MLS NEXT Season Preview: A new era of youth soccer in Chattanooga arrives

A new era of youth soccer has arrived in the Scenic City as Chattanooga FC's MLS NEXT teams prepare to kick off their inaugural seasons this Saturday at Finley Stadium.

Chattanooga FC’s elite MLS NEXT U13, U14 and U15 teams will begin their seasons this weekend at Finley Stadium on Saturday, September 6. The U15s will kick off the season at 10:00 a.m. ET, followed by the U14s at 12:00 p.m. ET and the U13 team at 2:00 p.m. ET.

CFC’s MLS NEXT teams represent an important step in the club’s pre-professional player pathway. The 2025-26 season is Chattanooga FC’s first in MLS NEXT, and the club’s teams will compete in the Southeast Division of the MLS NEXT Homegrown Division, the top level of competition in the program.

MLS NEXT is the highest level of youth soccer in North America and provides an unmatched player development experience, with players gaining access to the highest levels of competition and training to prepare them for their futures in soccer and in life.

The 2025-26 MLS NEXT season will feature a record 273 clubs, 2,189 teams, and more than 43,000 players competing in over 28,000 matches across the continent.

"I’m extremely excited for this weekend," said Chattanooga FC MLS NEXT Director Miguel Rodrigues. "I think this weekend symbolizes the blood, sweat, tears and investments of several people to bring this level of youth soccer to the region. It symbolizes a lot of their hard work that was done, and this is just a culmination of that.

"Training has been, first and foremost, fun," Rodrigues continued. "When you put high performing athletes in a high performing environment, they excel, and getting to see these athletes in that space has been a joy because you can see who they really are and who they can become."

CFC is fulfilling its mission to strengthen the community through the game of soccer.

The club announced on May 7 that Chattanooga FC Primary Owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors Davis Grizzard and his family are fully funding the club’s first season of MLS NEXT teams.

Funding from the Grizzard family, covering thousands of dollars per MLS NEXT athlete, unlocks a multitude of benefits for soccer in the Scenic City. It increases community equity and access to the game, facilitates talent development, and supports the welfare of CFC’s MLS NEXT players and families.

Chattanooga FC is committed to fostering elite player development within a local community framework and aims to nurture well-rounded individuals.

"The funding of it is what propels it forward quickly," said Rodrigues. "The level of Chattanooga soccer has been raising every single year, and I think by removing that financial barrier, it allows for you to essentially throw gasoline in the fire. It just allows for you to invest in staff, it allows for you to invest in resources and it allows for you to invest in facilities. All of that comes together to then be able to provide the best environments for the athletes.

"At the end of the day, the athletes don't develop because of their coach, they don’t develop because of the nice ball or fancy cone," Rodrigues continued. "They develop because of the environments that are created for them. Yes, it is facilitated by the coach primarily, however, the support staff are equally as responsible for creating that environment. Once you get more of those athletes in that environment, the higher the level rises. All of that is truly available because of the financial support that we have within the MLS NEXT."

Read more: Everything you need to know about MLS NEXT

Dates for the diary

The 2025 MLS NEXT Fest will mark the largest youth soccer scouting and recruiting event in North America. Held from December 4-15 at the Arizona Athletic Grounds and Reach 11 Sports Complex in Mesa, Arizona, the showcase event will be unlike any other in North American youth soccer, featuring more than 1,000 teams from at least 200 clubs in all six MLS NEXT age groups (U13 to U19). The 12-day event includes hundreds of professional, national team and college scouts evaluating more than 30,000 players across 1,850 matches. MLS NEXT Fest will once again feature an opportunity for MLS NEXT Elite Academies to qualify for the 2026 Generation adidas Cup. Locations and dates for Generation adidas Cup, MLS NEXT Flex, and MLS NEXT Cup will be announced later in September.

Chattanooga FC’s MLS NEXT teams are led by an experienced technical staff that covers all team and player needs.

The CFC MLS NEXT staff represents the highest concentration of A-level, fully professional coaching in the region and handles performance analysis, recruitment, sports medicine and individual and team development.

2025/26 Chattanooga FC MLS NEXT Technical Staff

Sporting Director: Sebastian Giraldo
MLS NEXT Director: Miguel Rodrigues
U13 and U15 Head Coach and Performance Analyst: Maryn Beutler
U14 Head Coach and Scout: Gonzalo Obando
Goalkeeping Coach: JD Myers
Athletic Trainer: Blake Chadwick
Performance Coordinator: Eric Miller
Director of Operations: Leah Swander

Rodrigues spoke about the vision and goals the club and staff have in this first season.

"I think the success, in many ways, will be measured by culture creation," Rodrigues said. "Again, this is a new program. We’re building a new thing. We harp on this a lot for the boys, which is that they get to set the culture. Culture is action, so the way that we act will determine what the culture is. For us, it’s significant for them to create and set that culture and for us to be the guiders of the culture as a staff.

"Just from seeing things like lining up their backpacks to making sure they greet everyone on their way in and out, coaches or any other person there including each other," continued Rodrigues. "We kind of say ‘Greet everyone who made you better today’ and I think that’s the premise of what you lay a foundation on for the rest of it. I think we’ll get results on the field, but at the end of the day, that’s secondary to what this is going to build. This is a long-term project, not just a one-year project."

Full MLS NEXT Homegrown Division Schedule here.

2025-26 MLS NEXT Season Schedule

• September 6, 2025: MLS NEXT Season Kicks Off
• December 4-15, 2025: MLS NEXT Fest, Arizona Athletic Grounds and Reach 11 Sports Complex; Mesa, Ariz.
• TBA Spring 2026: Generation adidas Cup
• TBA Spring 2026: MLS NEXT Flex
• TBA 2026: MLS NEXT Cup
• TBA 2026: MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate, Charlotte, N.C.

Game times for each age group

U13: Will play 3 x 25-minute periods, while each player on the Match Day roster must play at least one uninterrupted 25-
minute period.

U14: Will play 2 x 40-minute periods—there will be unrestricted substitutions during three moments per half

U15: Will play 2 x 45-minute periods—no re-entry per half with three moments per half

About MLS NEXT

Launched in 2020, MLS NEXT is the most elite platform for youth player development in North America. With a commitment to innovation and inclusion, MLS NEXT players receive the best training and coaching as they prepare for their futures, both on and off the field. Throughout a season, MLS NEXT hosts four marquee events across the country, including the Generation adidas Cup, which features MLS academies playing against the top international clubs. With the addition of the new MLS NEXT Academy Division in 2025, membership for the 2025-26 season will include 30 MLS academies, 243 Elite Academies (273 total clubs), 2,189 teams and over 43,000 players across the U.S. and Canada. Official partners of MLS NEXT include adidas, Allstate, and Más+ by Messi. For more information about MLS NEXT, visit www.mlssoccer.com/mlsnext.