After four months off, Birmingham Legion play competitive soccer once again this weekend. Here’s everything you need to know going into Saturday’s 2026 season opener.

Where we left off

In 2024, Birmingham Legion missed out on the playoffs for the first time in club history. The following year, in 2025, they somehow did worse. The Three Sparks managed just five league wins on their way to a bottom-of-the-table finish. They did add two wins in their first USL Jägermeister Cup campaign, but promptly exited at the quarter-final stage.

The dire performances led to the club’s first-ever change in the dugout, as Tommy Soehn, the only head coach Legion had ever known, received his marching orders early on. His replacement, Mark Briggs, failed to steady the ship however and left for an MLS assistant opportunity just days before the start of the current preseason.

On the roster front, the club hit a hard reset. Sixteen players departed, with notable club stalwarts such as Matt van Oekel, Enzo Martínez, Jake Rufe and Trevor Spangenberg either calling quits on their careers or leaving the club. Only thirteen players returned to the Magic City, including the permanent signings of previously loaned players in Samuel Shashoua, Ronaldo Damus and Amir Daley.

All-in-all, it’s a very new looking team, with only three players (Phanuel Kavita, AJ Paterson and Tyler Pasher) still at the club from the last playoff season for the Black and Gold.

What things look like now

With little time to find a replacement following Briggs’ departure, Birmingham Legion turned to their longtime CEO to take the reins. Jay Heaps has been with the club since its inception, but always in the front office except for a brief spell helping assistant coach Eric Avila on the sidelines between Soehn’s dismissal and Briggs’ hiring.

He admitted in a recent press conference that that period gave him the itch to return to the dugout after serving as head coach for MLS side New England Revolution for six years from 2011 to 2017.

As for players, the club has already announced seven new signings to complement the returning 13, taking the total roster tally up to 20. A few more are known to be on trial or set to be announced any day now.

The new-look team competed in two known preseason games, defeating MLS NEXT Pro’s Chattanooga FC 3-2 and USL League One’s Chattanooga Red Wolves 1-0. Most fans have yet to see them in action in 2026 however after the team’s flagship preseason fixture versus Nashville SC had to be canceled due to weather concerns.

The first opportunity to do so for many will therefore come this weekend, when Birmingham Legion kick off the season with a home opener against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game, which will be held in the Three Sparks’ home of Protective Stadium, is themed as a “Mascot Mayhem” night and will likely feature the introduction of the club’s brand new mascot, Noigel.

What could go wrong

With any new season, there is as much hope as there is trepidation. Fans want to be optimistic while still reeling from the shortcomings of the previous year.

For Legion fans in particular, the last two seasons have dampened spirits. And while there is cause for optimism (we’ll get to that in a bit), there are also valid concerns to be had.

Here’s my go at predicting where the season could be won or lost for the Three Sparks:

The Jay Heaps gamble

Jay Heaps is probably the biggest question mark going into the season for Birmingham Legion. While he has significant playing and coaching experience, his last true spell on the sideline came in 2017, nearly a decade ago.

Soccer is a constantly evolving sport, and putting someone in the dugout who has been out of it for so long could be a major risk. Yes, Heaps was still heavily involved in the sport through his front office work with Legion, but that’s not the same as experiencing the day-to-day of a coach. Data and analytics have become a major part of how coaches understand the game, something that was barely in its infancy in 2017. Players are also more athletic these days, and tactics have evolved to reflect that.

Heaps may face a sharp learning curve when competitive games begin, and we wait to find out how he adapts. With his dual job as CEO and head coach, it also remains to be seen how he juggles both responsibilities. Finally, his temperamental nature is widely known across the league and could see him get in trouble with the referees more often than not.

Regardless how it goes, it’s hard to judge the club too harshly for Heaps’ appointment given the time constraints involved in finding Briggs’ replacement. Heaps knows the club and the players well and was therefore one of the best options to take over just days before preseason started with minimal chaos caused.

Only the upcoming season will reveal whether the appointment was a desperate hole-plug bound to fail or the necessary masterstroke to restore the club’s higher aspirations.

Oops, All Wingers

Birmingham Legion fans started using the expression “Oops, All Wingers” several seasons back when the club made it a habit of signing a plethora of wingers and using them in positions all over the pitch. Looking at this season’s roster, it looks like the Three Sparks have yet to kick the habit.

In addition to the wingers actually expected to play on the wings, two central midfielders (Samuel Shashoua and Peter-Lee Vassell) would have been described as wingers as recently as last year, and three of the team’s four fullback options (Nico Brown, Dawson McCartney and Sebastian Tregarthen) can say the same.

While several of them have already shown adeptness for their new positions, it still raises concerns over the defensive solidity of this team. If half the squad is used to racing down the flank with the ball at their feet, who’s doing the dirty work defending? Defensive ideas and positioning can be coached, but those instincts will rarely ever be the same as those of a player who came up shielding the goalkeeper his whole life.

Left-back is the biggest area where this is a concern, as McCartney and Brown are the two players expected to share the load in that position. While having a dynamic converted winger serving as a fullback can be great when going forward to overload that left flank, it could quickly become a hindrance when the ball’s headed the other way. Whether caught out of position or struggling in one-on-one situations, the two presumed left-backs could well be Legion’s weak link going into the season.

Midfielders and centerbacks can be asked to cover their teammates’ frailties, but that just leaves space elsewhere for the opposition to exploit. If the team does not figure out a way to address this concern, expect that left side to be the Achilles’ heel of an otherwise solid-looking backline.

A sizeable concern

While the roster looks good on paper, one thing quickly jumps out when digging just a little deeper: it features a lot of undersized players.

As of writing, there are 20 confirmed players on the roster. Only seven of them are 6-feet or taller, and two of those are the goalkeepers. That leaves just five outfielders, the four centerbacks and McCartney, as reaching the 6-foot mark.

While size is less important in soccer than in other sports such as basketball or football, it can still have a meaningful impact. The midfield is notably lightweight, with an expected starting three of Seth Antwi, Sam McIllhatton and Samuel Shashoua averaging 5’7″ among them.

Corners and set-pieces will also likely be a struggle for this Legion side, as at most three 6-foot-tall outfielders would be expected to be on the pitch at the same time, and none of them over 6-foot-2. There’s no more Alex Crognale or Tiago Suárez to dominate the aerial battles, and we have to wait and see if new goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat is as efficient claiming crosses in crowded boxes as Matt van Oekel was before him. If not, these dead ball situations could spell severe danger for the Black and Gold, while needing pinpoint deliveries or creative routines up the other end to provide any meaningful threat.

Home discomfort

While home advantage is a well-documented effect, Birmingham Legion have not benefited from it in years.

Ever since the move to Protective Stadium in 2022, the club’s home win rate has steadily declined. In their final year at PNC Field, the Three Sparks won 62.50% of home matchups, their best-ever home record. By the end of 2022, that home record had fallen to a 50% success rate. It kept declining in steady fashion the following years, culminating in a measly 23.53% win rate in 2025.

That’s less than one win every four games at Protective Stadium.

The potential reasons for this are multiple and varied. While there is no doubt the field conditions are excellent, they also create a unique challenge. The players train on grass most days but play on turf on gameday, forcing them to adapt to a different bounce and ball speed. The heat is also a major effect. The turf traps the heat, and summer games in particular turn the stadium into a cauldron.

While neither of these give the opposition an advantage as they would also be affected, difficulties adapting to these conditions could explain some of the home struggles. But the biggest reason the team has lacked any meaningful home advantage since its move is the stadium itself.

Protective seats just over 47,000 fans, but Legion attracts 5,000 at best. In such a cavernous setting, those 5,000 can feel meaningless. Whereas at PNC Field they made for a raucous crowd cheering the team on and creating a genuine atmosphere, even the best-intentioned fans can struggle to get anything going when spread out across thousands of empty seats.

And if the team doesn’t have any real advantage at home, but every opponent maintains their advantage when the Black and Gold go on the road, it becomes easy to see why wins have been hard to come by in recent years.

Reasons for optimism

Having said all the above, it’s not all negativity. With a rebooted team and a stated desire for improvements from the higher ups, Legion fans can find solace in a couple of places heading into the new season.

Home discomfort, Part 2

Legion are not getting a soccer-specific stadium anytime soon, so Protective will have to do. Some of the flaws, however, can be removed, and the front office does appear to be trying to address them.

Ahead of the new season, the club has notably changed the stadium’s seating arrangement to move both supporters’ groups into the West Stand. The Magic City Brigade and Puente 12 used to be behind one goal each, with the remaining fans scattered across that main stand. By displacing both fan groups and tightening the space available to attendees, the club hopes to better emulate the atmosphere of a packed stadium, even while filling only a fraction of the venue.

Plans have also been put into place to increase attendance, with notably a list of theme nights throughout the season and plans for more in-stadium activities for matchgoers to enjoy. This comes on the heels of last season’s affordable concessions stand, showing the club is at least trying to fix its attendance issues.

The players

This team is not the same as in 2025, and definitely not as in 2024. Only five players return from the latter, with a lot of new blood brought in to ensure the club has a chance to return to the postseason.

Among the new signings, Czech goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat is a recent Golden Glove winner in the Canadian league, where he set clean sheet records. Seth Antwi was a standout for St. Louis CITY 2 in MLS NEXT Pro and will anchor a midfield that was in dire need of a player of his profile all through last season. Gevork Diarbian, an energetic winger with plenty of upside, is another exciting MLS NEXT addition, while veteran striker Romario Williams brings know-how from a career spanning MLS, the Middle East and the USL Championship, as well as 25 international appearances for Jamaica.

Of the returnees, fans can be excited by the permanent acquisition of Ronaldo Damus, who scored 14 goals last season despite the team’s struggles. Sebastian Tregarthen was a breakout star in his rookie year, covering both wings and fullback positions, and should be set for even greater heights in the sequel, while Samuel Shashoua shone in a brief loan spell curtailed by injury. Phanuel Kavita will lead the team’s backline as a veteran presence after a banner year for him personally, earning his first five international caps for Rwanda at the age of 32.

The roster

More than just a few star names, Birmingham Legion has quietly assembled a very strong roster. While the team is still nowhere near the likes of Louisville City or Charleston Battery, longtime followers of the team such as Kaylor Hodges and John Fuller believe it to be the best roster the club has put together in quite a while, if not ever.

This isn’t just about individual quality, but about building a homogenous team that will work well together. If Jay Heaps is to play a semblance of the 4-3-3/4-1-4-1 he favored in New England, the team could look something like this:

That’s not just a strong starting XI, but also a very capable backup in nearly every position. And, critically, the majority of them are in the prime of their careers.

Peak age for a soccer player is generally considered to be anywhere between 27 and 31 years old. Half of the above starting XI fall in that range, with another four set to turn 27 this year. Amir Daley (24) and Phanuel Kavita (32) are the only outliers.

This observation holds true with many of the backups as well, with Bryce Washington (27), Nico Brown (27), Kadeem Cole (27 in May) and Vassell (28) all adding to the list.

This tells us that the club has looked to assemble a win-now team rather than treating the season as a project. It might be a rebuild, but it’s one they expect to deliver returns this year.

What comes next

Barring a USLPA strike due to the ongoing CBA negotiations, Birmingham Legion will begin the USL Championship season by hosting the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7 p.m. Saturday at Protective Stadium. They will quickly follow it up with a second home game vs Hartford Athletic at 11 a.m. Wednesday 11th March.

With two home games to kick off the season, fans will have a perfect chance to see where exactly this club stands going into the season, both on and off the field. Will the changes at Protective bring any meaningful difference in the stands? And will the team figure things out on the pitch?

These first two opponents should provide a good litmus test for where the team stacks up amongst USL Championship clubs.

Tampa also missed out on the postseason last year but have thrown a lot of money at their reset, with star additions such as MD Myers, Russell Cicerone and Leland Archer looking to lead them back up the table. Such has been their overhaul that the USL’s No.1 reporter, John Morrisey, predicts them to battle Louisville City for the Eastern Conference title.

Legion might be lucky to face them before they can fully gel, and if the Three Sparks can put up a decent fight, even if they lose, it will bode well for their season.

Meanwhile, Hartford finished fifth off a strong back half of the season but have had a quieter offseason than most. They’re nothing flashy, but return a solid core and should be expected to compete for a playoff spot in the East. As such, they are a direct competitor to Birmingham Legion’s postseason hopes, and a team the Three Sparks should really be aiming to beat if they are to be serious playoff contenders.

After losing to Hartford home and away in 2025, next week’s game should be a strong indicator of how far, or little, the Black and Gold have come since then.

Perform in these first two games, and the team will have momentum going into its first bye week, setting it up nicely for the rest of the season. Disappoint, however, and the club’s big reset may fail before ever getting started.

Follow Timothy Belin on Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook or Bluesky to stay up to date on all things Legion this season.