Sporting Kansas City announced today that MLS Cup champion, World Cup veteran and hometown hero Matt Besler has been selected as the newest member of Sporting Legends.
Besler, who starred for Sporting for 12 seasons from 2009-2020, will be formally inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor in an on-field ceremony on June 28 when Sporting Kansas City hosts Real Salt Lake at Children’s Mercy Park.
Besler—a Kansas City native who grew up in Overland Park, Kansas—becomes the 14th club icon to join Sporting Legends, an initiative launched in 2013 that tributes all-time greats while providing a platform for inductees to engage with supporters and the Kansas City community. Like the previous 13 Sporting Legends, Besler will have his name adorned outside The Victory Suite in the northwest corner of Children’s Mercy Park. A new UMB Sporting Legends Pylon will also be unveiled at the stadium, showcasing special memorabilia items donated from Besler’s playing career.
Sporting Legends Inductees
- 2013: Bob Gansler, Tony Meola, Preki
- 2014: Jimmy Conrad, Lamar Hunt, Peter Vermes
- 2015: Chris Klein
- 2016: Kerry Zavagnin
- 2017: Mo Johnston
- 2019: Josh Wolff
- 2021: Jimmy Nielsen
- 2022: Davy Arnaud
- 2024: Benny Feilhaber
- 2025: Matt Besler
One of the most accomplished and beloved players in Sporting history, Besler enjoyed a heralded career that spanned 13 MLS seasons and included a storybook 12-year stint with his hometown club. He anchored Kansas City’s defense from 2009-2020 as one of the premier center backs in MLS, serving as club captain in each of his last seven seasons and cementing his place as a fan favorite on and off the field. Besler helped Sporting make nine trips to the MLS Cup Playoffs and win four major championships, playing in every minute of the 2013 MLS Cup as well as the 2012, 2015 and 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup finals.
During his successful tenure in Kansas City, Besler was a five-time MLS All-Star (2011, 2013-2016), a two-time MLS Best XI honoree (2012, 2013), the 2012 MLS Defender of the Year and the 2014 Kansas City Sportsman of the Year as selected by the Kansas City Sports Commission. In MLS regular season play, Besler ranks third in club history in matches played (294) and wins (129) while placing second in starts (285) and minutes (25,501). Across all competitions, he is third on the club’s all-time charts in total appearances (348)—trailing only his longtime friends and teammates Graham Zusi (411) and Roger Espinoza (399)—and second in starts (337) and minutes (30,396).
Raised in Overland Park, Besler notably became the first Kansan to compete in the FIFA World Cup, leading the United States Men's National Team at the 2014 tournament in Brazil as part of a brilliant national team career highlighted by Concacaf Gold Cup titles in 2013 and 2017. He collected 47 caps for the U.S. from 2013-2017, including starts in all four matches at the 2014 World Cup as he helped the Americans reach the Round of 16.
After starring at Blue Valley West High School and excelling in a four-year collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, Besler joined the Kansas City Wizards as the eighth overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. He was a regular starter in his rookie season before missing most of 2010 through injury.
The 2011 campaign was one of tremendous breakthrough for Besler and Sporting. Rebranded from the Wizards and settling into a new, world-class home at Children's Mercy Park, Sporting orchestrated a remarkable turnaround by climbing from last place in June to first place at season’s end in the Eastern Conference table. Besler made a career-high 32 regular season starts that year, earning his first of five MLS All-Star nods as Sporting began a playoff streak that lasted through 2018.
Besler reached new heights in 2012. As the heart of the league's stingiest defense, he was named MLS Defender of the Year and landed MLS Best XI honors alongside teammates Zusi, Jimmy Nielsen and Aurelien Collin. The campaign also delivered Kansas City its first major championship in eight years as Sporting defeated Seattle Sounders FC on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Children's Mercy Park.
Sporting took another step forward in 2013—a crowning year that saw Besler break into the U.S. Men's National Team alongside Zusi, help the U.S. qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, lead the Americans to the Concacaf Gold Cup title and earn MLS All-Star and MLS Best XI accolades. In a defining chapter of Kansas City sports history, Besler and Sporting hoisted the 2013 MLS Cup with an epic shootout victory over Real Salt Lake at Children’s Mercy Park, prevailing 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate.
The momentous highs of 2013 set the stage for 2014, when Besler became Sporting’s captain and joined Zusi for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. That summer, they helped the U.S. MNT emerge from a daunting group that included Portugal, Ghana and eventual world champion Germany. Besler started in all four matches at the tournament, including a dramatic 2-1 win over Ghana and a 2-2 tie against Portugal in which Besler was famously photographed towering over the crestfallen Cristiano Ronaldo.
Besler secured his third of four major trophies with Sporting on Sept. 30, 2015, when the club traveled to face the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup Final and again won on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The following year, Besler secured his fourth consecutive MLS All-Star nod and on Sept. 2, 2016, scored his first goal for the U.S. National Team in a runaway victory over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—the same day he became a father as his daughter Parker was born in Kansas City.
In 2017, Besler was part of a miserly Sporting backline that allowed just 29 goals in 34 regular season matches. He and Zusi were crowned 2017 Gold Cup champions with the U.S. MNT—with both players starting in a 2-1 triumph over Jamaica in the final—before claiming yet another U.S. Open Cup championship with a 2-1 win against the New York Red Bulls at Children's Mercy Park.
Besler temporarily became Kansas City’s leader in all-time appearances in 2018 when he started 31 regular season matches, propelling Sporting to first place in the Western Conference standings and a trip to the conference finals. The 2019 campaign saw Besler and Sporting embark on a run to the Concacaf Champions League semifinals, matching the club’s best finish in the tournament.
In his final season in Kansas City, Besler captained Sporting to its fourth first-place conference finish since 2011. He played his final match for the club on Sept. 23, 2020, at Children’s Mercy Park, before missing the rest of the year due to injury. Besler spent his last professional season with expansion side Austin FC in 2021, earning 20 starts in the club’s inaugural campaign and receiving standing ovations in his returns to Children’s Mercy Park in May and June of that year.
Besler’s accomplishments on the field have long been matched by his wide-ranging contributions to the Kansas City community. Among his many acts of philanthropy, Besler has supported patients at Children's Mercy Hospital, athletes at Special Olympics Kansas City and aspiring youth players at countless camps and clinics while participating in several activities tied to The Victory Project, the charitable arm of Sporting dedicated to helping children and families affected by childhood cancer and other challenges. He has further supported pediatric cancer research by partnering with Braden's Hope for Childhood Cancer, taken an active stand against bullying through Red Card KC, and recognized outstanding teachers across the metropolitan area through the Blue KC Sporting Samaritans program.
Besler lives in Leawood, Kansas, with his wife Amanda and their three children, Parker (8), Marin (6) and Miller (3).
