Elite Club National League

More than 325 teams across six age groups will participate in ECNL's Postseason with an extremely high-competitive standard on display for more than 450 scouts from the professional and collegiate levels. Selection into the ECNL Boys National Playoffs is earned based upon performances in all ECNL competitions throughout the 2021-22 campaign, including regular-season matches and ECNL Boys National Events.   

All ages, except U18/19, will include two stages. The first stage placing teams in groups of four with each group winner, along with the top second-place teams, depending on the number of groups, advancing to a 16-team, single-elimination knockout round. The eight winners of the knockout round advance to the ECNL National Finals.   

At the U18/19 level, the top 16 teams in the country will compete in a single-elimination Champions League bracket to determine the National Champion. However, to provide more opportunity for this age group, the league also holds a U18/19 North American Cup for the next-best 16 teams to compete in a single-elimination bracket for the trophy.   

 ECNL NATIONAL SELECTION GAME SERIESECNL National Selection Games are an extension of the league’s player identification platform, providing additional competition and development opportunities for top players throughout the league. Each ECNL National Selection Game will feature approximately 36 players, selected by ECNL based upon their performances in competition over the previous months.

ECNL NATIONAL TRAINING CAMPHeld annually and becoming the most elite identification event in the country, approximately 90 of the nation’s top male and female youth soccer players are invited for one weekend to participate in training and competition.  

The ECNL National Selection Program is free of charge for the players; the ECNL and PUMA Soccer cover all of the costs associated with the camp, including hotel and ground transportation, meals, coaching, facilities, and equipment. The only cost for players is transportation to and from the camp. During the camp, the players have the opportunity to compete in front of top colleges from around the nation, are trained by some of the top youth coaches in the country, and learn from a series of off-field presentations from experts.