USL Soccer ball Imagn
Tom Hindle

USL Championship side North Carolina FC announce they will not play in 2026, set to focus on Division One application

USL Championship side North Carolina FC announced Tuesday that they will not compete in the 2026 season. The club will release all players, after the playoffs, allowing them to sign elsewhere for 2026 and beyond. As part of the move, North Carolina said their focus will shift toward preparing an application for USL’s new Division One league, set to launch in 2028.

  • Focus on Division One

    The team has been a crucial part of the USL landscape since 2017 and won USL League One as recently as 2023. NCFC are locked in a playoff series with Rhode Island, where they have a 1-0 lead. 

    Despite those factors, the league backed North Carolina's decision in a statement: "North Carolina FC’s franchise agreement with the USL Championship concluded at the end of the 2025 season. The club will not compete in the Championship in 2026 and has formally applied to join USL’s new Division One league launching in 2028.

    "The USL believes Raleigh has strong potential as a future Division One market if it meets the league’s professional standards, including a minimum 15,000-seat, purpose-built soccer stadium that will serve as an anchor for real estate development. We thank NCFC’s supporters and the Triangle community and look forward to advancing professional soccer in the region."

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  • Steve Malik, North Carolina CourageImagn

    'Resetting our men’s strategy'

    The club said the reason for temporarily shutting down is to focus on the USL's new Division One setup, which will launch in 2028. That league is expected to include a promotion-relegation model that American soccer has yet to embrace. 

    Owner Steve Malik, who also owns NWSL's North Carolina Courage, explained the thought process for the team. 

    "Right now, it’s essential that we focus our immediate resources and energy on strengthening the foundation for professional soccer in Raleigh by continuing to invest in the Courage and resetting our men’s strategy for the future," he said. 

  • Division One standards

    Joining Division One, though, won't be easy. U.S. soccer has rigorous eligibility standards, including the size of the metropolitan area and stadium capacity. NCFC's current field, WakeMed Soccer Park, seats 9,200. The current minimum threshold is 15,000.

  • The immediate future

    For all of the discussion about the future, though, NCFC are in the midst of one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. They finished third in the Eastern Conference and could advance to the next round.