Sporting KC hires longtime New England general manager Mike Burns as sporting director

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) - Sporting Kansas City has found a replacement for Brian Bliss.

On Friday, the club announced it is hiring Mike Burns as the club’s new sporting director. Burns previously served as the general manager of the New England Revolution and spent 15 seasons on New England’s technical staff.

He will oversee Sporting’s player recruitment and roster building strategy, the club said. He’ll also have oversight of the MLS NEXT Pro team Sporting Kansas City II.

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Burns played for the Kansas City Wizards from 2001-02 and joined the Revolution from office as its Director of Soccer in 2008. Three years later, he rose to the general manager role. In 2013, Burns led the Revolution to a conference semifinals appearance where they lost to Sporting KC, who went on to win the MLS Cup.

In 2022-23, Burns was a consultant for Major League Soccer and helped the league office grow MLS, MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT.

Sporting KC said Burns will be introduced during a press conference on Tuesday. The club is currently in 13th place out of 14 Western Conference teams in the MLS.