What is ECNL? Everything You Need to Know

ECNL stands for Elite Clubs National League and is a top-level youth soccer league in the United States.

Founded in 2009, the ECNL is a national youth soccer league for boys and girls ages U13–U18 that is sanctioned by US Club Soccer.

As a highly competitive league, they focus on helping young players develop their skills and provide them with a competitive soccer environment.

“Today, the ECNL represents the epitome of excellence in youth soccer, for boys and girls, as the league and its clubs, players, coaches, and everyone involved seeks to constantly “Raise the Game” for the future.”

– US Club Soccer

What is the ECNL Season Structure?

Regular Season

Teams play against each other in their respective regional conferences. In the girls’ divisions, there are ten regional conferences which include:

1. Mid-Atlantic
2. Midwest
3. New England
4. North Atlantic
5. Northern Cal
6. Northwest
7. Ohio Valley
8. Southeast
9. Southwest
10. Texas

In the boys’ divisions, there is a collection of twelve conferences including:

1. Florida
2. Heartland
3. Mid-Atlantic
4. Midwest
5. Mountain
6. Northeast
7. Northern Cal
8. Northwest
9. Ohio Valley
10. Southeast
11. Southwest
12. Texas

Each region competes in a standings table format.

Over the fall and spring seasons, a team could play anywhere from twenty to thirty games.

Many high school-aged players usually play for their school in the fall and the club in the spring.

There’s usually a couple of months break in the winter for players to recover and ease their way into spring season.

National Events

Teams may face off against opponents from other regional conferences during highly anticipated National Events.

This allows clubs to play against another team that they wouldn’t ordinarily face in league play.

• Boys National Events Schedule
• Girls National Events Schedule

These National Events are a great way for players in the U16-U18/19 divisions to get scouted by college coaches.

With many talented players on the field at once, it’s attractive to scouts and coaches to evaluate players in one weekend.

Also, this is a great opportunity for those players who may have previously gone under the radar or have focused on high school soccer in the fall.

On the weekends of ENCL National Events, they also hold its National Selection Games.

The National Selection Events are essentially “all-star” games, with the best players in the ECNL being chosen to play. Being invited to participate in these games is a great honor for any player.

National Playoffs and Finals

Recently, both the ECNL Boys and Girls announced an expanded postseason system.

Boys Playoffs:

Starting league play in late August, the boys’ teams compete in their conference and then in the National Events.

Collectively, these matches added to the qualification process geared towards identifying the top teams.

• Boys U13: 48 teams will be placed into (4) group stages for the ECNL Boys Playoffs. From here, each group winner and the top four second-place teams will advance to a knockout round with the eight winners advancing to the National Finals.
• Boys U14-U17: 64 teams will be competing in a two-stage competition. In the group stage, teams are divided into 16 groups with the winner of each advancing to the knockout stage. Subsequently, the top eight clubs move on to the National Finals.
• Boys U18/19: The top 16 teams across the U.S. will play in a single-elimination Champions League bracket to determine the coveted National Champion.

Girls Playoffs

For the U13-17 divisions, 44 teams are placed in 11 groups determined by the regular season standings.

Each team will compete against every team in their group so they’ll play a total of three first-round matches.

The winners of each group and the top five second-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.

The winners of the knockout rounds will play in the Champions League to determine the Girl’s National Champion.

In the U18/19 age group, 16 teams nationally will play a single-elimination bracket to be crowned National Champion.

North American Cup

The top U18/19 ECNL Boys teams that didn’t qualify for the Champions League Playoffs can compete in the North American Cup.

This allows the players to get scouted by college coaches across the nation. This is a great national event that allows players to showcase their talent.

The next best 48 teams for the ECNL Girls U16 and U17 age groups will compete in either the North American Cup, Showcase Cup A, or Showcase Cup B.

Open Cup

Teams who didn’t make the cut for the Champions League, North American Cup, or Showcase Cup may still compete in the ECNL Open Cup.

The ECNL invites the best teams from the ECRL regional league to play as well.

This gives ECRL players a chance to show off their talent in front of college recruiters while competing against teams from the middle tier of the ECNL.

I’ve seen some ECRL teams do very well in this competition. It goes to show you how some players and teams simply go under the radar or significantly improve over a year.

Super Cup

For both boys and girls, age groups U15–U19, the Super Cup gives ECNL clubs a chance to put together their finest available lineup.

Players selected for this top level of competition will remain on their ECNL age group team.

They will also play with the combined super team for extra training and competition chances.

ECNL Regional Leagues

The last item I want to touch on is the relatively new ECNL Regional League (ECRL). ECRL is a group of leagues that operate under the ECNL umbrella.

Formed in 2018, the ECNL Girls piloted this program to localize soccer matches but still remain at a highly competitive level.

Piggy-backing on the success, the boys also formed their own Regional League.

ECNL Regional Leagues are typically organized by geographic region and are sanctioned by the ECNL.

Players and teams participating in ECNL Regional Leagues may have the opportunity to compete in regional and national showcase events.

They may also earn invitations to ECNL national events.

The goal of this league is to a fuller pathway within ECNL and support the development of players.

This is a great move by ECNL to expand the footprint for youth soccer while maintaining the same standards.

How Many ECNL Teams Are There?

The ECNL divisions continue to grow in the number of club organizations and teams that join.

The landscape of the ECNL includes:

• ECNL Boys: Approximately 786 teams from 147 different clubs
• ECNL Girls: Approximately 748 teams from 130 different clubs
• ECNL Girls Regional League: Approximately 840 teams
• ECNL Boys Regional League: Approximately 230 teams

How Does ECNL Compare to Other Youth Leagues?

I would say it is one of the best as far as the number of teams, the national events they organize, and the opportunities to play at the next level.

After watching many games, I’ve found that it is on par or better than the Girls Academy on the female side.

For boys, MLS NEXT tends to be more competitive and the players are more refined.

Now, this is my experience just in the northeast region.

For the southern, central or western part of the U.S., ECNL may be a stronger league. I do think it depends on the region and what clubs participate in which league.

On the boys’ side, it’s difficult to compete with MLS academy teams and the clubs that want to be involved with the brand.

What is the History of Elite Clubs National League?

As mentioned above, it was established in 2009 but, at the time, exclusively for young female soccer players.

It was founded by high-level soccer teams from across the country who “recognized a need for change in, and a specific dedication to, improving the everyday environment for top American female, young soccer players.

The ECNL began with U15, U16, and U17 girls’ soccer teams but quickly extended to U13-U19 girls’ soccer teams.

In 2017, as the league progressed, it expanded to include a boys division.

To become a member, youth soccer clubs must go through a rigorous application process and demonstrate their high level of play. ECNL did just that.

What It’s Like Playing in the ECNL?

ECNL draws thousands of boys and girls soccer players across more than 100 member clubs.

Across the U.S., teams are competing at one of the highest levels in youth soccer. With the support of US Club Soccer, ECNL has developed a fun and exciting environment for our youth players.

The ECNL not only attracted a sizable fan base, but they also stuck to their initial strategy of developing a player-centric method of development. Along the way, it “birthed” many future stars in the expanding American soccer scene.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the ECNL teams in your area, visit the list of ECNL Boys teams and ECNL girls teams in your area.

Common Questions