Detroit City FC entered 2025 coming off a successful 2024, both on and off the field. On the pitch in 2024, the club saw the addition of a women’s indoor team, a National Semifinal run from the USL W League summer side, and a third-place finish from the men’s USL Championship team. That finish earned Le Rouge a home first-round playoff match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, though their postseason run ended there, with the Rowdies advancing via penalty shootout.
Fast forward to the end of 2025, and the results were more mixed. The women’s indoor side began 2025 on fire and rode that momentum all the way to the MASLW National Championship Final at the end of March, before being outclassed by Mexican powerhouse Chihuahua Savage. The women’s USL W League summer team once again won the Great Lakes Division; however, they were unable to advance out of the Central Conference Regional Playoffs, representing a step back from the previous season.
The men’s USL Championship side took the biggest step back during the regular season, barely sneaking into the playoffs on the final matchday. From there, they pulled off a shocking first-round upset on the road against Louisville City before falling in the next round via penalties to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds — the eventual 2025 USL Championship winners.
Off the field, noticeable cracks emerged in the relationship between the club’s front office and many of its most ardent supporters. A four-match protest by Northern Guard Supporters took place from August through September, with NGS citing the club’s treatment of Trevor James and Tiffany Ebert-James following their announced departures in July and early August, ongoing issues with communication standards, and on-field results as the primary reasons.
The new stadium project — already operating on a tight timeline with a 2027 completion target — also saw delays. Groundbreaking was pushed from the summer to a ceremonial groundbreaking on December 18, which occurred with little advance notice to supporters. This contrasted sharply with the August 11 announcement of the stadium’s name, AlumniFi Field. Full demolition of the site is now expected to be completed by mid-February 2026, according to remarks made by DCFC ownership member Sean Mann at the ceremony.
Turning to the current offseason, despite the significant step back during the 2025 USL Championship campaign, head coach Danny Dichio was rewarded with a new two-year contract, including a club option that would extend through 2028. The club’s front office and ownership have shown a level of trust and commitment to Dichio that was notably absent in 2023, when then-head coach Trevor James was shuffled into a sporting director role before ultimately being dismissed.
Despite stretches of abysmal performances in which it appeared the squad and coaching staff were disconnected, it was the club’s leadership that chose to move on from both members of House James rather than from Dichio — a decision that ran counter to the views of many supporters who felt it was time for a change. The sporting director position, vacant since James’ departure, remains unfilled. The club appears to be taking an unconventional approach, seeking a sporting director willing to work with an existing head coach rather than the more common model of a sporting director hiring their own manager.
On the player side, the roster has seen a handful of additions, including some familiar faces. With those returns come familiar questions: concerns over past injuries, where players fit into the squad, and whether the best days of certain returnees are behind them. Will it all work? Your guess is as good as mine.
Adding another layer of uncertainty is the looming USL Championship lockout. The current collective bargaining agreement between the USL Players Association and USL headquarters is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, and based on recent messaging from the USLPA, there are no clear signs that a new agreement is imminent.
In short, it’s difficult to say where Detroit City FC — or the USL as a whole — will find itself in 2026. For the first time in a while, I’ll be watching it all from a more distant vantage point than in years past.
