US YOUTH SOCCER ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL LEAGUE MEMBERS
FOR DIRECT PATHWAY TO REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Charlottesville, VA (July 19, 2019) – US Youth Soccer has recently announced that the Club Champions League (CCL), Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), National Capital Soccer League (NCSL), and the Northeast Soccer League (NSL) will be the first four leagues to compete for a direct pathway into the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships via the newly formed US Youth Soccer League Championship.

US Youth Soccer East Region General Manager, Dr. Greg Smith said, “The League Championship program creates an additional pathway into the Eastern Regional Championships while strengthening relationships with leagues and maintaining the structural integrity of existing programs, competitions and events offered by US Youth Soccer.” Dr. Smith went on to say, “The leagues that have been chosen to participate represent some of the very best, and there is a high level of excitement as the first season of this initiative begins and we look to further grow and improve together moving forward.”

Brian Kuk, CCL Executive Director added, “US Youth Soccer realizes that the youth soccer landscape has changed.  The decision that US Youth Soccer has made recognizes the value of quality league management and competitive regionalized league competition within states that can reward league champions [13-19s, boys and girls] to qualify directly into the Regional Championships.  The amount of time to travel, missing school, and the high cost of attending multiple competitions is done.  This is the future and we are excited to participate.”

The League Championship will commence with a Semifinal and Final playoff held over one weekend in June of each year, and in 2020, the playoff will be held in one of the four geographic regions selected by US Youth Soccer:  Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, or New York.  The playoff location will look to be rotated annually.

“Long Island Junior Soccer League applauds US Youth Soccer’s National and Regional management teams for recognizing the critical input of, and the need to support member leagues like LIJSL that have been essential to the foundation of USYS’s programming, platforms and overall pathway.  We are extremely excited to join like-minded partners such as CCL, NCSL and NSL as a founding league of the League Championship program.  The increased opportunities that the League Championship will provide to the top teams of our member clubs is very important to supporting our league’s short- and long-term objectives and goal,” stated LIJSL’s Director of Member Services, Steve Padaetz.

To qualify to advance to the Eastern Regional Championships from the League Championship, teams must participate in league play as well as their state association’s National Championship Series State Cup competition.

Ryan Rich, NCSL Executive Director stated, “NCSL is thrilled to be an inaugural member of the League Championship and partner with three other leagues committed to providing its member clubs with quality competition at a reasonable cost.  We are ready to get started and excited about offering this new pathway to our membership!”

US Youth Soccer’s initiative to launch the League Championship has four key pillars:  like-minded league leadership, competitive excellence, on-going collaboration between US Youth Soccer and the member leagues, and low costs.

“US Youth Soccer is the most storied and prestigious youth soccer organization in the country.  They provide levels of play for all soccer players.  We are excited to be the only league in New England to provide a pathway direct to the Regional Championships through the League Championship program.  We believe this is an incredible opportunity for the clubs in New England to have additional access to compete within the National Championship Series,” commented John Barata, NSL Executive Director.

The League Championship Playoff will be hosted by the Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA), CCL, and NCSL on June 13-14, 2020 at the Publix Virginia Soccer Training Center (PVSTC) in Spotsylvania, Virginia.  Home to six Bermuda grass fields and three synthetic, lighted turf fields, the PVSTC is one of the East Region’s top venues.

“VYSA and the Publix Virginia Soccer Training Center (PVSTC) are proud to be able to host the inaugural League Championship in June of 2020.  PVSTC will provide some of the finest quality pitches on the East Coast for this exciting event,” stated Phil Summers, VYSA Executive Director.

“United States Youth Soccer would like to congratulate the four leagues that were chosen to be part of our pilot League Championship program for the 2019-20 season.   All four leagues have consistently shown a proud history of organization, competitive teams, and providing a vehicle for players to advance to the next level.   Besides the program providing an additional pathway into the NCS East Regional, it creates an opportunity to enhance both the leagues and US Youth programs and participation,” states Brad Roos, Chair of the League Championship Management Group.   

The League Championship begins Fall 2019. 

About Club Champions League, Inc.
Founded in 1997 as the Virginia Club Champions League (VCCL) and rebranded in 2013 as the Club Champions League (CCL), the CCL strives to activate and accelerate youth soccer development through its club-centric, technical director-driven model.  The CCL provides superior competition, offers a player development pathways and club model for ages eight to over-twenty-three, and consists of the top youth soccer clubs in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.  CCL member clubs have over 71,000 registered youth soccer players.  www.ClubChampionsLeague.com. 

About Long Island Junior Soccer League, Inc.
Established in 1966, the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) has grown to over 100 member clubs, 5,000+ volunteers, and over 60,000 registered youth soccer players ages 5 through 19.  The League’s rich tradition and history counts eight (8) USYS National Championships, dozens of former and current US Men’s and Women’s National Team and professional players & coaches – including 2019 World Cup Champions Crystal Dunn and Allie Long – as well as thousands of players (and coaches) in the collegiate ranks.  LISJL is equally as proud of being a progressive and proactive league focused on developing programming & services for the continued benefit of league member clubs, coaches, and player-families, as well as our game, all while Building Character Through Soccer.  www.LIJsoccer.com.

About National Capital Soccer League
National Capital Soccer League (NCSL) is the D.C. Metro area’s premier promotion-relegation soccer league, serving approximately 30,000 travel soccer players every year representing many of the most successful clubs in the nation.  It is a club-based league, which requires clubs to meet league standards in order to be considered for entry and must be voted in by other member clubs, and schedules games at the team-to-team level in order to provide the most appropriate and competitive game-day experience.  www.NCSL-soccer.com.

About Northeast Soccer League, Inc.
Founded in 1993 as MAPLE and rebranded in 2016 as the Northeast Soccer League (NSL), the NSL is for the clubs, by the clubs and with the clubs.  Our aim is to provide more than just a place to play but also to provide quality programs and events for the benefit of our membership.  Furthermore, the NSL is based on merit but driven by defined club standards that all member clubs must continue to meet.  More information can be found on www.NSLsoccer.org.

About the Virginia Youth Soccer Association
The Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) www.VYSA.com is a member of the US Soccer Federation and US Youth Soccer representing over 170,000 youth players, coaches and administrators in the Commonwealth of Virginia and DC.  VYSA oversees programs including the Olympic Development Program (ODP), the National Championship Series (State Cup), Coaching Education and more.  VYSA owns and operates the Publix Virginia Soccer Training Center (Publix VSTC) www.vysatc.com one of the finest soccer training facilities on the East Coast.  Situated on 50 acres of former farmland in Spotsylvania County halfway between Washington, DC and Richmond, the facility boasts nine FIFA regulation fields and will include a stadium.  The facility will the future home of VYSA’s State offices.

For Immediate Release: League Championship Pilot Set to Launch in 2019
(Club Champions League and National Capital Soccer League Selected as Inaugural Members)

May 20th, 2019

The Virginia Youth Soccer and Maryland Youth Soccer Associations in cooperation with U.S. Youth Soccer (USYS) are pleased to announce the formation of a three-year pilot program designed to offer additional pathways for top-tier USYS affiliated leagues to participate in USYS Regional Championships. The League Championship (LC) will launch in the Fall of 2019. Virginia and Maryland based Club Champions League (CCL) and National Capital Soccer League (NCSL) will become inaugural members of the LC.

Member leagues participating in the LC must apply and meet significant minimum standards. Teams and players must be properly registered with US Youth Soccer through their state association in order to participate. Participating leagues will have the opportunity for their top finishing teams from their top division to compete against the other participating league’s top finishers to earn a place in the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. Participating teams must continue to participate in their association’s State Cups. The pilot LC program will be managed by a committee consisting of US Youth Soccer employees, member state associations and league leadership

“Virginia Youth Soccer Association is pleased to be a leader in the development of the new League Championship pilot program. This program’s success will be assisted by the involvement of two strong professionally run leagues in National Capital Soccer League and Club Champions League. The Virginia-DC and Maryland area has a strong reputation for the development and advancement of players and teams to the National level,” commented VYSA President, Denise Edwards. 

“Maryland State Youth Soccer is excited to be part of the three-year pilot known as The League Championship. We support the additional pathway for our teams to be able to earn a place in the USYS Regional event. This opportunity helps to advance the best teams forward to compete at the highest level within the youth soccer landscape,” commented Flo Egan, Executive Director, MSYSA.

"This is a massive development for the Club Champions League. Creating a pathway to the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships through league play makes every CCL match that much more important.  The design is ideal as it keeps costs low with limited additional travel expenses and places an emphasis on leagues versus events," said Brian Kuk, CCL Executive Director. 

"NCSL is thrilled to be an inaugural member of the League Championship. We are excited to offer our teams quality, competitive games and a pathway to the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships while maintaining our commitment to reasonable league fees, travel, and accessibility,” commented Richard Smith, President NCSL.

Additional information on the LC pilot will become available in the coming weeks.

About the Virginia Youth Soccer Association: The Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) www.vysa.com is a member of the US Soccer Federation and US Youth Soccer representing over 170,000 youth players, coaches and administrators in the Commonwealth of Virginia and DC. VYSA oversees programs including the Olympic Development Program (ODP), the National Championship Series (State Cup), President’s Cup, Coaching Education and more. In addition, VYSA owns and operates the Publix Virginia Soccer Training Center (PVSTC). PVSTC is a 50-acre state of the art soccer specific facility in Fredericksburg Virginia.

About MYSA: The Mission of MSYSA is to administer youth soccer throughout the state. MSYSA is dedicated to encouraging sportsmanship and fostering knowledge, recognition, and understanding of the game. MSYSA is to educate, promote, support and provide for its members.

About Club Champions League, Inc.: Founded in 1997 as the Virginia Club Champions League (VCCL) and re-branded in 2013 as the Club Champions League (CCL), the CCL strives to activate and accelerate youth soccer development through its club-centric, technical director-driven model.  The CCL provides superior competition, offers a player development pathway and club model for ages eight to over-twenty-three, and consists of the top youth soccer clubs in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.  CCL member clubs register over 64,000 registered youth soccer players.

About National Capital Soccer League (NCSL) is the DC Metro area's premier promotion-relegation soccer league, serving approximately 30,000 travel soccer players every year representing many of the most successful clubs in the nation. It is a club-based league, which requires clubs to meet league standards in order be considered for entry and must be voted in by other member clubs, and schedules games at the team-to-team level in order provide the most appropriate and competitive game-day experience. It offers appropriate soccer competition for boys and girls teams aged 7 through 19. With approximately 1,100 teams competing in eleven age groups, NCSL is one of the largest and most well-known travel soccer leagues in the nation. It currently features 72 member clubs centered in Maryland, DC, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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