The 2021 USL Championship season was the eleventh season of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

and the fifth season under Division II sanctioning. This was the third season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. The 2021 season saw 31 teams participate in four divisions during the regular season.

Changes from 2020

Expansion clubs *

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. In 2021, ...

(joined from NISA) Departing clubs *

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

(moved to

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

) * Philadelphia Union II (withdrawn by

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

parent club) *

Portland Timbers 2 Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was a member of the USL Champio ...

(withdrawn by MLS parent club) *

Reno 1868 FC Reno 1868 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 2015, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in March 2017 and ceased operations after the 2020 season. History Previously, northern Nevada has ...

(folded) *

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wide ...

(folded in favor of future St. Louis City SC of MLS)

Teams

The following teams are playing in the 2021 USL Championship season:

Conference Tables

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

Competition format

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some changes from the most recent pre-COVID format involving two stand alone conferences. For this season, each of the conferences will be further split into two divisions, Atlantic and Central in the Eastern Conference and Mountain and Pacific in the Western Conference, creating four geographically based divisions of 8 (or 7) teams. The teams will play a 32-game schedule in a 27-week period starting around May 1. Individual teams can start their seasons between April 24 and May 15, based on crowd restrictions due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. During the regular season, each team will play its division opponents four times – twice home, twice away, for a total of 28 (or in the Mountain Division, 24) games, making up the bulk of each team's season. The remaining games in each teams schedule will be played against regional or cross-conference opponents.

Managerial changes

Results table

Playoffs

Bracket

Conference Quarter-finals

Conference Semi-finals

Conference Finals

USL Championship Final

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance. Updated to games of June 18, 2021.
Note: Stadium capacities are reduced to promote social distancing due to the

. ^{*Statistic may be incorrect due to no official attendance being released by neither the league nor club for one or more game(s); average attendances do not include the unreported matches.}

Regular season statistical leaders

Top scorers

Hat-tricks

;Notes (H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Top assists

Clean sheets

League awards

Individual awards

All-league teams

Monthly awards

Weekly awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:USL Championship season 2021

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2021 in American soccer leagues Association football events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic