ECNL announces new ECNL Girls Regional League – Carolinas for 2020-2021 season

RICHMOND, VA – The ECNL Girls will be adding a new league to its growing platform of Regional Leagues, as the ECNL Girls Regional League – Carolinas will begin play in the 2020-21 season. The ECNL Girls Regional League – Carolinas will include competition at the U13, U14, U15, U16, U17 and U18/U19 age groups.

ECNL Girls Regional Leagues are designed to service a deeper player pool from member clubs within the ECNL Girls, and to provide a competitive platform for objective evaluation of new clubs for full ECNL membership in the future.  Top performing teams in ECNL Girls Regional Leagues earn the opportunity to compete in the Open Cup Division of the ECNL Playoffs in June at the U15, U16 and U17 ages, where they will match up against other ECNL Girls Regional League teams as well as teams from the full ECNL.

The following clubs will be participating in the ECNL Regional League – Carolinas in the 2020-21 season:

Andrew Hyslop, Carolina Elite Soccer Academy: “Carolina Elite Soccer Academy is excited to be a part of the newly formed ECNL Regional League – Carolinas. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the other participating clubs to provide our membership with a top-notch soccer experience. The ECNL Regional League will allow more girls within our club and the local area the chance to be a part of a proven platform that continues to help female players develop in a challenging environment.”

Rusty Scarborough, Charlotte Independence: “We are excited to have the opportunity, to provide the ECNL Regional League platform to our Charlotte Independence players. Being able to increase our player pool for training and competitive games is another step forward to providing an optimal player development pathway.”

John Pardini, NC Fusion: “The ECNL Regional League exposes players to a competitive platform designed to challenge and develop its player base. NC Fusion is excited to provide this to a larger portion of its membership and looks forward to competing against the top clubs in the Carolinas.”

Paul Forster, NCFC Youth: “NCFC is eager to expand its affiliation with the ECNL through the ECNL Regional League. The ability to provide a greater portion of our membership opportunities to compete against the elite clubs in the Carolina region, in a league that focuses on player development, supports NCFC’s core values and vision.”

Tomasz Kluszczynski, South Carolina United: “SC United is excited to be a part of ECNL Regional league. From day one we have wanted to create a better platform for our members and local community to enhance player development through a consistent playing environment and level of competition. The addition of ECNL Regional League – Carolinas will be a tremendous opportunity for our players to challenge and showcase themselves regularly against some of the best clubs in the region and beyond.”

Carson Porter, Wilmington Hammerheads: “We believe in the ECNL Regional League because we want to keep challenging female players, teams, and coaches throughout our club to be the best they can be.  This platform provides another layer of our club the opportunity to compete against the best and most professionally run clubs in our area of the country.  Something that is certain to create challenges and force improvement.  Administratively and organizationally, the experience for our ECNL Regional League teams and families will also improve.  This will create a stronger connection with our already existing ECNL teams, which will create more connection amongst our coaches, players, staff and families.”

Six ECNL Girls Regional Leagues are operating in the 2019-20 season: Northeast, Northwest, Ohio Valley, Southwest, Texas and Virginia.  The platform will expand significantly in 2020-2021 in both number of leagues and additional benefits and opportunities for players and teams in each league.

Additional information on qualification and participating conferences for the 2020-21 Season will be released in the coming months.