Illinois Youth Soccer Association
Travel / Select (L5) · Boys & Girls
The US Youth Soccer state association for Illinois.
Overview
Illinois Youth Soccer has served the state since 1975. It registers players from U6 through U19 and runs the Illinois State Cup, whose champions advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championship, alongside the Illinois Cup, the Junior Cup, the State Premiership, the Presidents Cup and ODP.
Day-to-day play happens in its member leagues, so a club you meet at a tryout is usually described by the league it plays in rather than by the association above it.
- The official US Youth Soccer body for Illinois
- Runs the state cup, the Presidents Cup and ODP
- A governing body, not a league, so it sets the framework rather than the level
Who plays here
103 clubs we catalogue play in IYSA. Open one to see every league its teams actually enter, not just this one.
Atletico SoledadTravel / SelectElmwood Park, IL
Barca Academy ChicagoCompetitive RegionalChicago, IL
BLFCCompetitive RegionalEvanston, IL
Carol Stream Panthers Soccer ClubCompetitive RegionalIL
Central Illinois UnitedPre-ProfessionalRantoul, IL
Chicago City SCNational EliteIL
Chicago Edge Soccer ClubCompetitive RegionalOak Park, ILChicago Fire Youth SCPre-ProfessionalIL
Chicago Inferno Soccer ClubCompetitive RegionalChicago, ILChicago InterPre-ProfessionalIL
Chicago Kics Football ClubNational EliteILCollege commitments
182 college commitments from 14 New York and New Jersey member clubs, taken from public commitment lists. Those two states are the only ones these counts cover.
These counts cover this league’s New York and New Jersey member clubs only. “Unverified” means the school matched but the program level did not. No league publishes college placement by youth league, so read this as one slice of two states rather than a scoreboard. We never print a current youth player’s name.
Rules
What this league asks before your kid can register: the ages it runs, whether they can still play the high school season, and who sanctions it. The college-exposure and cost lines are our read of the league, not a figure the league publishes.
Age groups
U6-U19
Geographic footprint
State
College exposure (our read)
N/A
Cost level (our read)
Low
Governing body
US Youth Soccer
Founded
1975
The other leagues at this level
Leagues on the same rung of the ladder, so you can hold a club’s pitch against what the alternatives actually ask of a family.
| Factor | IYSA This league | BWNYJSL | Thruway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Boys & Girls | Boys & Girls | Boys & Girls |
| Ages | U6-U19 | — | — |
| Clubs in directory | 103 clubs | 10 clubs | 9 clubs |
| HS soccer ok? | — | — | — |
| Footprint | State | Regional | Regional |
| What it is | The US Youth Soccer state association for Illinois. | Buffalo/WNY Junior Soccer League (BWNYJSL), a NY travel/club league. | Thruway League (Thruway), a NY travel/club league. |
Pathway from here
Most club players in the country are on this rung, and staying here is a normal plan. If your kid wants more, the next move is a state or regional league and it happens at a tryout. What decides how much they develop here is how many minutes they get and who is coaching them.
Which IYSA clubs are inside your drive time?
Put in your ZIP and the finder shows the Illinois Youth Soccer Association clubs near you alongside everything else at that level. Or tell us about your kid and we’ll rank them with the reasoning spelled out.