New Orleans United

This team has not lived up to expectations, unfortunately. The team was founded in 2019 by the American Outlaws branch in New Orleans, and owned by the fans of the team. The team has a very good supporters group for a team with rough play on the pitch. The team began play in Tulane's football stadium, that was built in 2014. The team played with the best players Louisiana had to offer in it's first season in the USL. The only bright spot on the season was a striker that lead the league in goals, who jumped up to the NASL to play for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Louisiana summer humidity deterred many players to sign there, so they could only grab the players cut from other teams. United did sign stand out players from Caribbean countries who were playing domestically, and got their first .500 season in 2024. The team still struggles without a manager that can guide th team to the playoffs. In 10 seasons, United has had 6 managers and no playoff appearances. But going into 2030, the defending champion Houston Dynamo signed a deal to send youth players to New Orleans United, and with the addition of a fired MLS cup winning manager, United might be a dark horse to contend for promotion. I really liked how this logo turned out. I didn't want to do a circle logo, but used it as a basis. The Fleur de Lis is there, surrounded by 18 dots representing Louisiana being the 18th state. Purple was an easy choice for them though. The kits are pretty modern looking, and I just designed based off what I thought looked good.

AC St. Louis

A team by the same name folded from the NASL in 2011, but when a rich backer caught soccer fever after the 2014 World Cup, the same group was given a second chance. The team started play in 2016 at it's old stadium in Fenton, Missouri, with the occasional game being played at the Edward Jones Dome. The team hired an Italian coach swept up in a match fixing scandal to manage the team, and it was a very good call. AC St. Louis was competitive very quickly. The team was able to pick up several players dropped by MLS clubs. As the team got strong, the fanbase got stronger, and they out grew their 6,000 seat stadium. A new 18,000 seat stadium was built on the Illinois side of the Mississippi river from St. Louis. The team would go on to beat the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 2023 NASL championship for the club's first trophy. The team is also known as giant killers in the US Open Cup. Wins over Sporting, Atlanta, and Boston brought AC St. Louis to the semi finals before Houston was able to knock them off. This team has the tools to get up to the MLS and stay in the top tier. The logo is one of my favorites. A crest with a design from the city flag and arch, with a fleur on the top. I thought a Barcelona type kit worked due to a similar color scheme.

Providence City

A team with a quick and productive history. Their story is similar to Connecticut, a whole untapped market opened up with the Revolution moving to Boston. City teamed up with the Rhode Island Rebellion, a pro rugby team, to build a multi-use 10,000 seat stadium near downtown. A German manager would take charge for their inaugural season, he had coached in the 2nd tier of Germany so the team had immediate success.The area lost the Revolution, with Foxborro being halfway between Boston and Providence, so the stands were filled to the brim really quick with fans having more convenient soccer. In their first year, they worked out a feeder deal with the Revs to give youth talent first team game time, like many Boston team's connection with Providence. Providence couldn't attract many free agents, but were the best scouting team in the USL. The fierce rivalry between City and Hearts is fueled by the Anchors stealing young talent from Eastern Connecticut. The team would go on to win a championship in 2027, with the cup being rubbed into the face of the Hearts fans. Providence is a sexy pick to move to League One going into 2030. The logo is a diamond, and has 3 distinct parts. An anchor, where the nickname comes from, stripes for the uniform, and the year they would be established. The uniforms are pretty tame, but I really liked how they turned out.

Connecticut Hearts

When the Revolution moved to Boston and rebranded, the rest of New England thought that this was an opportunity to have a team of their own. A Scot from Edinburgh living in Hartford had the vision to bring a team to his new home. Being a fan of Hearts of Midlothian, the team name he chose made sense. With momentum from hosting Gold Cups, a decent fan base would be built. The team would play it's home games in East Hartford at Rentschler Field, starting in the 2024 USL season. Connecticut was chosen as the team name to represent the whole state, hopefully being able to draw fans from new Haven and Bridgeport. The Hearts had an immediate rival in Providence City, who in the first game against each other, had 3 red cards and 6 more yellows. The team used outstanding seniors from local college soccer programs to build the team originally, they could only do so much. Hearts bought up local youth clubs to have an immediate impact with youth. The state champion U-18 team in the system would graduate from the system and almost the entire team made the jump to the USL. Having played together for years, the club made the playoffs in 2026, lost to Providence in the championship the next year, then would go on to beat New Orleans for a USL cup in 2028. The team definitely can compete in League Two, but will need some signings to move up any time soon. Crashcarson15 was the brainchild behind this name. He had a team by the same name in his thread, and it was good enough to recycle. I used claret and blue, because it's a classic color combo, and his team is Aston Villa, and it's my gift to him for the name. The uniforms are pretty simple, Adidas stripes and a collar on a simple design.

Boston Revolution

Playing in Foxboro, the New England Revolution had the building blocks to contend. A playoff run in 2013 motivated the team to make 4 playoffs in 6 years. With Robert Kraft's death in 2018, the team was bought by the Fenway Sports Group, who own the Red Sox and Liverpool. FSG found a location for a soccer specific stadium in a place a proposed "New Fenway" was considered. For two years, the team played in Foxboro, then moved downtown and rebranded. The Boston Revolution was the new name, due to the new central location. The team mirrored Liverpool's playing style and continued to build a contending team. The Rivalries between the Revs, and City became very bitter, with the Red Sox/Yankees connection. In 2028, the Revolution finally won their first MLS Cup, beating Chicago 2-0. The team does have some young talent and heritage that makes them one of the tougher teams to play against. I really wanted to rebrand this team. I played around with the crest and I eventually decided on a logo similar to the Scottish team Motherwell. The primary is a crossing sash, like a Revolutionary War soldier. I think Berlin Wall had a similar concept, but I didn't see it until after. The clash is hoops similar to what the USMNT should wear.

New York City FC

NYCFC became a team in 2015. The sports super powers of the Yankees, and Manchester City had one goal, to make sure this team didn't fail. The year before they debuted, the Red Bulls won the MLS cup. This would spur the soccer giants into wanting to compete. In the 3 seasons at Yankee Stadium, the team would only win half of their home games, due to the lack of atmosphere. In 2018, the team built a new 25,000 seat stadium a block away from Yankee Stadium. With the new arena, and increasing quality of play in the MLS, Manchester City would youth and reserve players during the summer to play in New York. When this happened, and the Yankees' started buying the best free agents, the team would dramatically increase the quality of play. The Red Bulls took this as a challenge from their noisy neighbors. Head to head match ups became the most watched games on Friday Night Kickoff, the weekly ESPN prime time game. The arms race between both teams would draw the best players in the country to come play for both sides. City would have trouble winning hardware though. In the 15 year history, the best City would do is a runner up to the MLS Cup in 2022, losing in penalties to Portland. They can compete year after year, but chocking in the playoffs is their downfall. To be honest, I've done this concept before. I didn't change the logo any from this summer because I liked it so much. The uniforms are light blue with pinstripes for both owners. I wanted a classy clash, so white and navy was the call.

FC Birmingham

The Hammers started playing in 2017. The team Bought up Regions Park, which had hosted NCAA Soccer Cups in it's history, but with the Barons moving to a new ballpark, it had no regular tenant. The owners converted it into a 15,000 seat soccer stadium. The beginning was somewhat rough, not having a great team with not a lot of support. The academy system was set up when FCB bought 3 local clubs and merged them. A former MLS coach took the reigns and rebuilt the team. He started with the midfielders, who he considers to be the most important part of the game. After the 2019 Gold Cup, a Cuban striker and Goalkeeper defected to the US, which were picked up by the Hammers and began playing in the NASL that same summer. The club only has 3 winning seasons, but the team is near .500 each year, and the manager is a crowd favorite because of his charity work. With the knowledge of possible promotion, the owners doubled the payroll budget, which might get them to the show down the line. This logo was done for a guy who was trying to land a Birmingham team. Unfortunately that fell through too, but I really liked the Icon I made, which has the spear from the Vulcan statue, and a hammer for the industry. The front is just a simple gradient design, and the back has diamond plate pattern.