MLS Next Pro will, like MLS, shift to a summer-to-spring season in 2027-28. It will play a “sprint season” in February 2027 ahead of the 2027-28 season start in July 2027.
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Posted inSoccer America Confidential
COLLEGE: After setback, NCAA Division I men’s season kicks off
It was anticipated it would be D1 men’s soccer’s last season as a fall sport, but the Division 1 Cabinet threw cold water on that plan. The latest rebuff is not a surprise, given all the upheaval in college sports concerning the payment of college athletes. Of note is a lawsuit involving a MLS NEXT Pro player enrolling as a freshman in college.
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Larry Berg and shining light on MLS’s ‘crown jewel’
Berg, named MLS’s next commissioner on Monday, is a private equity investor with a long background in the education business. That makes sense because MLS’s priority has to be its academies.
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Eddie Pope takes senior MLS NEXT Pro position
Hall of Famer Eddie Pope has been named MLS’s Senior Vice President of Sporting Development and MLS NEXT Pro’s Senior Vice President of Competition & Operations. He will oversee development and execution of MLS NEXT Pro’s long-term sporting vision and lead such areas as Competition, Medical, Player Relations and Operations Departments. • The three-time MLS […]
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Alex Freeman’s steady, then meteoric rise
If you know anything about Mauricio Pochettino, it’s that he most days doesn’t like to talk about his players in the media. It’s about the team. It’s a collective performance. But after the 2-0 win over Australia, he was happy to make an exception for 21-year-old Alex Freeman, the youngest player on the USMNT’s World Cup team. […]
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MLS NEXT Pro gets investor
KKR, a leading global investment firm, has made a strategic investment in MLS NEXT Pro, forming Hometown Soccer Holdings to support MLS NEXT Pro business. Said MLS commissioner Don Garber, “This investment will help build and grow MLS NEXT Pro and reflects our ambition to expand into new markets, develop soccer-specific infrastructure, elevate the matchday experience, […]
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Ali Curtis on MLS Next Pro progress and the personal experience that inspires his work
Ali Curtis is the President of MLS Next Pro, which launched in 2022 and in its fifth season fields 30 teams — 27 of which feed into their MLS affiliate teams and three three independents: Carolina Core, Chattanooga FC and CT United. When a record 30 teenagers saw action on Matchday 4 of the current […]
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U.S. Open Cup amateurs: Asheville City and Vermont Green come closest in second round
All seven remaining amateur teams in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup exited in the second round.
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GA Cup in Bradenton will feature 88 teams
The 2026 Generation adidas Cup — one of youth soccer’s biggest international events — will kick off Friday at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The U-15 and U-16 age groups will feature 40 teams each. Most are MLS academy teams from MLS NEXT, but there will also be 18 different teams from Asia, Europe, South […]
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Tacoma pipeline yields Antino Lopez
• Seattle Sounders: Antino Lopez, a 23-year-old Las Vegan, became the latest player to jump from Tacoma Defiance to the Seattle Sounders, signing a first-team contract. The former Sounders academy player and 2024 SuperDraft pick out of Duke has suited up for the Sounders four times so far in 2026, making 90-minute shifts in the 3-0 […]