The Sporting Kansas City Academy has announced a new player pathway structure that will go into effect this summer ahead of the 2025-2026 MLS NEXT season.

In the new framework, the Sporting KC Academy will field three teams—one each at the U-18, U-16 and U-15 levels. The structure will allow the Academy to invest significant resources to the vital age groups in which players are most likely to make the professional jump to Sporting KC II in MLS NEXT Pro and onto the first team in Major League Soccer.

Academy Players within these age groups will be given an elevated experience on and off the field, including a more intensive training environment and increased opportunities to play in elite competitions nationally and internationally. Players will also receive wide-ranging support from a robust technical staff that features an expanded number of coaches, including the recent addition of longtime Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza as a Professional Development Coach.

Within the new structure, Sporting KC’s Center of Excellence (COE) will continue to serve as a platform in which the club actively monitors the best local and regional talent, offering supplemental training for select players ages 14 and younger. The COE is designed to prepare potential academy-level players for the next step on the Sporting KC player pathway while still allowing them to develop in their youth club environments.

All three Sporting KC Academy teams will remain fully funded—eliminating player costs tied to coaching, equipment, travel, matches and other fees—while the club’s continued investment in the Academy Residential Program will connect players from outside the Kansas City region with local host families in supportive home environments.

In addition, Sporting KC Youth Soccer will continue to play a leading role in player development across the region as one of five operators for the new tier of competition in MLS NEXT, consisting of players in the U-13 through U-19 age groups. The expanded tier will feature more than 1,200 teams from more than 220 clubs across regional divisions. Regular season play will begin in September 2025, accompanied by regional tournaments and access to MLS NEXT national events as well as coaching development and education programs. The regional tournaments will serve as qualifying for a championship competition at the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs in 2026. These events will create marquee talent identification opportunities for college, professional and national team scouts to evaluate youth players.

The new tier of MLS NEXT will feature six Sporting KC Academy Affiliate clubs: Sporting City, Sporting Blue Valley, Sporting Wichita, Sporting Springfield, Sporting Arkansas and Sporting Oklahoma.