Toronto FC Academy’s U-18, U-16 and U-15 teams are set to compete in the first of five major competitions of the 2025-26 MLS NEXT season at MLS NEXT Fest. The tournament will be held in Mesa, Arizona, at the Arizona Athletic Grounds and Reach 11 Sports Complex, taking place from Thursday, December 4, through Monday, December 15. Each team will play three guaranteed matches over the 12-day tournament, with each result counting toward the league standings. The event will include over 1,000 teams across all MLS NEXT age groups (U-13 to U-19), with 2,400 games that will feature more than 30,000 players.
MLS NEXT will host a Player Pathway Speaker Series for the first time, in addition to various coaching education sessions at the tournament. Toronto FC Academy Director Anthony Capotosto will lead a Technical Leadership course alongside Bryan Scales, Executive Academy Director at Charlotte FC and Craig Dalrymple, Head of Professional Player Pathway for the Seattle Sounders FC.
With three age groups representing the TFC Academy, the U-18s will open the tournament on Thursday, December 4, against fellow MLS Academy, Los Angeles FC, at 3:30 p.m. ET. The U-18s will also face two additional MLS Academies, Atlanta United FC on Friday, December 5, at 5:45 p.m. ET, followed by a match against Orlando City SC on Sunday, December 7, with a 10:00 a.m. ET kickoff. The oldest training group of the TFC Academy, the U-18s are led by Head Coach and Toronto FC Assistant Academy Director, Dino Lopez. Since embarking on the 2025-26 campaign in September, the U-18s have had a positive start to the season, with an 11W-1L-2T record across Pro Player Pathway and MLS NEXT Flex matches.
TFC’s U-16 team will join in on the action under the helm of current Canada Men’s National Team Assistant Coach and U-16 TFC Academy Head Coach, Paul Stalteri, on Saturday, December 6, against Atlanta United FC at 11:00 a.m. ET. An opponent that will include players from last season’s Atlanta U-15 team, which finished as runners-up in the 2024–25 MLS NEXT Cup. After a day break, the U-16s are scheduled to face Orlando City SC on Monday, December 8, at 12:15 p.m. ET, and Seattle Sounders FC on Tuesday, December 9, with kick-off at 10:00 a.m. ET. The U-16s have also had an impressive start to the MLS NEXT season, currently holding a 10W-3L-1T record.
After progressing from last year’s TFC U-14 Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) into MLS NEXT competition this September, Toronto FC’s U-15 roster will compete in a major MLS NEXT event for the first time in their TFC careers. Led by Head Coach Taylor Lord, the U-15s open MLS NEXT Fest against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, December 10 at 4:00 p.m. ET, followed by games against the Colorado Rapids on Thursday, December 11 at 1:30 p.m. ET, and will close out the tournament on Saturday, December 13 against MLS Academy, Inter Miami CF at 12:00 p.m. ET. The U-15s also began their MLS NEXT season in September and enter MLS NEXT Fest with a 4W-6L-4T overall record.
To stay up to date with the team’s progress at MLS NEXT Fest, follow along on Instagram (torontofcacademy) and X (tfcacademy).
