USL Championship

USL Championship

Organizing body	United Soccer League
Founded	September 8, 2010; 13 years ago (2010-09-08) (as USL Pro) (2010–2014) (as USL) (2015–2018)
First season	2011
Country	United States
Confederation	CONCACAF (North American Football Union)
Conferences	Eastern Conference Western Conference
Number of teams	24
Level on pyramid	2
Domestic cup(s)	U.S. Open Cup
Current champion(s)	Phoenix Rising FC (2023)
Current Players' Shield	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (2023)
Most championships	Orlando City Louisville City FC (2 titles each)
Most Players' Shields	Orlando City (3 titles)
TV partners	CBS Sports ESPN YouTube OneFootball
Website	uslchampionship.com
Current: 2024 USL Championship season

United Soccer League divisions
Men's leagues
Championship League One League Two
Women's leagues
Super League W League
Youth leagues
USL Academy USL Youth
v t e

The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began play in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer (Division I) in the hierarchy.^[1] The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.^[2]

The league is owned and operated by United Soccer League and was formed as result of the merger of their USL First (USL-1) and Second Divisions (USL-2), following the 2010 season which saw neither the USL-1 nor the North American Soccer League (NASL) receive Division II sanctioning from the USSF, resulting in the temporary USSF Division 2 Pro League. United Soccer Leagues stated that the merger would strengthen the league's position within the American professional soccer landscape through stability, commercial growth and the professional development of soccer in four main regions throughout the United States and Canada.^[3]