[told y’all I’d only write when I felt like it … three months later]

After a year of prep and a month or so of player signings, Charlotte FC finally announced the branding and home of their MLS Next Pro squad today: Crown Legacy FC. CLFC will play their home matches in 2023 at the Sportsplex in Matthews, NC, a suburb of Charlotte in the Southeast part of Mecklenburg County.

I love everything about the announcement:

• It’s not just Charlotte FC II/2 like so many other Next Pro teams

• The Sportsplex in Matthews is a great facility for this team, very close to historic downtown Matthews and easy access from I-485 and 74

• Season tickets for existing Charlotte FC STHs are just $140 ($10/game)

• All matches will be streamed on MLS Season Pass inside the Apple TV app (we already knew that part, but still)

Charlotte FC @CharlotteFC

Make your make. Build the Legacy. Welcome @crownlegacyfc to @MLSNEXTPRO 👑

3:24 PM ∙ Jan 30, 2023

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What is MLS Next Pro?

Just launched in 2022, MLS Next Pro is a fully professional men’s soccer league directly affiliated with Major League Soccer. It technically occupies a space in the third division of the American soccer “pyramid”, the same level as USL League One (home of Charlotte Independence), but its all symantics really since there is no promotion-relegation movement between the leagues. While budgets are bigger in the second division (USL Championship) then the third, with the addition of Next Pro and its very direct relationship with MLS (the top division), talented players who see their future at a higher level may opt to play in Next Pro over one of the USL leagues, making it hard to say one team in one league is inherantly better than another.

It’s also important to note that non-MLS squads also play in Next Pro. Rochester New York FC (formerly the Rochester Rhinos and the only non-MLS club to win the US Open Cup after the league’s formation) plays in Next Pro and future independent clubs will be joining in the future.

Keeping all of that in mind Next Pro is, by definition, a development league for MLS clubs. Every MLS club is required to run a squad in Next Pro, including it in their talent pipeline between the academy and the full MLS squad. While it does have some restrictions on the number of international players a Next Pro squad can have, there isn’t an age restriction.

You’ll most likely see homegrown academy players like Brian Romero and Nimfasha Berchimas play for Crown Legacy in the future (if not 2023), as these teenagers need a competitive environment to play in beyond their U17 academy team but well below the standard expected of a MLS player.

Talent rots on the bench - 90 minutes every week in a development league is infinitely more useful than zero minutes of MLS game time and just training sessions.

What should the goal of Crown Legacy FC be?

Easy: give valuable game time and professional experience to young, up-and-coming talent that Charlotte FC can sign to a MLS contract and A) use the player during the MLS season or B) sell the player to another team for a fincial profit - for best results, do A and then B a season or two later.

Talent development is a long process, but now the Charlotte talent pipeline looks like this:

1. Discovery Program (U12, U13)

2. Academy (U14, U15, U17, UPSL squad)

3. Crown Legacy FC (MLS Next Pro)

4. MLS First Team

My friend Ashley Mahoney asked a really good question on Twitter:

Ashley Mahoney @m_a_h_o_n_e_y

@zachhall_ I'm curious how the experience will compare to other sides, Independence, Stumptown, Eagles, etc., who played there. None of them had the big brother presence CLFC does.

3:19 PM ∙ Jan 30, 2023

[Ashley: I’m curious how the experience will compare to other sides, Independence, Stumptown, Eagles, etc., who played there. None of them had the big brother presence CLFC does.]

I want to expand on my 280 character response here because I do think its worth discussing as holisticly as possible.

As much as USL’s Charlotte Independence might like to think they’re competing against the MLS monopoly-machine, going into the 2023 season they’re going to realistically be competeing with Legacy on a pricing, location, atmosphere, and talent level.

The biggest thing Legacy has going for it is that it doesn’t need to make the team any more through ticket sales, merch sales, sponorships, etc. I imagine it will still do all of those things, but it doesn’t have an inherent need to be financially successful like an independent club like Independence or the other upstarts that have attempted to make a splash in the lower divisions of American soccer.

Another win for establishing Legacy as something new and worth checking out is putting it in Matthews, and not just in the town limits, but just 1.5 miles from downtown Matthews and its great restaurants and shops. Definitely an all together different vibe from Charlotte FC and Independence’s uptown locations, and something that might be more attractive to folks on that side of the county or with young families.

And remember - all of Crown Legacy’s matches will be streamed on the MLS Season Pass, available as an add-on in the Apple TV app. So if you can’t make it to Matthews, you can still keep an eye on all the young, up and coming talent playing in Next Pro.

At the end of the day, Crown Legacy and its staff will be judged by the growth of talent in the squad; not its win-loss record, its ticket sales or its viewership. And that’s healthy for fans to keep in mind - Legacy is there as an additional option for you to enjoy soccer as long as you understand what you’re getting.

I’m hoping to get a chance to talk to CLTFC staff about the overall pipeline in the near future, probably as a podcast episode. If you’d be really interested in that, please leave a comment and maybe hit me up on Twitter to let me know.