and Kerr also host a weekly program, "USL All-Access" on
Sirius XM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Siriu ...
FC. Broadcasts on ESPN Deportes have been led by Jesús Eduardo Acosta and José Armando Rodriguez.
In August 2020, the USL announced their first international broadcast partner with
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
broadcaster Flow Sports.
In August 2021, the USL announced a new broadcast agreement with
OneFootball
OneFootball is a platform-based football media company. The OneFootball app features live-scores, statistics and news from 200 leagues in 12 different languages covered by a newsroom located in Berlin. In 2019, OneFootball partnered up with Eleve ...
in Italy.
Champions
Teams that no longer participate in the USL Championship are in ''italics''.
USL Championship Final results
USL club honors
Updated to the end of the 2022 USL playoffs; sorted by major honors (championships).
Player records
Attendance
FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
played before a record crowd of 20,497 at
Nippert Stadium
James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Primarily used for American football, it is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team. The stadium has ...
on April 16, 2016, in a rivalry match against neighboring
Louisville City FC. This broke the USL Pro's previous record for attendance at a regular-season match of 20,231 set by
Sacramento Republic
Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the ...
in its home debut on April 26, 2014, at
Hughes Stadium.
["Republic FC loses home opener before sellout crowd at Hughes Stadium"](_blank)
, Sacramento Bee, April 27, 2014. Cincinnati broke the record again on May 14, 2016, with a new all-time high of 23,375. Cincinnati broke the single game attendance record again on October 2, 2016, in their first ever playoff match against the Charleston Battery, losing 2–1 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 USL playoffs. The attendance of 30,187 also set the USL playoff record. Cincinnati broke the all time regular season record again on August 5, 2017, at Nippert Stadium, drawing 25,308 versus
Orlando City B. They broke their own record again about six weeks later drawing 30,417 to a 4–2 win over the New York Red Bulls II. Cincinnati broke the record once more in their final home regular season game as a USL team on September 29, 2018, drawing 31,478 versus
Indy Eleven
Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays i ...
See also
*
Soccer in the United States
Soccer in the United States is run by different organizations. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the country, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highes ...
*
Soccer in Canada
*
Professional sports leagues in the United States
Professional sports leagues in the United States include several major leagues as well as other professional and semi-professional leagues.
Major leagues
The major sports leagues tend to have the greatest fan interest, have national TV contracts, ...
References
External links
*
{{USL Championship head coaches
1
3
Second level association football leagues in North America
Third level association football leagues in North America
Professional soccer leagues in the United States
Summer association football leagues
Professional sports leagues in the United States
Sports leagues established in 2011
2011 establishments in the United States