MLS NEXT Flex Tournament at Toyota Soccer

MLS NEXT Flex opens Thursday in Frisco, Texas, with academy teams playing for the last direct berths in the 2026 MLS NEXT Cup. (mlssoccer.com) The event runs April 23-28 at the Toyota Soccer Complex, next to FC Dallas’ home base, and includes U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-19 age groups. Teams are placed into groups of four based on results from league matches played from September 2025 through March 2026. (mlssoccer.com) Each group winner qualifies automatically for MLS NEXT Cup, turning every three-game group stage into a postseason race. MLS NEXT lists separate schedules and standings for the U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-19 brackets during the tournament. (mlssoccer.com) Several Major League Soccer academies arrived in Texas with three teams entered, including the New England Revolution, Philadelphia Union, Inter Miami CF, and Toronto FC. Those clubs said their U-18, U-16 and U-15 squads were traveling to Frisco for Flex play this week. (oursportscentral.com) (philadelphiaunion.com) (oursportscentral.com) For clubs that did not lock up a Cup place through league play, Flex is the final route into the season-ending championship event. MLS NEXT’s published 2025-26 calendar identifies Flex as the last qualifying competition before MLS NEXT Cup begins in Frisco later this month. (mlssoccer.com) The tournament also sits in the middle of a crowded spring for elite youth teams. New England’s academy, for example, sent its U-16 and U-15 teams to the 2026 Generation adidas Cup at IMG Academy from March 27 to April 3 before turning to league play and now Flex. (oursportscentral.com) MLS NEXT launched in 2020 as the top youth development platform run by Major League Soccer and now feeds players into academy, reserve-team and first-team pathways. Flex compresses that pipeline into one week, with knockout-level stakes before the Cup field is finalized. (mlssoccer.com) The matches in Frisco will decide which academy groups extend their seasons into MLS NEXT Cup — and which teams head home after three days of qualifying games. (mlssoccer.com)