Charlotte FC was founded in 2019 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, entering Major League Soccer as the league's 28th franchise in 2022. The club was established under the ownership of billionaire David Tepper, who also owns the NFL's Carolina Panthers, and represents the culmination of decades of effort to bring top-flight professional soccer to the Charlotte area — a city that had been passed over for MLS expansion multiple times dating back to the mid-1990s.
The club plays its home matches at Bank of America Stadium, a 74,867-seat venue shared with the Carolina Panthers, though capacity is reduced to approximately 38,000 for most soccer matches. The home opener in March 2022 drew an attendance of 74,479 — at the time the largest single-match crowd in MLS history — signaling the enormous local appetite for top-level soccer.
As a young club, Charlotte FC has not yet won a major trophy, but it established itself quickly as one of MLS's better-supported sides, recording the second-highest average attendance in the league during its inaugural season. The club's identity is closely tied to the city of Charlotte itself: the crest features a four-pointed crown referencing the city's "Queen City" nickname and its four historic wards, alongside a nod to the original Charlotte Mint. The team is informally known as "The Crown."
Charlotte FC's early years were marked by competitive growing pains typical of expansion clubs, including a mid-season coaching change in 2022. The club's blend of local civic pride and Tepper's considerable resources positions it as an increasingly prominent presence in the Eastern Conference.