Major League Soccer

St Louis MLS team: All about the expansion club for the 2023 season

By Hector Garcia

St. Louis City SC to field team in new MLS professional league

St. Louis City SC to field team in new MLS professional league

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St. Louis City SC will begin to play in MLS in 2023, joining Sacramento as the 29th and 30th teams in the league. The team will feature the only majority female-led ownership group in Major League Soccer, led by Carolyn Kindle Betz.

St. Louis City SC, the local Major League Soccer expansion team, won’t start play until 2023 but will be active before then. The club will have an under-17 and under-16 academy team starting this fall and, it was announced a team in the MLS developmental league that will start in March of 2022.

St Louis City SC will be in the MLS Next Pro season

MLS expansion franchise City SC will be one of 21 teams to compete in the inaugural season of MLS Next Pro, a new professional league launched earlier this year by MLS. The new professional league, designed to provide a competition level between MLS’ youth leagues and its top-level, will include both MLS-affiliated teams and independent franchises.

MLS said that MLS Next Pro will “offer young players and experienced professionals the opportunity to develop and showcase their talents.”

“MLS Next Pro completes Major League Soccer’s pro player pathway, connecting our youth academies through to our first teams,” said League President Charles Altchek. “As we continue to push the future of soccer forward in the United States and Canada, player development, community, innovation and diversity form the pillars of MLS Next Pro. The inaugural season in 2022 will be another historic moment for the sport.”

City SC’s MLS Next Pro team will be one of the 20 MLS-affiliated squads to compete in the league’s 2022 debut season. The league’s launch also includes one independent franchise, Rochester NY FC, which is co-owned by Jamie Vardy, a professional soccer player for Leicester City of the English Premier League. 

MLS Next Pro will expand in 2023 with the addition of another eight MLS-affiliated teams. MLS said it expects to also add additional independent clubs to the league in future years.

Last August the expansion club unveiled its name, crest, and colors, here is an explanation about it

Name & Colors

The team will be known as St. Louis City SC. Selected from over 6,000 fan submissions, the name is rooted in the city's rich soccer tradition as America's First Soccer Capital. The name celebrates the area’s diverse, iconic neighborhoods and proud heritage while capturing the region’s recent growth and cultural renaissance.

Four primary colors will identify the team: "City Red", "River Blue", "Energy Yellow", "Arch Steel Gray".

Crest

The team crest is an abstract depiction of the club’s passion and purpose, displayed through iconic elements found across the St. Louis region.

WORDMARK: Prominently leads with CITY as the team name.

THE SOCCER CLUB/SOCCER CAPITAL: SC has a double meaning, standing for both Soccer Club and Soccer Capital. It is our name, it is our history.

TOP OF SHIELD: Follows the shape of the Gateway Arch.

TWO RIVERS: Horizontal lines represent the two rivers that define our region: The Mississippi and The Missouri.

GATEWAY ARCH: The abstract representation of the iconic landmark is used to create movement and a connection to the rivers from the St. Louis City flag.


 


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