USL adds Atletico Dallas as new Championship club for 2027

Atlético Dallas gives the USL something more than a new crest on the map. It gives the league a foothold in Dallas, a major market the USL says can help carry its next phase of growth as it pushes a five-club sanctioning application for the 2027 season.

The Championship side is the only one of the five additions headed to USL Championship, while the other four clubs are being added to USL League One. The season is scheduled to begin in March 2027, and the bid fits squarely into the league’s broader plan to build an interconnected three-tier men’s structure built around USL Premier, USL Championship and USL League One.

That structure matters because the USL is not treating this as a simple expansion notice. In March 2025, club owners voted to adopt promotion and relegation, and the league has already said it plans to launch a new Division One league in 2027-28. Atlético Dallas, then, lands at a moment when the USL is trying to align competition formats across its divisions, create credible movement between leagues and position itself for sustainable growth and future expansion opportunities.

The Championship already sits as a 24-club Division II league across the continental United States, and the USL says it reaches a population of more than 84 million. The league was formed before the 2011 season by combining two professional leagues, and U.S. Soccer granted it Division II status beginning with the 2017 season. The 2027 application suggests the USL is now using expansion to reinforce that structure rather than merely enlarge it.

For Dallas, the case is as much business as it is soccer. Atlético Dallas was founded by lifelong friends and soccer enthusiasts Matt Valentine and Sam Morton, along with business partners Luther Ott and Dan McAlone. The ownership group later added Terrence Murphy and former U.S. Men’s National Team player Kyle Martino, two names with serious sporting and entrepreneurial reach.

The club plans to play home matches at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium and says it is investing in a long-term presence in Dallas through improvements to the Dallas Soccer Complex and a future headquarters near Fair Park. That headquarters is expected to house front office operations, a retail shop, a supporters’ bar and restaurant, and the club’s first street court.

Murphy’s role is about helping build something from scratch. Martino’s connection runs through grassroots access and the chance to make soccer more culturally relevant in North Texas. For the USL, Atlético Dallas is the kind of market entry that signals ambition: not just another franchise, but another step toward a wider, more connected pro soccer ladder.