"When the DA ended," said
Christian Lavers, president of the ECNL, which also runs a boys league that expanded in the wake of the Boys DA ending while MLS Next launched on the boys side. "Everybody was trying to get in, but we had real challenges with COVID, structure and timing. A lot of these clubs wanted in then when we couldn't put everyone in. Beach FC, Legends, Sporting Blue Valley, Sporting Iowa -- they all played in the ECNL regional leagues this year.
"We told these clubs, we're going to look at your performance in the regional league. Sporting Blue Valley and Sporting Iowa did very well in the regional league. That's why they're joining the ECNL. That is the pathway and transparency in place: Regional league to club competition. If a club struggles in the club competition, eventually they'll likely be moved to a regional competition. ... Beach and Legends in California had challenges [with COVID restrictions], but they have a history of national success. ... Oklahoma Energy has obviously done well in general as a club."
Five of the six clubs joining ECNL Girls for the 2021-22 season are leaving the recently launched Girls Academy, which announced the first 10 of its new members for its second season. The new ECNL national league clubs include four that had fielded teams in ECNL’s regional league. The Girls...
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