CHARLESTON, S.C.
(May 7, 2009) – US Club Soccer has
announced a sanctioning agreement with the newly-formed Elite Clubs
National League (ECNL), the premier girls’ league in the country with
U-15, U-16 and U-17 divisions.
The 40 inaugural ECNL member
clubs were recently announced for the 2009-10 season, which will kick off
with the Eclipse Select Challenge Cup in Chicago, August 14-16.
“We’re looking forward to
being involved in this league with what are clearly some of the top girls’
soccer clubs in the country,” said US Club Soccer Executive Director Bill
Sage. “This is an exciting venture and one that promises to help define
the future direction of elite girls’ soccer in the United States.”
US Club Soccer will assist in
the league’s administration and event operations, including marketing and
public relations.
In addition to the ECNL being
integrally involved in US Club Soccer’s current id2 player identification
and development program, future plans include the league’s involvement in
an older girls’ identification and development program as well.
The league’s structure and
national scope will allow for optimal development for the elite female
player, in part by improving clubs’ competitive calendars while allowing
clubs the ability to provide a better training-to-game ratio for their
players.
“We are very excited to enter
into this relationship with US Club Soccer,” said ECNL President Christian
Lavers. “Both the ECNL and US Club Soccer are committed to improving the
developmental environment for youth players in the United States, and
together I think we will be able to do this more quickly, more effectively
and with a number of new and unique programs.”
ECNL member clubs will place
one team in each of the U-15, U-16 and U-17 age groups, and teams will
compete for individual age group championships as well as an overall club
national championship.
The ECNL will host stand-alone
events and partner with existing national showcase events for the
completion of a 10-game regular season prior to the year-end ECNL National
Championship. The inaugural ECNL National Championship is slated for July
2010 in Seattle.
Each ECNL team must
participate in three of five regular-season events:
• Eclipse Select Challenge Cup: Aug. 14-16, 2009, in Chicago
• NCAA Women’s College Cup: Dec. 4-6, 2009, in College Station, Texas
• Disney’s Soccer Showcase: Dec. 31, 2009-Jan. 3, 2010, in Orlando, Fla.
• Las Vegas Showcase: March 2010
• PDA Showcase: May 2010 in Zaraphath, N.J.
Each age group will be split into two flights (Challenge A and Challenge
B) based on team strength, and games within each flight will be based on
geographical location in order to minimize the number of games teams play
against opponents from the same region.
Upon completion of the regular
season, multiple four-team playoff groups will be established in each
flight based on the regular-season standings. The top four teams in each
age group in the Challenge A flight will compete for the ECNL National
Championship. The bottom four teams in the Challenge A flight will compete
in a relegation playoff in which the winning team will remain in the
Challenge A division for the next season and the remaining three teams
will be relegated to the Challenge B flight. Similarly, the top four teams
in the Challenge B division will compete for the promotion playoff in
which the top three teams will be promoted to the Challenge A flight in
the next season.
2009-10 ECNL MEMBER CLUBS:
Albertson Fury (N.Y.)
Arsenal FC (Calif.)
Atlanta Fire (Ga.)
Bethesda SC (Md.)
Birmingham United (Ala.)
CASL (N.C.)
CESA Premier (S.C.)
Challenge SC (Texas)
Charlotte Soccer Academy (N.C.)
Colorado Rush (Colo.)
Concorde Fire (Ga.)
Connecticut FC (Conn.)
Crossfire Premier (Wash.)
Dallas Sting (Texas)
D’Feeters (Texas)
Eclipse Select (Ill.)
FC Dallas (Texas)
FC DELCO (Pa.)
FC Milwaukee (Wis.)
FC Stars of Mass (Mass.) |
FC Virginia (Va.)
Freestate Soccer Alliance (Md.)
FSA SoccerPlus (Conn.)
Irvine Strikers (Calif.)
Lonestar SC (Texas)
Minnesota Thunder (Minn.)
Mustang SC (Calif.)
Neusport FC (Nev.)
Ohio Elite Soccer Academy (Ohio)
Ohio Premier (Ohio)
PDA (N.J.)
Pleasanton Rage (Calif.)
Real Colorado (Colo.)
San Juan SC (Calif.)
SC Del Sol (Ariz.)
Sereno SC (Ariz.)
Solar (Texas)
St. Louis Scott Gallagher (Mo.)
Virginia Rush (Va.)
West Coast FC (Calif.) |
