Veteran League and Club Executive Succeeds Charles Altchek
Curtis Also Appointed Executive Vice President of MLS Sporting Development
MLS NEXT Pro announced today that Ali Curtis has been named President. Curtis will oversee all day-to-day aspects of the League’s business and sporting operations, furthering MLS NEXT Pro’s mission of developing top-tier talent and creating new opportunities for clubs, players, and communities. In conjunction with this new position, Curtis has also been appointed Executive Vice President of MLS Sporting Development.
“It is a tremendous honor to be named President of MLS NEXT Pro. Since the launch of the League, I have always firmly believed in our principles and purpose,” said Curtis. “We are focused on growing the game of soccer and doing it the right way. There could not be a better time to take on this elevated role, as we enter the most exciting and impactful time in North American soccer history. I look forward to what’s to come for MLS NEXT Pro.”
Curtis replaces MLS NEXT Pro’s first President, Charles Altchek, who today MLS named as Executive Vice President, Club Performance & League Growth.
“Ali has been one of the most integral and impactful contributors to the growth and evolution of MLS NEXT Pro since the League launched in 2022,” said Altchek. “His dedication and focus to growing the game of soccer in North America is evident every single day and in everything he does. Now he will be able to have an even greater impact on not only the MLS enterprise but on the sport as a whole.”
Curtis most recently served as Senior Vice President of Sporting Development for MLS, where he was the head of on-field innovation, as well as managed the sporting and operations departments within MLS NEXT Pro and oversaw all elements of MLS NEXT and MLS GO. Curtis will continue to lead these areas in his new role, as well as serve as a leader within MLS ADVANCE, the League’s initiative to increase representation of underrepresented candidates in sporting leadership roles across the MLS ecosystem.
This is Curtis’ second stint at the MLS League Office, having previously worked in the Player Relations and Competition Departments (2007-2014). He began his current tenure at the League in late 2021 as SVP of Competition & Operations for MLS NEXT Pro, where he helped launch the new League in March 2022.
“Having contributed to our sport as a player, a club executive, and a league executive, Ali has the experience, strategic mindset and vision to lead MLS NEXT Pro,” said MLS Executive Vice President, Sporting & Competition, Nelson Rodriguez. “He has been instrumental in bringing innovative changes to MLS and is the ideal leader to guide MLS NEXT Pro into its next chapter of growth.”
Curtis has extensive leadership experience at the MLS Club level, having held the titles of General Manager of Toronto FC (2019-2021) and Sporting Director of New York Red Bulls (2014-2017). Curtis became the first African American General Manager in MLS history when he was hired by New York.
Prior to his career as a soccer executive, Curtis was an accomplished player. He was a 2-time NCAA National Player of the Year and 3-time All-American at Duke University, where he was inducted into the Blue Devils’ Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022 and remains the All-Time Leading Goal-Scorer in Duke Soccer history. Selected second overall in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Curtis spent four years in the League, also playing for D.C. United and FC Dallas. Following his playing career, Curtis was an analyst at JP Morgan in Chicago and Los Angeles, before returning to the sport in 2007.
