USYS National League
Competitive Regional (L3) · Boys & Girls
The US Youth Soccer national pyramid, which held its last competition in July 2026.
Overview
The USYS National League was the competition structure of US Youth Soccer, running since the 2007-08 season as a pyramid: regional conferences fed toward national-level play and the USYS National Championships.
Promotion and relegation were written into its own conference rules. The divisions are named in order, Premier I, Premier II, the conference qualifier divisions and Club vs Club, and the rules set a floor of at least one team relegated from each higher division and at least one eligible for promotion from each lower one. National League Conferences and Elite 64 both advanced teams into National League P.R.O. and from there to the National Championships. The Presidents Cup ran alongside that for teams wanting a similar-level series, not above it.
It has finished. The National League held its last competition in July 2026 and points families at National1League.org for 2026-27 and beyond, after merging with US Club Soccer's NPL. What becomes of Elite 64 is not stated anywhere in public.
- Promotion and relegation were in the rulebook, with a minimum of one team each way
- Ran through the state associations, so it reached further down than the invitation-only platforms
- The competition has ended; its last event was July 2026 and it is now part of National 1
- What happens to Elite 64 is not published anywhere
Who plays here
792 clubs we catalogue play in USYS NL. Open one to see every league its teams actually enter, not just this one.
1776 United FCCompetitive RegionalWallingford, PA
A3State & PremierGambrills, MD
AB7 Future Soccer AcademyState & PremierStaten Island, NY
Abbey Villa Soccer ClubState & PremierHopkinton, MA
AC ConnecticutNational EliteDanbury, CTAC IndependenceCompetitive RegionalWest Yarmouth, MA
AC SalisburyCompetitive RegionalSalisbury, MD
AC UnitedState & PremierAbington, PAAcademia de Glen Burnie Soccer ClubState & PremierBrooklyn, MDAce Soccer ClubCompetitive RegionalKenosha, WI
Achilles Football ClubState & PremierMD
Aggies Football ClubTravel / SelectNorth Logan, UTCollege commitments
3,622 college commitments from 131 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.
HS soccer policy
Players can also play high school soccer
Age groups
U13-U19
Geographic footprint
National
College exposure (our read)
High
Cost level (our read)
Moderate
Governing body
US Youth Soccer
Founded
2007
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 | USYS NL This league | USL Academy | ECNL RL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Boys & Girls | Boys & Girls | Boys & Girls |
| Ages | U13-U19 | U13–U19 | U13-U19 |
| Clubs in directory | 792 clubs | 213 clubs | 408 clubs |
| HS soccer ok? | Yes | — | Yes |
| Footprint | National | National | Regional |
| What it is | The US Youth Soccer national pyramid, which held its last competition in July 2026. | A national youth league run by the United Soccer Leagues, made up of USL pro-club academies and affiliated youth clubs. | The tier directly beneath ECNL, with a promotion pathway up. |
Pathway from here
This is the rung where the route upward is written down. US Club Soccer counts nearly 230 clubs promoted out of the NPL into the ECNL Regional League or ECNL, and seven of the ten clubs joining ECNL Boys for 2026-27 came up from the Regional League. That movement happens at club level. A player moves by trying out.
- NPLNational Premier LeaguesL3
The US Club Soccer team-based tier that ran until 2026 and is now part of National 1.
- EDPEDP SoccerL4
A league and tournament operator across the Northeast, now part of 3STEP Soccer.
- N1National 1 LeagueL3
The new top team-based league, merging NPL and the USYS National League from 2026-27.
Which USYS NL clubs are inside your drive time?
Put in your ZIP and the finder shows the USYS National League 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.