The Charlotte expansion team has hired the first member of its technical staff.



Multiple sources told The Athletic that the club, which was officially awarded an expansion team on Tuesday, has hired Seattle Sounders academy director and director of player development Marc Nicholls as part of its front office as it prepares for its inaugural MLS season in 2021.



Nicholls will oversee the academy and be involved in recruitment and development for the first team. He will work as the No. 2 to the club’s eventual sporting director or GM. That hire is likely to come from abroad, the sources said. The sources added that Charlotte is likely to hire a third executive under Nicholls and the sporting director/GM, creating a structure similar to that at 2020 expansion club Inter Miami, who are led by sporting director Paul McDonough and a pair of lieutenants — technical director Kurt Schmid and director of soccer operations Niki Budalic.



Nicholls...