September 11, 2020
Casa Grande, AZ – Barca Residency Academy teams will compete in four different league competitions this year, highlighted by the newly-launched MLS NEXT league. The Academy U-15s through U-19s will compete as a Founding Member in MLS NEXT, the new elite youth development platform created by Major League Soccer in collaboration with the top elite youth academies around the country promising to set new standards for world-class player development in North America.
“MLS NEXT advances player development in North America, furthering Major League Soccer’s commitment to developing world-class players through an elite competitive pathway,” said Fred Lipka, VP and technical director of MLS Player Development, in a statement. “Major League Soccer is excited to begin MLS NEXT competition which will place player development at the forefront while giving players a safe and healthy environment to advance from academies to MLS first teams.”
Additionally, Barca Residency Academy U-18 and U-19 players will compete in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) while Pre-Academy teams will compete in various state and national leagues. All Pre-Academy teams will compete in the Arizona Advanced Leagues which are comprised of the Arizona State League 1 (ASL1), Arizona State League 2 (ASL2), and the Arizona Premier League (APL). The Pre-Academy U-17, U-18, and U-19 teams will additionally compete in the United States Youth Soccer (USYS) National League.
MLS NEXT
Barca Residency Academy MLS NEXT teams will begin competition next Saturday, September 19 although the inaugural MLS Next season will kick off this weekend September 11-12 with several teams competing across the country.
The 2020 competition structure for MLS NEXT prioritizes athlete, staff and community health and safety through regional play and minimized travel. Featuring six age groups (U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-19), the competition will highlight local rivalries and eliminate air travel and overnight trips, with select matches to be played at neutral sites in geographically centered locations. Clubs in areas with limited access to matches due to the minimized travel resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will play additional local matches.
The MLS NEXT fall 2020 competition schedule is being created and announced in four-week phases in order to allow for adjustments to evolving health and safety recommendations. The first week of matches have been released and future matches and schedule updates will be posted throughout the fall competition.
Barca Residency Academy MLS Next schedule through November:
September 19th Home vs. Phoenix Rising
September 26th Home vs. RSL Arizona
October 3rd Home vs. SC Del Sol
October 24th Away at Phoenix Rising
October 31st Away at RSL Arizona
November 14th Away at SC Del Sol
*Home games at Grande Sports Wolrd – Home of Barça Residency Academy; Kickoff times TBD
United Premier Soccer League
Barca Residency Academy USA will kickoff the UPSL Fall 2020 season on Saturday, September 26 at Phoenix Lights FC II time TBD. They will face FireStorm FC at home the following Saturday, October 3 time also TBD.
The Barca Residency Academy USA UPSL schedule will be released HERE soon.
Arizona Advanced Leagues
Barça Residency Academy Pre-Academy teams will compete in Arizona Soccer Association Advanced Leagues with the U-16s set to kick off the start of the 2020-21 Barça Residency Academy season today at Copper Sky Recreation Complex against FC Arizona at 7:25 tonight.
United States Youth Soccer National League
Barça Residency Academy Pre-Academy U-17, U-18, and U-19 teams will compete in the Desert conference division of the USYS National League.
The US Youth Soccer Desert Conference is one of 13 Conferences under the US Youth Soccer National League in the Multi-State Tier. The Desert Conference consists of teams primarily from Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. The top teams in the Desert Conference will earn advancement to the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships, part of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.
Desert Conference Schedules will be released HERE
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with Barça Residency Academy game action!
