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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DCU’s academy pathway to pro is suffering by not having an MLS Next Pro team. [/quote]

Why does dcu not have a team in mlsn pro?[/quote]

The reason DCU doesn't have a mlsnp team is complicated but it essentially comes down to what plagues the entire club and slows its progress in everything it does from the first team to the academy - MONEY.

DCUs situation in terms of a satellite club is unique. 27 of MLS's 29 clubs own and operate teams in MLS Next Pro, which is classified by U.S. Soccer as a third-division league. D.C. and CF Montréal are the two exceptions, with the Canadian side running an under-23 side in Ligue1 Québec.

DCUs situation is more complicated: The club launched Loudoun United as a USL Championship side in 2018, a period in which MLS satellites were being placed in that league and USL League One depending on the parent organization's preferences.

MLS later announced MLS Next Pro, which Loudoun did not join because the USL wanted to compete with the MLS. That club remains in the USL Championship, though DCU sold their controlling stake in Loudoun to Attain Sports in order to be able to make a move on a mlsnp team.

The owner of DCU has signaled that they have every intention of creating a team and this signal came two years ago.  But nothing since.  This delay is in large part due to the fact that in order to have the team, the MLS is strongly suggesting that the team build a soccer specific stadium that is of course smaller than Audi field to help foster connections with the local community and build the fan base further.  Some MLS clubs operate their mlsnp team out of their first team stadiums but MLS is trying to get away from this model to penetrate new areas of the country and bring in more fans.

For DCU this means Baltimore is the target area for expansion.  Because they feel like Baltimore is close enough to Philly for Philly to make consistent attempts to take those local players but also because it has been a traditionally strong area for talent in the DMV. The problem is that the stadium will cost 200m+ and DCU doesn't want to pay that and they are trying to find ways to offset that cost but all efforts have failed.  Why we are here today with no mlsnp team.

DCU is one of two teams in all of the MLS to not have a full pathway to the pro team.  Why it is almost impossible to reach pro soccer from DCU unless your player is ready at 17 or 18, which most players are not. So, the PP saying DCU is a dead end for pro soccer is absolutely right for this reason alone.  If you couple that with how bad the academy is, the chances are even less.

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