An open letter from US Youth Soccer CEO Skip Gilbert:
Greetings from Frisco, Texas – the home of US Youth Soccer.
This year marks US Youth Soccer’s 50ᵗʰ anniversary. As proud as we are of our legacy, the start of 2024 also marked the beginnings of meaningful change. Earlier this spring, we began an earnest, in-depth evaluation of our National Championships, presented by New York Life.
We achieved a significant degree of consensus – near unanimity – among our 54-member State Associations with our plans to reimagine our signature championship.
We are thrilled to implement these exciting changes that will, undoubtedly, deliver on goals that centered around the VISION to create the best youth sport event in the country. Universal agreement established that the ideal competitive format impacted these core areas:
- Player Experience/True Competitive Balance
- Lower Costs/Financial & Travel Sensitivity
- Central Location/Dynamic Facilities
Looking ahead, our goal is for USYS to host a competitively balanced championship event for the 2025-26 season, featuring teams from each of the 54 State Associations that will qualify directly from their State Cup competitions into three divisions. Our National League will also have a direct pathway into this incredible program which will come together at a single site to play for national titles.
Our revamped National Championships will create even more opportunities for lifelong memories for players and their families, coaches, and referees. More than 10,000 teams historically enter our National Championship Series, and we expect even more to be drawn to the format in the years to come.
On behalf of USYS Board Chair Todd Lockhart, our Board of Directors, Chief Soccer Officer Tom Condone, and the entire USYS staff, we thank the working group who helped facilitate these key changes (and will continue to lead the redesign).
- Louis Mateus, US Youth Soccer Board of Directors, Member at Large
- Jonathan Berzins, Arizona Youth Soccer Association, Chief Executive Officer
- Chris Branscome, Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association, Chief Executive Officer
- Jennifer Davis, South Texas Youth Soccer, Executive Director
- Dave Guthrie, Indiana Soccer, Executive Director
- Gordon Henderson, Ohio Soccer Association, Chief Executive Officer
- Hans Hobson, Tennessee State Soccer Association, Chief Executive Officer
- Melissa Zielinski, Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association, Executive Director
With our Golden Anniversary Championships later this month in Orlando, we cannot wait to crown another set of champions. In addition, we are bullish to begin our second 50-years with a reimagined National Championship to be played against the backdrop of the 2026 World Cup in the U.S.
Stay tuned for updates as we use this momentum to finalize planning to debut the nation’s best youth sports event, capping the 2025-26 soccer season!
Thanks for your continued support of our great game,
Skip Gilbert
USYS CEO
