Expanded MLS Next Pro battling USL for growth opportunities

THE COUNTRY’S TOP SOCCER LEAGUE is seeking to expand its business to more American markets through its Division III developmental league, MLS Next Pro — which means a turf war with USL.

Next Pro, launched in 2022, began its third season on March 15 with 29 teams. In addition to 27 feeder teams for top-level MLS clubs, the league has added two independently-owned clubs: Carolina Core FC (based in High Point, N.C.) and Chattanooga FC. The return of independent clubs after the shuttering of Rochester New York FC following the league’s inaugural season is a key step for Next Pro, which hopes to eventually reach 50-60 teams, potentially across multiple divisions.

Three more independents in Cleveland, Jacksonville and Bridgeport, Conn., have declared their intention to join the league in 2025. Next Pro President Charles Altchek expects the league to be at 40 announced teams by the end of this year.

MLS is also encouraging its top-division clubs to commercialize their own Next Pro teams by placing them in new locales. Nashville SC did so last season with its establishment of its development team in Huntsville, Ala., as a distinct brand, Huntsville City FC. Playing at a repurposed minor league baseball stadium, the team averaged more than 4,500 fans in 2023 (the league doesn’t release attendance figures, but most teams don’t draw nearly that well).

“From the league’s perspective, our No. 1 priority is to find the right location for our teams, whether it’s independent teams or our affiliate teams,” Altchek said. “For some [affiliated teams], it will be in the same market as the first team, and for many others, it will be in a secondary market where the team can have a distinct identity, can have a distinct connection with fans in that market.”

Next Pro’s growth plans have the league in a head-to-head expansion race with USL, which operates two professional men’s leagues — USL Championship (Division II) and USL League One (Division III) — and is launching a Division I women’s league this August.

Sources said the entry fee for independent clubs to join Next Pro today is far lower than the roughly $20 million for the USL Championship and even the approximately $5 million to join USL League One.

USL Deputy CEO Justin Papadakis said the league plans to announce as many as 15 new clubs this year, primarily at the League One level, and noted that USL can offer potential owners and cities both men’s and women’s soccer with the launch of the USL Super League in August.

Altchek declined to comment on how Next Pro’s approach compares to that of USL.

“They’re different products, different cost levels, and you have different business models,” Papadakis said. “We do play the same sport, but again, we have a different strategy, and we also have the women’s side.”

USL —which in 2023 had average attendance in the Championship and League One of 5,596 and 2,370, respectively — is already going head-to-head with Next Pro in a few markets, such as Chattanooga (which has had a USL League One club since 2018) and Jacksonville (where both have clubs set to join in 2025).

Papadakis said, “Fans will vote with their feet and corporate partners will vote with their dollars.”