ECRL Leaders Cup

TeamDadJokes

TeamDadJokes

Looks like no one mentioned this but ECNL announced a new tournament series called the Leaders Cup for ECRL. https://theecnl.com/news/2025/5/29/...-announces-new-ecnl-rl-leaders-cup-event.aspx.

TLDR:
Top 32 teams are invited in each age bracket from across the US
5 guaranteed games
Games are 50 min long
This year Feb 27-Mar 1st in Florida
Supposed to overlap but not interfere with concurrent ECNL/RL showcases.

New ECNL RL Leaders Cup Event: Just Announced

soccernovo.com soccernovo.com
 
Last edited:
smom said:
ECNL RL Leaders Cup details including team lists are up on the website. Timing conflicts with CIF Southern Section Finals. I wish more thought had been put in those dates by the ECNL.

theecnl.com

ECNL RL FLORIDA SPRING & RL LEADERS CUP

ECNL RL FLORIDA SPRING & RL LEADERS CUP
theecnl.com theecnl.com
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Thanks for posting! It appears they've chosen the "Top 32" teams based off of absolutely nothing this season since they were chosen before the season even started. What a joke.
 
I agree to a degree. For the 2010s I feel Surf, LAFC and LA Breakers should have made the list of top 32 in addition to the teams there. Who knows if they were approached and declined or didn’t accept an invite in time in that bracket or if other teams were in the same scenario.

Also, who knows what they’re looking at to determine the rankings. This is the first year, so I’m sure we’ll know more as this event progresses over the years.
 
We just got the schedule for Leaders Cup. Are 5, possibly 6 games in 3 days a good idea for 15-18 year old girls' bodies? A showcase seems more responsible. And what exactly is the purpose of this tournament? Didn't the national finals in Virginia already determine the best team?
 
smom said:
We just got the schedule for Leaders Cup. Are 5, possibly 6 games in 3 days a good idea for 15-18 year old girls' bodies? A showcase seems more responsible. And what exactly is the purpose of this tournament? Didn't the national finals in Virginia already determine the best team?
Click to expand...

Nope. Most certainly not. I would run from something like this.
 
The "games" are only 50 minutes long so think of it as playing two long halves each day. Per the ECNL announcement, "The 2026 ECNL RL Leaders Cup will feature the top 20 clubs from ECNL RL Boys and ECNL RL Girls, based on their 2024-25 regular season performance, and then the next best 12 individual teams in each age group based on previous year regular season performance.".
 
Ahh a short format might be ok. It's still a lot but no more than a typical 3 day showcase by the sounds of it. If this is competitive though I'd be concerned about coaches not using their bench players appropriately to spread out the load.

I've just seen too many season ending injuries at this point in my soccer Dad career. I'm all for lower usage at the teen ages.
 
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