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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