New England
New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1995 as one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, the Revolution plays their home matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The club is owned by Robert Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots. Notable achievements include winning the 2007 U.S. Open Cup, the 2008 North American SuperLiga, and their first Supporters' Shield in 2021. The Revolution have participated in five MLS Cup finals (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2014), which are the most of clubs who have not won the MLS Cup.
History
Overview
General information about the club
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference and is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inaugural season in 1996. The name "Revolution" refers to the New England region's significant involvement in the American Revolution that took place from 1775 to 1783.
The club is owned by Robert Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots along with his son, Jonathan Kraft. New England plays their home matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, located 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston. The Revs are the only original MLS team to have every league game in their history televised.
Most recent season and achievements
The Revolution announced on September 15th, 2025 that they had parted ways with Caleb Porter. Assistant coach Pablo Moreira took over as interim head coach for the team's remaining 4 games. Porter concluded his Revolution tenure with a record of 23W-39L-13D across all competitions.
The club concluded the 2024 season with an average attendance of 29,262, a club record high. However, on-field results were disappointing as the club recorded the worst goal differential in the league, scored the fewest goals of any club in the league, and conceded the second-most goals. The Revolution ended up tying a club record for losses in a single season, with 21.
History
Early years
Soccer has a long history in the New England region. In 1862, the Oneida Football Club in Boston was the first organized team to play any kind of "football/soccer" in the United States. In the 1920s, the Boston Soccer Club and Fall River F.C. were formed and played in the professional American Soccer League.
On June 6, 1995, Robert Kraft became the founding investor/operator of the Revolution, joining Major League Soccer as one of its 10 charter clubs for its inaugural season in 1996. The Revolution were the last of the MLS charter clubs to name a head coach, ultimately selecting Frank Stapleton on January 4, 1996.
The Revolution played their first-ever league match on April 13, 1996, a 3–2 loss away to the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The match saw the Revolution's first goal in club history scored by Robert Ukrop in the 20th minute. The Revolution recorded their first-ever club win a week later on April 20, a 1–0 victory over the MetroStars.
Successful period
Liverpool great Steve Nicol was appointed as head coach on a full-time basis during the 2002 season. After taking over, Nicol guided the Revolution to a playoff berth for a league-record eight straight seasons, failing for the first time in 2010. The first six of those berths resulted in an appearance in the conference final or better, including three consecutive MLS Cup finals from 2005 to 2007.
In his first season in charge, Nicol guided the Revs to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. The team advanced through the playoffs to MLS Cup 2002, where they lost to the Galaxy 1–0. The Revolution made it to two cup finals in the 2007 season, including MLS Cup 2007, which was a rematch from the previous year against Houston Dynamo, though the result was the same as Houston defeated New England 2–1.
Though they lost the 2007 MLS Cup, they defeated FC Dallas 3–2 to win their first-ever trophy: the 2007 U.S. Open Cup. The Revolution won the 2008 North American SuperLiga, defeating Atlante F.C. in the semi finals and the Houston Dynamo in the final on penalties.
Crisis and recovery
The 2011 season would go down as the worst in the club's sixteen-year history. With a record of 5 wins, 16 defeats and 13 draws, the Revolution would finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. At the end of the 2011 season, the club announced they had parted ways with manager Steve Nicol.
The club announced on November 15, 2011, that it had hired former Revolution player Jay Heaps as its new head coach. The 2013 team would finish in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference, making the playoffs for the first time since 2009. In 2014, the Revolution breezed through the playoffs without losing a game, reaching the MLS Cup Final for the first time since 2007, though they would lose 2–1 to the LA Galaxy.
On September 18, 2017, the Revolution announced it had parted ways with head coach Jay Heaps after a record-breaking 7–0 defeat to Atlanta United FC.
Current period
In November 2017, the Revolution announced that former United States men's national team goalkeeper Brad Friedel would be the club's next head coach. On May 9, 2019, coach Brad Friedel was fired after a 2–8–2 record to open the 2019 season. The following day, the club announced that former D.C. United, LA Galaxy and USMNT coach Bruce Arena would serve as both head coach and sporting director.
The 2021 season saw the Revolution win their first Supporters' Shield in club history by having the best record in the regular season. New England set a new MLS record for points in a season (73). On August 1, 2023, Bruce Arena was suspended due to "reports of inappropriate and insensitive remarks." On September 9, 2023, the Bruce Arena era would end after Arena's resignation.
On December 19, 2023, the club announced that it had appointed Caleb Porter as its new head coach. However, the Revolution announced on September 15th, 2025 that they had parted ways with Caleb Porter after recording the worst goal differential in the league and tying a club record for losses in a single season.
Achievements and Honors
Domestic competitions
The New England Revolution won their first major MLS trophy, the Supporters' Shield, in 2021, setting a club record for points in a single season with 73 points, surpassing the previous MLS record. The club has reached the MLS Cup final five times (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2014) but has yet to win the title, holding the record for most losses in MLS Cup games.
They captured the 2007 U.S. Open Cup, defeating FC Dallas 3–2 for their first-ever trophy. The club also won the MLS Team Fair Play Award in multiple seasons: 2003, 2008, 2012, and 2022.
Continental and global competitions
The Revolution won the 2008 North American SuperLiga, defeating Atlante F.C. in the semi-finals and the Houston Dynamo in the final on penalties. This victory provided some measure of revenge for their successive MLS Cup defeats to Houston.
The club has participated in CONCACAF Champions League competitions, though with limited success. In 2008, they crashed out of the Champions League with an embarrassing 4–0 home defeat to Joe Public FC of Trinidad and Tobago, losing 6–1 on aggregate.
Symbols and Colors
Current logo and logo history
The original club badge was stylized and based on the flag of the United States with the canton stylized as a soccer ball, composed of six stars representing the six states of New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). The overall design mirrored the 1994 FIFA World Cup logo. The Revolution was the last founding team of the MLS to keep its original crest. In 2014, the flag and ball were retained while the name was dropped.
In 2021, the club launched its new logo after enlisting an independent third-party to conduct focus groups consisting of Boston sports fans. It features an "R" sitting above a red strikethrough. The inner shape references traditional flag drapery which plays homage to the original Revolution logo. The "R"'s font references the Boston Tea Party mark and American Revolutionary era lettering. Red details around the logo are reminiscent of patriotic bunting and the strikethrough behind the logo is meant to symbolize defiance.
Traditional home and away kits colors
Traditionally, the Revolution have worn all-navy at home, with the exception of red shorts during the club's first year in 1996. From 2014 to 2020, the club wore white shorts at home. To mark the club and the league's 25th anniversary, the red shorts returned for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The Revolution wore white secondary uniforms for their entire existence until 2015, when the club introduced a red away jersey with white and green accents in tribute to the flag of New England. Away uniforms have demonstrated more design variation since then.
Traditional Rivals
New York Red Bulls
The club's main rival is widely considered to be New York Red Bulls, due to the rivalry stemming from other Boston–New York rivalries in other professional sports such as the Knicks–Celtics rivalry in the NBA, the Jets–Patriots rivalry in the NFL and the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry in Major League Baseball. Beginning in 2002, the Revs had a 20 match undefeated streak against the Red Bulls for games at Gillette Stadium. This streak helped to intensify the rivalry between the teams. The streak came to an end on June 8, 2014, as the Red Bulls won 2–0 at Gillette Stadium.
D.C. United
The Revolution have built a rivalry with fellow Eastern Conference team D.C. United. These teams have faced each other on numerous occasions in the playoffs, contributing to the intensity of their rivalry.
Chicago Fire
The Revolution have also developed a rivalry with Chicago Fire. In a 2009 poll on the club's official site, New England fans considered the Chicago Fire the Revs' most bitter rival as the clubs have clashed many times in the MLS playoffs and regular season.
New York City FC
Since 2015 a rivalry has also developed with newcomer club New York City FC, due to the latter club's association with the Yankees and with Yankee Stadium being the club's incumbent home ground. To further fuel this rivalry, New York City FC knocked out the Revolution in the eastern conference semifinals of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs in a 2–2 tie that eventually went to penalties, despite the Revolution having the superior regular season record that year.
Club Traditions and Behind the Scenes
Nicknames
The Revolution are commonly referred to as the "Revs" by fans and media. The team's supporter's clubs are called the "Midnight Riders" and "The Rebellion". The name 'Midnight Riders' is in honor of the famous rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes, who announced the departure of British troops from Boston to Concord at the beginning of the American Revolution.
Ownership and finances
The club is owned by Robert Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots along with his son, Jonathan Kraft. Kraft is also the CEO of the Kraft Group. In April 2014, journalist Kevin Alexander named the Kraft family as "the Worst Owners in the League" in Boston Magazine, contrasting the family's sparkling reputation as NFL owners with their alleged lack of interest in MLS and the Revolution.
Traditions and culture
The Revolution employ a corps known as the End Zone Militia, a group of American Revolutionary War reenactors founded in 1996 by Geoff Campbell. The reenactors wear authentic 18th century clothing including the iconic colonial tricorn hat, and carry flintlock black gunpowder muskets which are ceremoniously fired when the Revolution score a goal.
The two supporter groups together occupy the north stand of the stadium, which they have nicknamed "The Fort". The Fort is a general admission section and draws its name from the revolutionary theme which runs through the team supporters.
Stadium
The Revolution play home matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. At its inception, the Revolution played their games at Foxboro Stadium, alongside the New England Patriots. In 2002, Robert Kraft financed a $350-million project as a replacement for Foxboro Stadium which would come to be known as Gillette Stadium. In 2007, Kraft began to develop the land around Gillette Stadium, creating a $375-million open-air shopping and entertainment center called Patriot Place.
Gillette Stadium is a 66,000-seat stadium including luxury and box seating. The Revolution artificially limit the stadium's capacity for MLS matches, with certain seating sections covered with tarpaulins, or made inaccessible. However, the club does open the entire stadium for international matches and MLS Playoffs.
On October 20, 2002, during the 2002 MLS Cup final a record was established when a crowd of 61,316 attended a Revolution 1–0 loss against the Los Angeles Galaxy. This was the largest stand-alone MLS post-season crowd on record until the 2018 MLS Cup in Atlanta. On April 27, 2024, in their match against Inter Miami CF and Lionel Messi, the Revolution set a new single-match attendance record of 65,612.
Kraft opened a new $35 million training center in 2019. The team's training facilities and offices are located in the wetlands behind Gillette Stadium. Despite these new facilities, Kraft claimed that he was still committed to building a new soccer-specific stadium closer to the city limits of Boston.