RICHMOND, VA (May 15, 2015): The Elite Clubs National League is proud to announce the addition of three new member clubs for the 2015-2016 season. The three new clubs accepted for the 2015-2016 season are:
- Tophat Soccer Club, based in Atlanta, GA
- Jacksonville FC, based in Jacksonville, FL
- Boca United, based in Boca Raton, FL
“The ECNL has desired to enter the Florida market with a larger presence for several years, andstrengthen our presence in the Southeast," said Commissioner Sarah Kate Noftsinger. " The two new Florida clubs will be great representatives for the league in 2 new geographic markets, and Tophat will add great teams and players into the Southeast Conference.”
The ECNL has a rolling admissions process for new clubs, and all existing club memberships are evaluated every year. Membership is offered to new clubs based on multiple factors, including the player pool size and quality, competitive history, technical leadership, history of player development, the region, conference structure, and more.
“With these additions, the league now has a presence in every major soccer market in the country and a complete national footprint,” said President Christian Lavers. “The changes made by ECNL clubs over the past 6 years in improving their developmental environment have been powerful. We expect this improvement to continue, and the same type of exciting progress in these new markets.”
Every ECNL club competes in the U-14 through U-18 age groups in regular season conference-based competition as well as ECNL National Events. Detailed information regarding the 2015-2016 ECNL schedule, and the ECNL National Events for 2015-2016, will be provided in the coming weeks. In addition to the competition platform, the ECNL partners with US Club Soccer’s id2 Program to offer player identification and development opportunities for top players, as well as offering coaching development seminars for staff of the member clubs.
"Boca United is honored to be the first club in South Florida chosen for inclusion in this prestigious league. The ECNL represents a tremendous platform that fosters development of players and coaches alike. It allows players to compete at the highest level, in a professional environment and provides competition against elite talent on a weekly basis.” - Mark Chung, Director of Coaching, Boca United
"Jacksonville FC is honored to be part of ECNL and are equally excited to offer female athletes throughout our community an opportunity to showcase their talent against the very best.” - Eric Dade, Executive Director, Jacksonville FC
"Tophat Soccer Club is honored to be invited for membership in the ECNL. We are looking forward to competing in the best female soccer league in the country and being a part of an organization that puts the needs of the elite female soccer player first.” -Troy Garner, Director of Coaching, Tophat SC
###
About Elite Clubs National League: The Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) was founded in 2009 to enhance the developmental experience of female youth soccer players in the United States through: (i) Improving the competitive environment through creation of a true national competitive league; (ii) Improving the process for identifying elite female soccer players for the U.S. Soccer youth national teams through a systematic scouting and identification program based on national competitions; and (iii) improving the daily training environment at top female youth soccer clubs through developing best practices and training and organizational guidelines for its member clubs. The ECNL is sanctioned by US Club Soccer and is sponsored by Nike Soccer.