Detroit needs a professional soccer team.
Detroit is not seen as a great market for sports teams. Most professional athletes would rather take their talent to a city like Miami, New York, or Los Angeles. In fact, multiple athletes have threatened to retire or not sign with a professional Detroit team. Unless someone lives in the state of Michigan, or there on the Detroit Lions bandwagon, they probably won’t care so much about Detroit teams. It makes sense, why would you pay attention to teams that haven’t been the best for the past couple of decades? But teams like the Detroit Lions, and the Detroit Red Wings can put Detroit sports on the map again. Detroit has a professional team for every large market (NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB). But something else is on the rise.
The popularity of soccer in the United States has grown astronomically over the past few years. And there are very evident reasons why. In the winter of 2022, the Men’s U.S. National Soccer team participated in the FIFA World Cup, making it past the Group Stages, but failing to advance in the Round of 16, losing 3-1. But it’s not just the men’s team. The Women’s U.S. National team is a powerhouse on the national and olympic stage. The Women’s team has medaled in every Women’s World Cup and Olympic tournament in women’s soccer except for the 2016 Olympic tournament and 2023 Women’s World Cup
Detroit City F.C. is a soccer club that plays in the USL Championship, a soccer league under Major League Soccer (MLS). Detroit City F.C. was founded in 2012, and it was all up from there. Slowly, Detroit City dominated the leagues they competed in, being “promoted” all the way to the USL Championship. If the MLS had a relegation and promotion system like many European leagues have, I’m sure Detroit would make it to the MLS. But due to regulations set in place by the MLS and decisions from Detroit City’s ownership, the fans need to wait for an MLS team in Detroit.
The MLS has looked at Detroit City F.C. to be a possible expansion team but have ultimately decided on teams in Austin, Charlotte, and most recently San Diego. Detroit City ultimately lost its spot in the MLS because the ownership didn’t want to build a soccer-specific stadium, rather preferring to play matches in Ford Field, which is home of the Detroit Lions. Currently, Detroit City plays their matches at Keyworth Stadium, which is located right outside Detroit, in Hamtramck.
Detroit needs an MLS team, and it needs to happen sooner than later. The fans would love it, and it would be great for the city and MLS