12 Florida clubs will seek new avenues for player development
By Official Florida FC
One of the most recognized pathways toward collegiate and professional soccer in the United States is no more.
Wednesday, the United States Soccer Federation announced it will end its Development Academy.
The news was broken by The Athletic on Tuesday and confirmed by the U.S. Soccer Federation on Wednesday.
The program featured more than 200 clubs across the country, including the academy programs of every American-based team in Major League Soccer, has existed since 2007. A girls Development Academy was created in 2017.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but the extraordinnary and unanticipated circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a financial situation that does not allow for the continuation of the Development Academy program into the future. We know that suddenly discontinuing a program that has been with U.S. Soccer for many years is shocking, but these unprecedented times required acting now,” U.S. Soccer wrote in a statement.
There are 12 clubs in Florida that participate in the Development Academy. They are based in the state’s largest metropolitan areas: Miami-Dade, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville.
Four of Florida’s Development Academy clubs, Orlando City, Inter Miami, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Armada FC Pro Academy, were connected with professional teams. Another, IMG Academy, is a sports-performance academy that focuses on a variety of sports. The remaining clubs are youth soccer programs that aspired to compete against elite competition.
Weston FC, South Florida Football Academy (Boca Raton), West Florida Flames (Brandon), IMG Academy and the United Soccer Alliance (Jacksonville) fielded by boys and girls teams in the Development Academy. The remaining clubs only fielded boys teams.
To fill the gap, Major League Soccer announced on Wedneday that it will launch a youth competition of its own.
“Major League Soccer is deeply committed to developing world-class players through an elite competitive pathway, from our academy teams through the professional game,” said Todd Durbin, MLS Executive Vice President of Competition & Player Relations in a league statement. “As we look ahead to the 2026 FIFA MLS World Cup here in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, now more than ever it is incumbent on us to establish a competition that sets a new standard for elite youth play and allows athletes to achieve their full potential.”
The 2020 Development Academy season was canceled on March 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its 13-year existance, the Development Academy has prodcued scores of professionals, including U.S. Men’s National Team regulars Christian Pulisic, Jordan Morris, DeAndre Yedlin, Paul Arriola and Aaron Long.
“We are seeing significant contribution to the quality of play in MLS from homegrown talent,” said Jeff Agoos, MLS Senior VP of Competition, Operations, and Medical Administration in a statement. “As we currently have 2,500 elite players and 250 top youth coaches in our academies, MLS is uniquely positioned to provide a new and enhanced platform that will include high quality coaching, professionalized environments and enhanced player identification.”
Orlando City’s Development Academy program produced four players that were on the Lions’ 2020 roster: Forward Benji Michel, midfielders David Loera and Jordan Bender as well as 22-year-old goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar.
Only Michel has made an appearance with the first team. He appeared in 17 matches in 2019 and scored five goals on 11 shots. In two starts this season, Michel did not score.
