Girls Academy League announces two additions to Mid-America Conference

The Girls Academy League has announced that two more clubs, Sporting St. Louis (MO) and Century United FC (PA), are joining the Mid-America Conference.

With the additions of Sporting St. Louis and Century United, the Girls Academy League now features 66 member clubs ahead of the inaugural season. A total of 14 clubs will be competing in the Mid-America Conference, making it the largest out of the league’s seven conferences around the country.

The Mid-America Conference spans from Western Pennsylvania to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri.

Sporting St. Louis and Century United are joining these 12 initial Mid-America members: Beadling SC (PA), Chicago FC United (IL), Cleveland Force SC (OH), Cincinnati United SC (OH), Indy Premier (IN), Michigan Jaguars FC (MI), Midwest United FC (MI), Minnesota Eclipse (MN), Nationals (MI), Salvo SC (MN), SC Wave (WI) and Sockers FC Chicago (IL).

Sporting St. Louis girls teams have competed in the US Youth Soccer National  League, US Youth Soccer Midwest Regional League and US Club Soccer’s Central States NPL. The club now adds the Girls Academy League to the top of its player development pyramid.

“Sporting St. Louis is excited to participate in the Mid-America Conference of the Girls Academy League,” said Sporting President Jeff Stevens. “We look forward to competing on such a great platform of women’s soccer against some of the top clubs in the nation. The Girls Academy is a prestigious league that will give our female players the opportunity to develop and pursue their goals to compete at the college level and beyond.”

Representing Western Pennsylvania, Century United teams have competed in various high-level leagues, including the US Youth Soccer National League, US Youth Soccer Great Lakes Conference, the PA West Classic League and US Club Soccer’s National Premier Leagues (NPL).

“Century United FC is very proud to have the opportunity to be a part of the Girls Academy for the upcoming 2020-2021 season,” said Century Girls Director of Coaching David Gray. “The quality of the Girls Academy clubs combined with the total dedication to the players will provide our girls membership the very top platform as we continue to strive for the highest level of development!”

The Girls Academy League is a new competition platform launched by members of the Development Player League (DPL). The DPL has stated that it will continue to provide its clubs with flexibility in the following two key areas:

• Permission for all players in the Girls Academy League to participate in high school soccer.
• Revising the substitution rules to encourage clubs to better utilize their player pools, especially when showcasing their players to college coaches.

To learn more about the DPL’s newly-launched Girls Academy League, Click Here or visit girlsacademyleague.com.