 | |
| Founded | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Most championships | Cups:Louisville City (2) Shields:Orlando City (2) |
| Website | Official Site |
TheUSL Championship (also known asUSLC) is a professional soccer league for men in the United States. It started in 2011 and is the second-best level of professional soccer in the country, just belowMajor League Soccer.
The league is managed by theUnited Soccer League, and their main office is inTampa, Florida. The USL Championship was created by combining two smaller leagues,USL First Division (USL-1) andUSL Second Division (USL-2), after the 2010 season.
This combination happened because neither USL-1 nor the North American Soccer League (NASL) were officially recognized as Division II leagues by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). They had to play in a temporary league called USSF Division 2 Pro League for a while. The goal of putting these leagues together was to make the overall soccer situation better in the United States. They thought it would make soccer more stable and popular.
These teams below played in the USL Championships during the 2023 season.[1]
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joining | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina FC | Cary, North Carolina | WakeMed Soccer Park | 10,000 | 2006 | 2024 |  John Bradford |
| Rhode Island FC | Smithfield, Rhode Island[lower-roman 4] | Beirne Stadium[lower-roman 1][3][lower-roman 4] | 5,000 | 2019 | 2024[4] |  Khano Smith |
| USL Pro Iowa[5][6] | Des Moines, Iowa | Pro Iowa Stadium[lower-roman 2] | 6,300 | 2022 | 2025[7] | |
| JAXUSL | Jacksonville, Florida | TBD | 2022 | 2025[8] | ||
| Milwaukee Pro Soccer | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Iron District Stadium[lower-roman 2] | 8,000 | 2022 | 2025[9] | |
| USL Arkansas[10][11] | Rogers, Arkansas | TBD | 5,000 | 2023 | 2026[11] |
Notes
| Club | Location | Stadium | Size | Joined | Last Played | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKC Energy FC | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Taft Stadium | 7,500 | 2014 | 2021 | Planned 2026 return, pending new stadium completion[12] |
‡ Puerto Rico clubsPuerto Rico United,River Plate Puerto Rico, andSevilla 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.[19]
