For the third consecutive season, Charlotte FC qualified again for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The trajectory of the club has been improving since their 9th place Eastern Conference finish (in 2023) & 5th place Eastern Conference finish (in 2024) & now 4th place Eastern Conference finish (in 2025).

This season, the squad snuck into the MLS Cup Playoffs as the #5 seed and fell in the first round best-of-three series after 3 matches versus New York City FC.

Taking a glance at the overall season, Charlotte went 13-3-1 at home & 6-10-1 on the road. They scored 9 more goals and allowed 9 goals more in comparison to their 2024 campaign.

With their roster decisions published, Charlotte will have some roster flexibility & will look to make improvements to an already talented roster

In the offseason guide:

The Positives

Charlotte FC’s forwards this season were absolutely unbelievable. Charlotte’s loan players led the way with their overall goal contributions as Pep Biel had 22 goal contributions (10 goals & 12 assists) while Designated Player forward Wilfried Zaha had 22 goal contributions (10 goals & 10 assists). U22 Initiative Idan Toklomati was the third Charlotte player with 10+ goals as he had a team leading 11 goals & attributed 4 assists as well (15 total goal contributions).

Goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina was also a massive part of Charlotte’s success this season. The 2024 Goalkeeper of the Year made 129 saves along with 12 total clean sheets in 32 games this season.

This team was also unbelievable at home this season. It was virtually impossible to head to Bank of America stadium to get a result as the club had the most wins out of any MLS team at home (13). They finished 13W-1D-3L on the year at home.

The Negatives

This squad was extremely disappointing on the road this season. They went 6W-1D-10L on the road and it ultimately led to the squad finishing in 4th place in the MLS Eastern Conference. If they were as strong as they were at home on the road, they’d easily been the favorites for the Supporters’ Shield.

Charlotte is another MLS team that ultimately fell in the Round of 16 of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where they fell 3-3 (2-1 in penalties) to D.C. United.

The club was also extremely disappointing in the Leagues Cup this season. Charlotte finished 1W-2L and did not qualify for the knockout rounds after a 4-1 L v Juarez, a 2-2 D (4-2 L in Penalties) v Guadalajara & 2-0 W over Monterrey. 

Roster Flexibility

Charlotte FC has a great amount of roster flexibility. At the moment, the club has two designated players (Liel Abada & Wilfried Zaha) and four U-22 initiative signings (Baye Coulibaly, Nikola Petkovic, Idan Toklomati, Kerwin Vargas).

This club is currently in the 2DP and 4 U-22s model. In regard to GAM totals, the club has $1,742,951 of GAM (as of Sept. 18, 2025).

The club announced their end-of-season roster update, where they announced most contract option decisions. 

The club is entering the 2026 season with 24 players rostered as of November 25th.

Offseason Priorities

This is a very good team. With their already high quantity of GAM, this club will be adding more GAM after Eryk Williamson (M) will not be returning to the club. Charlotte has the ability to improve this roster even more and could catapult themselves to potentially being a Supporters’ Shield contending squad.

Charlotte will need to add a starting center back to replace the void left by Adilson Malanda this offseason.

The club should also look to sign impactful depth midfielders & potentially a new right-back for aging Nathan Bryne.