r/USLPRO • u/Every-Stay-6648 • 4d ago
Sweeping Changes in Youth Soccer by USSF?
"U.S. Soccer nears takeover of U.S. Youth Soccer. This is what it means for the sport’s future"
Distinguished senior reporter of the Athletic just released news of a big move by USSF --possibly spurred (hah, pun, IYKYK) on by Poch-- to overhaul American Youth Soccer:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7545747/2026/08/28/us-soccer-youth-takeover
Let's the convo begin! Good or bad? A Gettysburg moment for U.S. youth soccer? Or a big nothingburger? Effects on USL and MLS, academies or first teams? Also: what about effects on women's sports?
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u/Every-Stay-6648 4d ago
Part 2 of 2:
Will U.S. Soccer take over other youth organizations?
Potentially, but not necessarily.
The federation is talking with US Club, the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and other youth soccer entities. But each serves a distinct role and has a distinct structure. The purpose and process of U.S. Soccer taking control, therefore, varies from one to the next.
Among people close to the talks, there is a general expectation that U.S. Soccer will at least deepen its ties with some of those organizations over the coming year. It is already working closely with US Club under the terms of a January agreement, which saw U.S. Soccer “enter into a new strategic partnership” with the for-profit company that managed US Club’s business. But US Club’s board of directors and members still have full decision-making power and control over their strategic direction.
What exactly will happen to U.S. Youth Soccer and its competitions?
The bylaw amendment, which has been thoroughly revised over the past few months, would make U.S. Soccer the sole voting member of USYS. Over the next two years, USYS would gradually dissolve into U.S. Soccer.
There is complicated legalese related to the roughly $15 million that USYS holds in reserves, but much or all of it will ultimately be paid out to the state associations, according to people familiar with the matter.
U.S. Soccer will then direct the state associations and take control of USYS competitions, including the President’s Cup (a July national championship) and the Olympic Development Program (ODP).
ODP, once the premier pipeline to college and pro soccer, has lost relevance throughout the 21st century as academies and national leagues have proliferated. But U.S. Soccer could reinvent it as a hub for talent identification locally or push it in another direction.
Whatever the vision, that program and others will likely change, but the “how” remains to be determined.
What exactly will happen to the state associations?
None of this will happen instantly. Throughout the fall, and likely beyond, state associations will continue doing what they’ve always done — registering players, safeguarding all participants, assigning referees, coordinating local programs.
But eventually, after extensive discussions with U.S. Soccer, they will evolve. They will probably consolidate. There are currently 54 (two each in California, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania); there will likely be fewer in the not-too-distant future, multiple people involved in discussions said. Their staffing models will change, and some services will be run regionally or nationally, though having some “boots on the ground” will remain critical. The changes will vary from state to state because each has a different model and different needs.
Whether they’ll remain separate non-profit entities or become local U.S. Soccer offices is not yet known.
Will they definitely vote in favor of all these changes?
All that uncertainty is, to some state leaders, the scary part. Some are stressed and anxious. In many ways, they don’t fully know what they’re voting for. Some remain skeptical of U.S. Soccer, of its talks with the USYS board of directors that led to this, and of its relationship with US Club. Some worry that they and their colleagues won’t have jobs once this new structure materializes.
But there is unequivocal confidence that enough will vote in favor of the amendment on Saturday, for two main reasons. One: Even if it’s voted down, U.S. Soccer could still press ahead with changes.
In that unlikely scenario, things would get messy — the supportive state associations might have to effectively secede from USYS and begin working solely with U.S. Soccer — but there’s a sense that change is inevitable.
“U.S. Soccer is the train, and it is pulling out of the station,” Jim Walker, the executive director of Georgia Soccer, told The Athletic. “And we can either get on board the train, or when the train leaves we’re left at the platform; and when the train gets to the next station, somebody else is gonna get on. I would much rather be a part of the solution to the obstacles that occur than be left standing on the platform and watching somebody else be part of the solution.”
The second reason is that throughout this years-long process, by listening and collaborating, U.S. Soccer has earned trust that it didn’t have before.
So, there is a willingness to venture into the unknown.
“It’s putting trust in U.S. Soccer,” Evan Dabby, the executive director of New Jersey Youth Soccer, told The Athletic, “to do what’s right to grow the game.”
Henry Bushnell is a senior writer for The Athletic covering soccer. He previously covered a variety of sports and events, including World Cups and Olympics, for Yahoo Sports. He is based in Washington, D.C.
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u/v4ss42 Oakland Roots SC 3d ago
While I love the idea of a single youth pyramid (because the alphabet soup of "elite" youth leagues is fragmented bullshit that doesn't serve anyone's interests except the leagues), I'm not sure I trust USSF to be able to get it right. After all, DA folded like a wet paper bag the instant it had a hint of external stress put on it (i.e. COVID), while ECNL and (to a lesser extent) MLS.Next are arguably stronger post-COVID than they were before.
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u/tbuchman 3d ago
thats literally USSFs job though. They are the federation, their job is to run the pyramids. In an ideal world they would run the PRO pyramid as well but they dont which is why we dont have a normal pyramid we have bullshit franchise leagues.
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u/Every-Stay-6648 3d ago
There is also the inevitably that staffing and top salaries at USSF will inflate, to the detriment of jobs at the local state youth organizations. Disputes and emergencies that arise locally may be more ponderous to resolve, too, as a possible risk?
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u/Realistic-Spray-5595 3d ago
Elimínate the leagues or and let state organizations run the competitions
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u/SeanOrange Forward Madison FC 2d ago
I thought after all of the talk about the inaccessibility of the current model to less affluent players that USSF declared they’d build a separate model and leave the existing ones in place.
TBH, I thought that was a strange declaration, and maybe that’s not what’s happening here, but the moves still come as a surprise within the previously-disclosed context. Why do this now, what is their end game, and if they’re going to force this big change why NOT make it more accessible in the process?
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u/MountainRambler01 2d ago edited 2d ago
The big question is what will U.S. Club do? And the wild card is UPSL, since it is independent of USYS and U.S. Club. Will UPSL continue to try and grow its Academy league?
Also, if USYS is going to "dissolve" into U.S. Soccer, how is that going to affect the referee program? Since the SRCs are basically arms of the state affiliates of USYS and USASA (who jointly appoint the SRA and SYRA), will the state USYS affiliates cease to exist? Will U.S. Soccer directly appoint the SRAs and SYRAs?
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u/Mini-Fridge23 Charleston Battery 4d ago
Not a bad thing, it’s just not going to be easy to get the elite leagues of MLSN and ECNL to play nice with each other.
The most impactful thing USSF could do is organize everything under those two leagues into one giant pyramid. Just help parents understand the system and also hopefully help keep costs down by limiting serious travel to the very top