KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Sporting Kansas City signed Peter Vermes to a five-year contract extension Wednesday that will keep its longtime manager with the Major League Soccer club through the 2028 season.
Vermes, the fourth-winningest coach in MLS history, will begin his 15th season with the club when it faces the Portland Timbers on Saturday. He’s led Sporting KC to 10 playoff appearances and the 2013 MLS Cup along with three U.S. Open Cup titles, and his four major trophies are one behind Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley for the most in U.S. soccer history.
“Peter is a superlative strategic thinker who loves to win and hates to lose,” Sporting KC co-owner Mike Illig said. “He continuously demonstrates his commitment to our ownership’s objective to elevate Sporting KC as a perennial contender in a league that grows tougher and tougher every year. He is also fully dedicated to our long-term strategy of developing young, high-potential players into the next generation of Sporting professionals.”
Vermes appeared in 67 games for the U.S. national team, including the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1990 World Cup, before wrapping up his career in MLS, where he led the precursor to Sporting KC to the 2000 Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup.
He became the Kansas City club’s technical director after retiring as a player, then took over head coaching duties in 2009, which makes him the longest-tenured coach in MLS history and one of the longest-serving managers in global soccer. He has led the club, rebranded as Sporting KC, through 516 matches across all competitions.
Vermes, who was inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2013, has also taken up leadership positions within MLS, including helping the league establish return-to-play protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Peter has earned the recognition and respect of many across soccer regionally, nationally and throughout the MLS community,” Illig said. “We trust that his intrepid leadership will help bring more titles to this club and city.”
