American Professional Soccer Pyramid: 2025
Nov 9, 2025
The 2025 season is almost over but it is never too late to get yourself acquainted with the ins and outs of the American pyramid. We recently launched our first long form YouTube video covering everything you need to know about how the professional club game is structured in the United States (and sometimes Canada) and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
The video is linked above but also embedded at the end of this article. The one thing we didn’t do in the video that we are going to do here is really call out each and every club by name. So we’ll run down the pyramid and fill you in on who is playing where but watch the video to learn more about how all of the pieces fit together.
Women’s Professional Club Pyramid
The Women’s pyramid is a little lopsided at the moment as there are only two leagues and they both occupy spots in the first division. These leagues use different calendars and neither leagues share cities but it obviously looks a bit weird to have a top heavy “pyramid” like this. There are new leagues in the works that will help fill out the rest of these divisions but we will see what that looks like when there are more concrete details to work with.
National Women’s Soccer League
Founded in 2012 and beginning play in 2013, the National Women’s Soccer League fielded 14 clubs for the 2025 season.
Angel City Football Club - Los Angeles, California
Bay Football Club - San Jose, California
Chicago Stars Football Club - Chicago, Illinois
Gotham Football Club - Harrison, New Jersey
Houston Dash - Houston, Texas
Kansas City Current - Kansas City, Missouri
North Carolina Courage - Cary, North Carolina
Orlando Pride - Orlando, Florida
Portland Thorns FC - Portland, Oregon
Racing Louisville Football Club - Louisville, Kentucky
San Diego Wave Fútbol Club - San Diego, California
Seattle Reign FC - Seattle, Washington
Utah Royals - Sandy, Utah
Washington Spirit - Washington, D.C.
USL Super League
Founded in 2021 and beginning play in 2024, the USL Super League is fielding 9 clubs for the 2025/2026 season.
Brooklyn Football Club - New York City, New York
Carolina Ascent Football Club - Charlotte, North Carolina
Dallas Trinity FC - Dallas, Texas
DC Power Football Club - Washington, D.C.
Fort Lauderdale United FC - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Lexington Sporting Club - Lexington, Kentucky
Spokane Zephyr FC - Spokane, Washington
Sporting Club Jacksonville - Jacksonville, Florida
Tampa Bay Sun Football Club - Tampa, Florida
Men’s Professional Club Pyramid
The Men’s professional club pyramid is far more complete than the Women’s, with all three professional divisions featuring at least one league. However, we did lose an entire league between 2024 and 2025 as the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) lost its Division 3 sanctioning.
USL League One
Founded in 2017 and beginning play in 2019, USL League One featured 14 clubs during the 2025 season.
AV Alta FC - Lancaster, California
Charlotte Independence - Charlotte, North Carolina
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC - East Ridge, Tennessee
Forward Madison FC - Madison, Wisconsin
Greenville Triumph SC - Mauldin, South Carolina
One Knoxville Sporting Club - Knoxville, Tennessee
FC Naples - Naples, Florida
Portland Hearts of Pine - Portland, Maine
Richmond Kickers - Richmond, Virginia
South Georgia Tormenta FC - Statesboro, Georgia
Spokane Velocity FC - Spokane, Washington
Texoma FC - Sherman, Texas
Union Omaha - Omaha, Nebraska
Westchester Soccer Club - Mount Vernon, New York
MLS Next Pro
Founded in 2021 and beginning play in 2022, MLS Next Pro fielded 29 clubs for the 2025 season.
Atlanta United 2 - Kennesaw, Georgia
Austin FC II - Austin, Texas
Carolina Core FC - High Point, North Carolina
Chattanooga FC - Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chicago Fire II - Bridgeview, Illinois
Colorado Rapids 2 - Denver, Colorado
Columbus Crew 2 - Columbus, Ohio
Crown Legacy Football Club - Matthews, North Carolina
FC Cincinnati 2 - Highland Heights, Kentucky
Houston Dynamo 2 - Houston, Texas
Huntsville City Football Club - Huntsville, Alabama
Inter Miami CF II - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Los Angeles Football Club 2 - Fullerton, California
MNUFC2 - Saint Paul, Minnesota
New England Revolution II - Foxborough, Massachusetts
New York Red Bulls II - Montclair, New Jersey
North Texas SC - Arlington - Texas
NYCFC II - New York City, New York
Orlando City B - Kissimmee, Florida
Philadelphia Union II - Chester, Pennsylvania
Real Monarchs - Herriman, Utah
Sporting KC II - Kansas City, Missouri
St Louis CITY2 - St. Louis, Missouri
Tacoma Defiance - Tukwila, Washington
Portland Timbers 2 - Portland, Oregon
Toronto FC II - Toronto, Ontario
The Town FC - Moraga, California
Ventura County FC - Thousand Oaks, California
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 - Burnaby, British Columbia
USL Championship
With its first season in 2011, the USL Championship fielded 24 clubs in 2025
Birmingham Legion FC - Birmingham, Alabama
Charleston Battery - Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC - Colorado Springs, Colorado
Detroit City FC - Hamtramck, Michigan
El Paso Locomotive FC - El Paso, Texas
Hartford Athletic - Hartford, Connecticut
Indy Eleven - Indianapolis, Indiana
Las Vegas Lights Football Club - Las Vegas, Nevada
Lexington Sporting Club - Lexington, Kentucky
Loudoun United FC - Leesburg, Virginia
Louisville City FC - Louisville, Kentucky
Miami FC - University Park, Florida
Monterey Bay FC - Seaside, California
New Mexico United - Albuquerque, New Mexico
North Carolina FC - Cary, North Carolina
Oakland Roots Sports Club - Oakland, California
Orange County Soccer Club - Irvine, California
Phoenix Rising Football Club - Phoenix, Arizona
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Rhode Island FC - Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Sacramento Republic FC - Sacramento, California
San Antonio FC - San Antonio, Texas
Tampa Bay Rowdies - St. Petersburg, Florida
FC Tulsa - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Major League Soccer
Founded in 1993 and beginning play in 1996, Major League Soccer fielded 30 clubs for the 2025 season.
Atlanta United FC - Atlanta, Georgia
Austin FC - Austin, Texas
Charlotte Football Club - Charlotte, North Carolina
Chicago Fire Football Club - Chicago, Illinois
FC Cincinnati - Cincinnati, Ohio
Colorado Rapids - Commerce City, Colorado
Columbus Crew - Columbus, Ohio
D.C. United - Washington, D.C.
FC Dallas - Frisco, Texas
Houston Dynamo Football Club - Houston, Texas
Sporting Kansas City - Kansas City, Kansas
LA Galaxy - Carson, California
Los Angeles Football Club - Los Angeles, California
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Minnesota United Football Club - Saint Paul, Minnesota
Club de Foot Montréal - Montreal, Quebec
Nashville Soccer Club - Nashville, Tennessee
New England Revolution - Foxborough, Massachusetts
New York Red Bulls - Harrison, New Jersey
New York City Football Club - New York City, New York
Orlando City Soccer Club - Orlando, Florida
Philadelphia Union - Chester, Pennsylvania
Portland Timbers - Portland, Oregon
Real Salt Lake - Sandy, Utah
San Diego Football Club - San Diego, California
San Jose Earthquakes - San Jose, California
Seattle Sounders Football Club - Seattle, Washington
St. Louis CITY Soccer Club - St. Louis, Missouri
Toronto Football Club - Toronto, Ontario
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club - Vancouver, British Columbia
Full Video
What is the USL Cup?
Oct 17, 2025
via USL Championship
I will not hold it against anyone for being unfamiliar with the USL Cup or USL Jagermeister Cup if you are a stickler for corporate branding. After all, the tournament only just finished its second cycle - and this past iteration looked nothing like the first one. Let’s look at what it is, who is involved and what the future may look like for the tournament.
First of all, no, we are not talking about the US Open Cup. The US Open Cup is the oldest soccer tournament in America. We’re talking about one of the newest.
History
The USL Cup began in 2024 and at the time it included only teams from USL League One (USL1) of the 3rd Division. At that time, the league featured 12 clubs across the country and the USL Cup games were played throughout the normal USL1 season.
The format that year saw the league broken up into 3 groups of 4. Each team would play the other 3 teams in their group twice, home and away. The three group winners would go on to the Semifinals and would be joined by a wild card. The wild card had a long list of tiebreaker criteria but in the end, that slot was awarded to Union Omaha based on the number of goals scored during the group stage.
The semi final would be one and done matches with Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC taking on Union Omaha and Forward Madison FC taking on the Charlotte Independence. Both Hailstorm and Madison then both moved on to the Final where Norther Colorado Hailstorm FC would win in penalties becoming the first USL Cup Champions.
Hailstorm FC celebrating their 2024 USL Cup win. via Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC.
Expansion
For the 2025 iteration of the tournament, the USL League One clubs would be joined by clubs from the USL Championship (USLC) of the 2nd Division. With 14 USL1 clubs and 24 USLC clubs, the size of the competition had now more than tripled.
The clubs were divided into 6 regional groups of 6 to 7 different teams. Each team would play two opponents at home, and two on the road. 6 group winners would be joined by 2 wild cards in the newly created quarterfinals. The wild cards again had a long list of tiebreakers but this time the first benchmark was points earned.
Group stage groups. via USL Cup
Four quarterfinal matches were followed by two semifinal matches which led to Sacramento Republic hosting Hartford Athletic in front of nearly 12,000 fans at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, California on October 4th, 2025. It was a close match that saw Hartford lift their first trophy in club history after a hard fought 1-0 win.
Future
With this much change in-between year one and year two, it is hard not to speculate on what the third iteration of this tournament looks like in 2026. Could we see the inclusion of USL League Two clubs? There are so many of them! What would that even look like? A qualifying pre-tournament tournament of sorts? Anything is possible.
One thing is for sure, the USL is picking up a lot of steam. With club expansion going wild over the next couple of season, increased attendance and supporter involvement, a flurry of new stadiums or improved facilities - all of which leading up to the eventual 1st Division offering in the not so distant future.
Keep an eye on the USL at all levels and be on the look out for announcements relating to the next iteration of this tournament. Let us know in the comments, what would you like to see in the next USL Cup?
Oakland Roots ‘25 Third Kit
Oct 11, 2025
This September the Oakland Roots Sports Club released a collaboration with SFMOMA, Charly and Oakland based artist Muzae Sesay that saw one of Muzae’s pieces turned into the Roots 2025 Third Kit. The limited runs of kits are inspired by his piece “The Sun Has Reached The Same Point As The Moon Above The Ocean” (shown below) and is accented with a black and gold club crest and gold sponsorship logos.
This is a truly beautiful collaboration between a club and an artist. Beautiful both visually but symbolically as well. To have a piece showcasing the local bay waters, painted by an Oakland based artist, displayed in a local museum and community space - turned into the kit of the local soccer team is… everything.
“The Sun Has Reached The Same Point As The Moon Above The Ocean” by Muzae
When interviewed while doing press for the release, Muzae said “My hope with this project is that it leads to greater interconnection between the art world and local sports…” and we couldn’t agree more.
SFMOMA hosted a launch party for the kit that saw the team and fans get together and hear directly from the artist himself while also getting the opportunity to pick up their own limited kits.
At the time of this blog being written, roughly two weeks after the initial release, it does appear as though thus jersey has sold out. Maybe you can pick one up in person (go to a game no matter what!) but they are definitely no longer listed on their website.
Below is the official launch video from Oakland Roots. Like the kit, the video is a vibe!
The 10 Original MLS Clubs
October 10, 2025
Major League Soccer (MLS) is celebrating its 30th year of play in 2025 and just added its 30th team. The size of the league and its cultural impact has increased year after year. Before we can begin to talk about where the league is now, we should start at the beginning.
The year is 1988, yes, really. The original North American Soccer League (NASL) had folded a few years earlier in 1984 and the United States had placed their bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. When the United States was selected, FIFA stipulated that the country needed to establish a top flight professional soccer league. Major League Professional Soccer was officially founded late in 1993 and officially became Major League Soccer in 1995.
June 1994 saw the announcement of the 10 original clubs: Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New England, New York/New Jersey, San Jose, Tampa Bay and Washington D.C. Let’s take a look at those clubs and where they are now.
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are based out of the Denver, Colorado area and originally played their games at Mile High Stadium - home to the Denver Broncos or the National Football League. Colorado would finish the first season with the worst record in the league but would make an MLC Cup appearance the following season.
Over the years since, some things have changed for the Rapids but not much. The Rapids logo shown would be used from 1996 to 2001 and would be replaced by the logo that is currently in use today, but the club name still remains. They moved out of Mile High in 2001 and moved to their own soccer specific stadium in 2007. In 2010 the Rapids would win their one and only MLS Cup. While they won the top prize, they have the least amount of silverware of any active club on this list.
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew are based out of Columbus, Ohio. The Crew got their name as the result of a public naming contest. There were 650 different name suggestions but the Crew would be the winning selection. The men in the logo are meant to represent construction workers and the “midwest work ethic”. Columbus would begin play at Ohio Stadium, home of the collegiate Ohio State Buckeyes before opening the first soccer specific stadium in America in 1999.
Columbus has gone on to be one of the most successful teams in league history. They have 3 MLS Cups (2008, 2020 and 2023), 3 Supporters Shields (2004, 2008 and 2009), a US Open Cup (2002), a Leagues Cup (2023) and a Campeones Cup (2021). They have changed their logo a few times over the year as well. The original logo made it from 1996 to 2014, then in 2021 they changed again to their current logo. They also moved into a new modern soccer specific stadium in 2021.
Dallas Burn
Dallas Burn are based out of Dallas, Texas. The name relates to during Texan oilfields and the Texas heat. The club began play at the historic Cotton Bowl stadium and played there off and on until 2005 when they relocated to their own soccer specific stadium in Frisco, Texas.
In 2005 the club would completely rebrand, changing both their logo and their name. The club now goes by the name FC Dallas and their logo can be seen here on the club website. As far as on field success is concerned, they won the Supporters Shield in 2016 and won the US Open Cup twice (1997, 2016).
D.C. United
D.C. United are based in Washington, D.C. and are tied atop the list of most successful clubs in American soccer in terms of trophies won. D.C. United got their name both because United is a common aspect of European club names but also because they are located in the capital of the United States of America. The club would call historic Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium their home from 1996 to 2017 before moving to their own soccer specific stadium in 2018.
The club has had 3 different logos. The one above lasted for a single season. Their longest tenured logo lasted from 1998 to 2015 and their current logo has been in use since then. All in all D.C. United have had one of the more consistent presences in the league, from a branding perspective.
Let’s talk about all of those trophies! They have won MLS Cup 4 times (1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004), they have 4 Supporters Shields (1997, 1999, 2006 and 2007), 3 US Open Cups (1996, 2008 and 2013) as well as a CONCACAF Champions Cup in 1998 and a Copa Interamerica also in 1998.
Kansas City Wiz
The Kansas City Wiz of Kansas City, Missouri. The story of this club features a lot of change and a lot of success. The club came out of the gate with one of the most iconic names and visual identities in American soccer history. You decide if that is positive or negative. The Wiz played their home matches at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football league from 1996 to 2007.
Some teams change their logo, some change their name - the Wiz did both and also changed the state that they play in. Thanks to the quirks of American geography, the club was able to move from playing in Kansas City, Missouri to Kansas City, Kansas just across the border. The Wiz were only the Wiz for the 1996 season. From 1997 to 2010 they were known as the Kansas City Wizards. Eventually in 2011, the club rebranded again to Sporting Kansas City with a cleaner visual identity overall.
As far as the success of the club is concerned, they have a full trophy cabinet. The club has won 2 MLS Cups (2000 and 2013), a Supporters Shield (2000) and 4 US Open Cups (2004, 2012, 2015 and 2017). Those 4 US Open Cups have Sporting tied for the most US Open Cup wins my an MLS club.
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy of Los Angeles, California are arguable one of the most famous clubs in league history and also the most successful. The Galaxy began playing their home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California - the home to the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final. The name Galaxy is a play on the concept of Los Angeles being filled with “stars” and their initial logo is made to look like a spinning galaxy.
The Galaxy have kept their name but rebranded in 2007 coinciding with the groundbreaking arrival of David Beckham in a move that literally changed the trajectory of the entire league. That updated brand is what the team still uses to this day. Since 2003 the Galaxy have called Carson, California their home at Home Depot Center / StubHub Center / Dignity Health Sports Park.
Now, for the accolades. The LA Galaxy hold the record with 6 MLS Cups (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2024), they have 4 Supporters Shields (1998, 2002, 2010 and 2011), 2 US Open Cups (2001 and 2005) and a CONCACAF Champions Cup (2000). A truly impressive haul.
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution of Foxborough, Massachusetts are unfortunately the least successful of the still active original clubs. It’s not all doom and gloom as there has been a lot of positive play, it just did not always end in a trophy. The Revolution share ownership with the National Football League’s New England Patriots. This has meant that they have shared home venues for the entirety of their existence. This means that they began play at Foxboro Stadium and then eventually moved to Gillette Stadium when it opened in 2002.
The logo shown above was in place from 1996 to 2021 and was replaced with their current logo. This meant that the Revolution were the last of the original 10 clubs to ditch their original branding/name. The Revolution have not won an MLS Cup but have been runners up 5 different times. They have however won the Supporters Shield (2021), setting the single season points record in the process. They have also won the US Open Cup (2007) and a shortly lived competition North American SuperLiga (2008).
New York / New Jersey MetroStars
The New York / New Jersey MetroStars playing out of East Rutherford, New Jersey. This is not the name of the club now and almost wasn’t the name of the club then! The original name was Empire Soccer Club, the ownership group had explored bringing the Cosmos name back to life, and Nike wanted to call the team MetroFlash. The team would eventually be named MetroStars after the company MetroMedia which was owned by one of the original club owners.
The team originally played at Giants Stadium, home to the National Football League’s New York Giants, and moved to their own soccer specific stadium in Harrison, New Jersey in 2010. In 2006, the club was purchased by the RedBull corporation where they were rebranded and renamed to Red Bull New York (or New York Red Bulls). This would be the first instance of a global club network getting a foothold in Major League Soccer.
The MetroStars/Red Bulls also have a lackluster trophy cabinet. They have not won an MLS Cup but have been runners up twice. They have however won 3 Supporters Shields (2013, 2015 and 2018). They have not won a US Open Cup but have also been runners up twice in that competition.
San Jose Clash
The San Jose Clash of San Jose, California is a wild tale so we’re going to jump right in. The club is currently called the San Jose Earthquakes. That also happens to be the name of the North American Soccer League (NASL) club that existed from 1974 to 1988. When San Jose was awarded their MLS franchise, the owner held the naming rights to the San Jose Earthquakes name but Nike wanted to name the club the San Jose Clash so the Clash is what we got.
The Clash hosted the very first MLS game ever and had a good amount of success on the field but the name was not long for this world. In 1999 the club rebranded “back” to the San Jose Earthquakes. They would go on to win 2 MLS Cups (2001 and 2003) and a Supporters Shield (2005). The following year (2006), the club would go on “hiatus”. The team and coach all moved to Houston and became the Houston Dynamo but none of the records or trophies went with them. This meant that when a new team returned to San Jose in 2008, they picked up the name, badge, records and trophies. They would go on to add an additional Supporters Shield to their haul in 2012.
Even with the start and stop nature of the “club” across decades, leagues and names - the organization celebrated their 50th year in 2025.
Tampa Bay Mutiny
The Tampa Bay Mutiny of Tampa, Florida hold the distinction of being the only club on this list that no longer exists. Even though they were not able to find success off the field, they did briefly find it on the field. The Mutiny were the first ever winners of the Supporters Shield in 1996. You will never see a photo of their title celebration though because the title didn’t exist in 1996, so it had to be awarded to the club retroactively once it was created in 1999.
The Mutiny played 6 season before the club was folded in early 2002 due to declining attendance and an increase in costs.