Crown Legacy

Charlotte FC built its MLS academy setup with a gap in the middle — a step between youth football and first-team minutes. Crown Legacy FC filled it, unveiled on 30 January 2023 as the club's entry into MLS Next Pro, in North Carolina, where the team plays out of the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in front of 5,000 seats. The crest carries a crown, a nod to Charlotte's old nickname of Queen City.

Under José Tavares, Crown Legacy topped the Eastern Conference regular-season table in 2023 with 66 points from 19 wins, before a conference semi-final exit ended the run. Tavares left in June 2024, heading back to Portugal for family reasons along with his assistant; Gary Dicker took over that November and stayed until January 2026, when Charlotte FC promoted him to assistant coach with the first team.

That purpose shows most clearly in the names who passed through and moved up. Brian Romero signed Charlotte FC's first Homegrown contract and made his debut in 2023. Patrick Agyemang was named MLS Next Pro Player of the Month that July before also stepping up to the first team, and João Pedro made the league's Best XI the same year.