SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake has begun a month-long international break during the men's FIFA World Cup on U.S. soil, but national champions will be crowned at Zions Bank Stadium this weekend in the form of the 2026 MLS NEXT Cup.
The tournament, which is run by Major League Soccer's youth arm, brings brings 384 teams and more than 7,500 youth soccer stars for competition from the U13 to U19 levels, with an estimated economic impact between $19.63 and $24 million, according to the Utah Sports Commission.
Pool play and early-round knockout matches were held at the Salt Lake Regional Athletic Complex, with semifinals and finals beginning Friday at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.
Hosting the event in Utah is an acknowledgement of the work Real Salt Lake has done in building what many consider to be one of the top MLS academies in the country, said former RSL star, assistant general manager and academy director Tony Beltran said.
"This is the premier event in the academy space," he said. "To have it here in Salt Lake City and to showcase Real Salt Lake, our facilities, and our city as well, it's been a long time coming. Hearing the early returns and the chatter around the landscape, the city, the proximity to the airport and downtown, it's a proud moment for RSL and for Salt Lake City."
Utah was represented by eight local teams across the various brackets, including U16 and U19 teams from Utah Celtic; City SC Utah's U19 squad; Sparta United's U16, U17 and U19 team; Wasatch SC's U19 team; and Real Salt Lake Academy's U18 squad playing in the U19 academy division.
By the end of Wednesday's quarterfinals, only one local team remained to contend for a championship: Celtic's U19 boys' squad in the U19 academy division.
Every pitch, every cloud, every corner flag. Soaking in Salt Lake City one victory at a time. ☁️#MLSNEXTCup Pres. by @allstatepic.twitter.com/Lm1lxWUONk
— MLS NEXT (@MLSNEXT) May 27, 2026
Celtic will face St. Louis Scott Gallagher in Friday's semifinals at 9 a.m. MT at Zions Bank Stadium. The full schedule is available on MLS NEXT's website.
"Hosting the MLS NEXT Cup brings the future of soccer to Utah," said Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. "This event showcases one of the top pipelines in North America, while generating an estimated $24 million in economic impact."
Real Salt Lake — a club that has long prided itself on development as one of the early adopters of a homegrown academy in the United States' top professional men's soccer league — was key in bringing the event to the state's borders.
Long known for its academy system that produced many of the club's top players including starting center back Justen Glad, rising star Zavier Gozo, midfielder Zach Booth and others, Real Salt Lake's academy added a new wave of graduates Wednesday morning before the U19's 3-1 loss to Columbus Crew SC in Wednesday's quarterfinals.
Nineteen homegrown players with a combined 3.9 grade-point average celebrated graduation at Zions Bank Stadium in the morning, a group that included professionals like goalkeeper Will Mackay — who also headlined commencement ceremonies as valedictorian, and Utah Royals teenage forward KK Ream, who is recovering from an ACL injury sidelining her for the remainder of the 2026 season.
The group also included RSL and Real Monarchs professionals like Owen Anderson, Van Parker, Gio Villa and Omar Marquez, as well as seven Division I signees including Duke-bound midfielder Jack Ottley — the creative attacker whose story is a bit unique from other academy graduates.
Ottley left the Virginia Beach area just over two years ago, foregoing the ECNL with Beach FC to play for the Real Salt Lake Academy. After starring with each youth team, he debuted with the third-division Real Monarchs as a second-half sub in April in a 2-0 loss to Ventura County FC, and played in MLS NEXT Pro as recently as last week during a 2-0 win over Colorado Rapids 2.
In all, the former Beach FC standout has made five appearances with the Monarchs, including three starts and an assist in 272 minutes while maintaining his college eligibility — and then scored in back-to-back knockout-round wins over Orlando City Sentinel and the Philadelphia Union Academy at MLS NEXT Cup.
"I think for both ambitious players and parents to look across the MLS landscape and see Real Salt Lake as a leader in this space is really important for us. That's part of our brand," Beltran said. "The reason they are able to do that is because the proof is in the pudding; we play homegrown players. There is a real pathway to get to our first team.
"Everything is earned; everything is always a meritocracy in this space," he added. "But we don't purchase the stars of today; we develop the stars of tomorrow. That's very attractive for ambitious players and parents."
Many of the academy graduates will sign professional contracts, including players like Mackey, the Highland native who inked his first pro deal with Huntsville City FC in MLS NEXT Pro after RSL traded his homegrown rights to Nashville SC.
Some homegrowns will go to college and return to the Monarchs and the first team, like midfielder Griffin Dillon, an RSL Academy from Draper who played two years at Maryland before turning pro with his hometown club.
Just as important as the pro contracts are the high school diplomas, the college scholarships and other degrees by grads who end up going pro in something other than soccer, Beltran ackowledged.
"The three pillars that our boys strive for excellence in is academics, citizenship and soccer — with academics and citizenship always leading before sport," said Beltran, a UCLA graduate. "The reason for that is simple; we have the privilege and responsibility to not just develop great soccer players, but also to develop great young men as well."
