US Soccer backs down from birth year change for youth soccer
Following last month’s report that US Soccer was considering a plan to break up youth soccer teams based on birth year, a new report reveals that the US Soccer Federation has backed down and will leave it up to the individual leagues to decide.
The proposed reversal would have changed the age groups for soccer. Currently, the cutoff for each year is January 1. In other words, those born from January 1 to December 31 are in the same age group. Under the proposed plan, players would have been separated into teams based on the different school grade levels.
However, instead of establishing a nationwide policy, the US Soccer Federation is launching a new system where leagues and soccer organizers can make their own decisions.
The decision reached by US Soccer
Nick Webster, chairman of Cal-South, told Inside World Football, “Starting in the fall of 2026, members and leagues will have reasonable flexibility to choose the best registration option for their participants meaning they can choose between birth year or school year for the 2026-2027 season.
“There’ll be no change for the 2025-26 season giving clubs and leagues the time to transition to the system that best suits their membership and ecosystem, thereby providing the best experience for all participants.”
Webster is responsible for the creation and implementation of youth soccer programs throughout Southern California.
Webster writes that US Soccer has “missed the opportunity to create a coherent structure, ceding their leadership to ‘mom and pop’ organizations to dictate American soccer – surely a recipe for continued disaster.”
Why US Soccer wanted to change the policy in the first place
US Soccer identified several reasons why it wanted to revert to the school-based system. For one, there is an issue of “trapped” players in the calendar-based system. Players born at the beginning of the year are in a different school grade than those at the end of the year. That can contribute to isolation from peers and teammates. In many cases, other activities in the United States revolve around the school calendar. Going to the school system could have also increased participation, according to US Soccer.
Around the globe, using January 1 as the cutoff is standard. FIFA, which hosts various youth tournaments for men’s and women’s soccer, applies the January 1 cutoff to its tournaments. At the 2023 U-20 World Cup, players born between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2007, were eligible to compete.
New decision shows US Soccer’s lack of leadership
As Webster perfectly sums it up, the new decision made by US Soccer to let the leagues decide whether to choose birth year or school year “re-enforces the USSF’s total disregard for taking leadership in the youth game. Instead of being a voice of reason for the millions of youth players, it has thrown a problem back to the capitalistic club owners that run the youth game.”
Photo: Imago