ECNL vs MLS next
- Thread starter Dfront21
- Start date
What is happening now is the better players are leaving ECNL for MLS Next. It might be too late if that goes on much longer.
That said, I think if a club has both girls and boys ECNL....it will be hard for the boys side to leave ECNL without damaging it's relationship on the girl's side. This is where GA comes in and the new partnership with MLS Next.
I’m curious to see what Surf will do. From my understanding they had already decided to stick with ECNL. However, as the talent continues to migrate to MLS Next are they okay with that? For the youngest they still seem to put out the top teams. However, for the olders not sure? For girls they are okay for now but if NWSL next comes out I’m sure this would force their hands to do the switch.
You mean like this...
NEWS: San Diego FC Partners with San Diego Surf Soccer Club to Help Grow the Beautiful Game in San Diego County | San Diego FC
SAN DIEGO (Friday, Jan. 3, 2025) – San Diego FC (SDFC) is proud to announce a partnership with San Diego Surf Soccer Club to deepen both Club’s commitment to youth development in San Diego County and to introduce Major League Soccer to the Surf community. Established in 1977, San Diego
www.sandiegofc.com
FC San Diego did that with pretty much every club in the county.You mean like this...
NEWS: San Diego FC Partners with San Diego Surf Soccer Club to Help Grow the Beautiful Game in San Diego County | San Diego FC
SAN DIEGO (Friday, Jan. 3, 2025) – San Diego FC (SDFC) is proud to announce a partnership with San Diego Surf Soccer Club to deepen both Club’s commitment to youth development in San Diego County and to introduce Major League Soccer to the Surf community. Established in 1977, San Diego
Maybe SDFC did this with other clubs I wasn't really paying attention. More likely this is being called out because Surf is in their homegrown territory (as is TJ)
"As of 2024, the homegrown territories for most MLS clubs is defined as a 75-mile (121 km) radius around the team's home stadium,"
I know for certain that Albion and Nomads had similar press releases.
So is it definitive that ECNL will switch to school years? Last I heard the MLS Academies are still a no go for switching back because it will cause too many problems with internationals and too much blow back from Europe. If so it is unlikely they'll let the regular MLS Next change. If so it's unlikely MLS2 will change given that one of the reason for closer integration is to allow the MLS Reserve players to have some place to play and to have more flexibility in moving people up and down. One of two scenarios might develop. Late birthday but high talent players drift to ECNL, while CY birthdays to MLS (at least until U18 when it becomes less of an issue for the boys). Or the girls are all on SY but the boys on CY (which would be funny) if ECNL becomes purely a girls thing and GA crashes and burns (a big assumption...as others have said depends on NWSL)
soccerdad247
BRONZE
This is already happening in MLSN, especially at the younger age groups.
Nomads did get dropped from MLS next in SD supposedly due to performance. Was on a thread somewhere else here. Not sure if another club got added in due to this drop. However, on the boys side SDSC Surf would make sense to do the switch since the girls side already plays GA. However, still curious how Surf will take it with ECNL conts to take the backseat in comparison to MLSnext
NWSL leadership is focused on opening new franchise locations + getting cities to foot the bill for stadiums. Which while annoying makes sense because this is how investors (current NWSL club owners) make the most $$$.
Something to watch is what Gotham is doing with local youth clubs.
"Gotham Alliance" is a mix of both GA and ECNL clubs. Without a NWSL homegrown rule + player contracts I don't know how it"s any different than scouting local clubs or hosting talent id's / tryouts.
Calling Gotham Alliance out because at least they're trying to form some kind of youth to pro formalized player pathway. There's demand to up the level of performance in NWSL. Unfortunately NWSL leadership doesn't really care right now. But, they should because this is what will translate to viewership + bigger and better TV contracts.
KiloOne
BRONZE
So did Chula Vista FC
Scrub It Kook
SILVER
Did Nomads really get dropped from MLSN? Hadn't heard that yet.
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr
SILVER
They are still around from u14 to u19 at least. Not sure about u13.
Depends on the area and the club's goals. Some ECNL teams might switch if they want the prestige and exposure MLS Next offers, especially for boys’ development. But others might stick with ECNL if they feel it’s a better fit for their style or player base. It’s not just about success—it’s also about the resources and commitment needed to make that jump.
I believe ECNL said starting 2026 (Fall).
My son's MLSN team (non academy) has "underdeveloped" players able to play various age groups due to their birthday. If an underdeveloped player can play both age groups (his, and the one below) you'd think they'd be ok with school year... but who knows. I can't keep up with all the changes.