Jefferson Cup 2023 set to begin with over 1,700 teams competing across 4 weekends

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Richmond, Va. – Over the course of the next four weekends, a total of 1,744 teams will be competing in the 2023 Jefferson Cup.

Regarded as one of the top youth soccer tournaments in the country for more than four decades, the Jefferson Cup is the flagship event of Richmond Strikers Tournaments. This year’s event will kickoff with the U9-U14 Boys Weekend which will be held from March 11-12, and will include 417 teams.

Following the opening weekend, a total of 433 teams will play in the U9-U14 Girls Weekend from March 18-19. After that, the college showcase portion of the Jefferson Cup will begin with the Girls Showcase from March 24-26, with 452 teams set to attend across the U15-U19 age groups. The Boys Showcase will be the event’s final leg, hosting 442 of the nation’s top male high school aged teams.

In total, teams attending the Jefferson Cup represent clubs from 34 different U.S. states, along with several more from Canada and Puerto Rico.

The states represented include: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia , West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Teams accepted into the tournament are highly-accomplished members of the nation’s most competitive leagues, including the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), Girls Academy, MLS NEXT, US Youth Soccer National League and US Club Soccer National Premier Leagues (NPL), among others.

The Jefferson Cup features some of the nation’s top natural grass playing surfaces in the country with over 32 synthetic turf fields, including the River City Sportsplex, which is one of the nations largest turf complexes. (Field List)

Once again, the tournament will include multiple additional opportunities for players. Among these opportunities are the Jefferson Cup Players Combine and a set of free-to-attend college soccer games.

Both the boys and girls showcase weekends will host the 2nd annual Jefferson Cup Players Combine. Players from across the country will play in front of some of the top NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA college coaches in a series of short games to maximize recruiting opportunities. Each combine will feature 3 mini games to be recorded via VEO. The VEO link will be sent to all participants as well as all college coaches attending Jefferson Cup that weekend.

At the Girls Showcase, attendees will again have the chance to watch some of the top college programs in the country face off against each other in a one-of-a-kind environment. Three college exhibition games will take place at Sports Backers Stadium during the Jefferson Cup Girls Showcase.

VCU will take on William & Mary on Friday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m. The following evening, there will be a doubleheader. On Saturday, March 25 the legendary University of North Carolina Tar Heels program will go up against the University of Virginia at 5:00 p.m. To finish things off, the University of Richmond Spiders will take on Navy at 7:00 p.m.

For more information this year’s tournament, view the Tournament Guide.