Chattanooga Football Club becomes first independent club in league history to advance to playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Chattanooga FC has made more history!
The Boys in Blue have clinched a playoff berth for the second year in a row, becoming the first independent club in MLS NEXT Pro history to advance to the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Following a come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Huntsville City FC on Wednesday evening to kick-off Matchweek 28, CFC has officially clinched a 2026 MLS NEXT Pro playoff spot.
Chattanooga FC Head Coach Richard Dixon was asked what the achievement of guiding the club to a consecutive playoff appearance means and becoming the first independent team in league history to do so.
"It's definitely a source of pride," said Dixon. "Anytime any team can continue to make playoffs back-to-back is a big deal. Obviously we're unique with being an independent club and you never know how that will go. Everyone thinks of the MLS affiliates as the big dogs, and so we're kind of a fish out of water trying to find our way, but we've established ourselves as a playoff team now. We're not here just to participate. We're here to compete."
The Boys in Blue will now be aiming to finish as high as possible in the Eastern Conference standings with just two regular season matches remaining. The team will return to Fort Finley for the club's final home match of the 2026 regular season on Sunday, September 13 against Atlanta United 2 at 3:00 p.m. for a CFC Homecoming celebration presented by Erlanger. Tickets are available now.
MLS NEXT Pro announced its 2026 playoff format last week. For the first time in League history, a Play-in Round will be held to determine the last two teams to qualify for the Playoffs. The 2026 Playoffs will continue to feature the fan-favorite Pick-Your-Opponent format, the League’s unique postseason match-up mechanism. Final seeding of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro regular season will be determined on Decision Day on Sunday, September 20.
