FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mike Anderson at manderson@usyouthsoccer.org or 800-4SOCCER

US Youth Soccer National League accepting applications for 2012-2013 season

League gains additional spots into US Youth Soccer National Championships

Complete season information and application: http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/national_league/2012_2013_national_league_application/

FRISCO, Texas (June 6, 2012)– Beginning today, the US Youth Soccer National League is accepting team applications for the 2012-2013 seasonal year. Applications are due Friday, July 6, 2012, by 5 p.m. EST.  Competition will be held for the Under-15, Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 Boys and Girls age groups.

The National League has been awarded an additional two spots in the US Youth Soccer National Championships, the oldest and most prestigious National Championships in the country.  The National League will now have four qualifiers in each of the U-15, U-16 and U-17 Boys and Girls age groups to Nationals for 2012-2013, along with the four Regional Champions.

The National League completed its fifth season in 2011-2012, with the National Championships still to be played.  During the first four years, National League teams won 13 of a possible 22 National Championships, with a combined record of 58 wins, 26 losses and 32 draws in National Championship play.  Last year, over 60 percent of the teams that qualified for the National Championships also played in the National League.

Sixteen teams will qualify for the National League in each gender age group with teams earning their place primarily from play in their respective US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues [i.e. US Youth Soccer Region I (East) Premier League, US Youth Soccer Midwest Regional League, US Youth Soccer Region III (South) Premier League and the US Youth Soccer Far West Regional League] or through the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships and previous National League qualification.

The top four U-15, U-16 and U-17 finishers from the 11-12 National League season have earned the opportunity to retain their slots for the 12-13 season, provided teams meet all eligibility requirements. Also earning a place in the 12-13 National League season are the four champions from the upcoming 2012 US Youth Soccer Regional Championships in the U-14 through U-17 gender age groups. The remaining slots will be filled by teams that have either achieved success in their respective Regional League or were a semifinalist at the 2012 Regional Championships. For those remaining slots, the U-15 age group will have three per region and the U-16, U-17 and U-18 age groups will have two per region.

All teams who would like to participate in the National League must submit an application and pay the fee, which will be returned if the team is not accepted.

Each gender age group will be split into two eight-team divisions featuring teams from each of US Youth Soccer's four regions competing in round robin play within each division.  All teams will compete in the opening weekend of play as part of the CASL Showcase in the Raleigh, N.C. area November 15-18 for the Boys and November 29 through December 2 for the Girls. Teams will then be assigned to play in one of the two remaining events held in Orlando, Fla., alongside the Disney College Showcase in late December or Las Vegas, Nev., alongside the Player’s Showcase in March.

To see the complete schedule, click here.

Teams for the 2012-2013 season are expected to be announced the week of Aug. 3, 2012 for the 12-13 National League season. 

Please contact the National League Commissioner Paul Luchowski at NationalLeague@usyouthsoccer.org with questions.

For more information on the US Youth Soccer National League, including stories, standings and video, please visit USYouthSoccer.org/national_league/. 

###

About the United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer) – US Youth Soccer - "The Game for ALL Kids!^®" is the largest youth sports organization in the country and largest member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body of soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer registers more than 3 million players annually, ages 5 to 19, and over 900,000 administrators, coaches and volunteers in 55 member State Associations. US Youth Soccer programs provide a fun, safe and healthy environment for players at every level of the game. For more information, visit www.USYouthSoccer.org.

Media Request:When referring to the United States Youth Soccer Association, the largest youth sports organization in the United States, please refer to the association only as US Youth Soccer, and never as USYS or USYSA. We appreciate your cooperation.