MLS Next (stylized as MLS NEXT) is a youth soccer league in the United States and Canada that is managed, organized, and controlled by Major League Soccer.

The intention of the USSDA was to create a top division of youth soccer in the United States and Canada.

On March 12, 2020, as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy suspended its operations.

[3] On April 15, 2020, the league ended operations, citing financial difficulty.

[4] The next day, Major League Soccer announced the formation of a “new elite youth competition platform intended to provide year-round high-level matches for MLS club academy teams and non-MLS academy teams that previously participated in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.”[5] Major League Soccer officially announced MLS Next on September 8, 2020, encompassing 489 teams across 113 clubs and six age groups.