National League Elite 64: US Youth Soccer will launch new league in 2022

US Youth Soccer will launch a new league — National League Elite 64, made up from "the top boys and girls youth soccer clubs in the United States" — in the fall of this year:

-- The 64 clubs in each age group (boys and girls) will be divided into eight groups of eight clubs each.
-- There will be six age groups (13U, 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 18/19U) for boys and girls.
-- A minimum of 14 league games will be played over a 10-month season.
-- Players will be allowed to play high school soccer.

Postseason play will include championship and showcase flights, allowing teams the chance to advance to other USYS events.

10 comments about "National League Elite 64: US Youth Soccer will launch new league in 2022".
  1. Santiago 1314, January 21, 2022 at 12:06 p.m.

    Been there Done that, Haven't We.???
    Probably the same Clubs, doing the Same Thing.
    Will there be Promotion/Relegation.???
    or is USYSA going to Pick the "Winners and Losers"

  2. Kim Gonzalez, January 21, 2022 at 12:32 p.m.

    Unless all the leagues combine and have relegation/promotion this is stupid. Just another way to confuse people and disperse the talent. Instead of coming together we're just splitting off yet again. So dumb. Get the egos out of the way and figure out how to unify everything under one umbrella. 

  3. Michael Whalen, January 21, 2022 at 12:41 p.m.

    Another money grab. 

  4. John Richardson replied, January 21, 2022 at 1:37 p.m.

    You beat me

  5. Glenn Alpert, January 21, 2022 at 1:33 p.m.

    Across the whole country? How long is the commute for away games for the 12 year olds

  6. Richard Crow, January 21, 2022 at 3:34 p.m.

    We have metropolitan areas with more people than entire countries that give us fits on the international scene. Yet, for some reason we need to bankrupt families and take kids out of school so that young players can travel around the country and play against "the best." Sounds like a colossal failure to develop players at the local level.

  7. Bob Ashpole replied, January 25, 2022 at 12:42 a.m.

    Elite youth soccer is a business and it focuses on building teams to win matches, not on player development. Playing against "the best" is just an excuse for not developing players. The best team in a local area can play up. Girls can play boys. In small population areas there is futsal. There is no need to travel to develop amateur players.

  8. Wallace Wade, January 21, 2022 at 4:11 p.m.

    Every year, a new "Elite Super League"! Do we not have a Federation that can give us a unified Pyramid? Talk about splitting up and confusing the talent!!!! It's beyond laughable! 

  9. Guy Walling, January 21, 2022 at 6:05 p.m.

    So many leagues, so much confusion, so what!! It's just a game of divide and conquer. Do we really need another league? Is it the league that develops the player or the player developing the pocketbooks of the league? Let's exploit the kids even more so the parents buy into this BS! The best thing to do is unite all these leagues and at most have a 3 tier system with promotion and relegation per region. Division in anything just makes everything weak!

  10. Wallace Wade, January 22, 2022 at 5:30 a.m.

    I wonder if anyone at the Federation ever reads the comments? It's clear as day! 100% 

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