Big changes are happening in the landscape of North Carolina soccer, as the Carolina Railhawks, a North American Soccer League franchise centered in Cary, are undergoing a massive rebranding initiative, which they are referring to as “The New State of Soccer.”

The Railhawks will now be known as North Carolina Football Club, or NCFC for short, and have made a bid to jump from NASL to Major League Soccer, the top flight division of the sport in the United States. In addition to the changes to the existing Railhawks franchise, the owners have brought in a National Women’s Soccer League team, which has been named the North Carolina Courage.

The Courage is not a new franchise, but the relocation of the Western New York Flash. The team won the NWSL championship in the 2016 season and features a number of prominent international players. This includes five members of the U.S. Women’s National Team, highlighted by midfielder Samantha Mewis, who has 18 caps and four goals for the USWNT.

The Courage has also started adding players to its roster, including one homegrown player. In its first NWSL College Draft, the Courage selected four players, Claire Wagner out of Clemson among them. Wagner is a native of Cary, and was a member of the Capital Area Soccer League before college. She graduated from Panther Creek High School in Cary.

As for NCFC, it will continue to play in NASL as it pushes for the MLS. The team has been acknowledged by the MLS as a possible city for an expansion team, according to Ben Couch of the MLS. Raleigh is one of 10 potential cities fighting for four expansion slots. A decision from the MLS on the first two teams should come in late 2017, with the announcement of the other two to follow.

In addition to the name change, NCFC has also undergone a complete rebranding of its crest and jerseys. The colors of the team are changing from royal blue and bright orange, to navy, gold and red. In addition, NCFC will feature a new team logo, a white star with one tip separated, and colored gold. The big star represents the same image on the North Carolina state flag, where the separated section is meant to represent the Triangle area of North Carolina.

Both NCFC and the North Carolina Courage will play, for at least the next few seasons, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, where the Railhawks have been playing since their inception in 2006. However, moving forward, the ownership of the team hopes to build a new stadium.

The MLS requires each franchise to have a stadium that seats at least 20,000 people, twice the size of WakeMed Soccer Park’s 10,000 person capacity. The new stadium will be a vital part of the plans surrounding NCFC and the Courage, according to club owner Steve Malik. The plans and location of the new stadium will be announced sometime in 2017.

NCFC will kick-off its first season under its new name at WakeMed Soccer Park March 25, with the opponent to be named later. The starting date for the Courage is still to be determined.

Professional soccer is beginning to take its shape in the heart of North Carolina, an area that reigns supreme in the college soccer ranks. With elite programs in both men’s and women’s soccer scattered throughout the state, it seems to be about time that a higher level of soccer finds its way to this hotbed of the sport.