TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced today that the Super Y-League has been granted Olympic Development status effective immediately for the Super Y-League Finals to be held in Raleigh, North Carolina next week. The Super Y-League officially received the designation from the United States Soccer Federation and the United States Olympic Committee at the U.S. Soccer AGM in San Francisco last week.

“This is a great step for the advancement of the sport in this country,” said USL President Francisco Marcos. “The Olympic Development Program status will enhance the Super Y-League’s efforts to develop and identify players.”

The ODP status will also apply to a Regional Team program, which will be launched during the league’s fifth season next year. This will allow for elite level players that compete in the Super Y-League to be scouted through league play.

“We have long believed that the best opportunity for players to show themselves was in week-in, week-out competition as opposed to the current tryout system currently in place,” said Marcos. “Some players are just not tryout and practice players. What our system needed was a way to see these young athletes playing during official league competition. We don’t want to eliminate the current process, just enhance it for the betterment of the players and the sport.”

Founded in 1999 with 16 teams, the Super Y-League grew to over 300 teams in 10 regions in 2002. In 2003, the focus will shift more towards quality over quantity, expanding as needed.

“The Super Y-League has proven to elite clubs that the league structure provides regular elite level competition,” said Super Y-League Director Matt Weibe. “Every year we see an increase in interest and are now at the point to take the next step with the league. An encouraging sign of our success is that players are beginning to crack into the lineups for USL’s Premier Development League and W-League teams at 16-17 years of age, something that rarely occurred before.”

“At the end of the day, we are only targeting the top 30,000 or so players from U14-U18 for boys and girls – less than one percent of the youth soccer player pool,” added Weibe.

“Now that we have proven the system works, we are proud to welcome the official Olympic Development Program status as it will aid us in several areas.”

“Players can now focus on league play without the worry of traveling to tryouts or practices while missing league games. The ultimate goal in the Olympic Development Program is to prepare players for international competition and the closest thing to Olympic and World Cup play is a competitive league environment where the games mean something. It is important to evaluate players in this environment as opposed to an open tryout where a player can be judged and eliminated in a brief instance. The Super Y-League will provide a full picture of a player’s abilities physically and mentally over a longer period of time.”

 The Super Y-League also gives economically disadvantaged and multicultural players who are unable to utilize the current system a greater opportunity to advance into the National Team system,” added Weibe. “Every Super Y-League team is required to have a program that allows economically disadvantaged and multicultural players, who were being largely missed through the current system, the opportunity to play with the club. Identifying and giving these often overlooked players a chance to play at an elite level has been a part of our mission from day one and now places them within the Olympic Development Program system.”

The Super Y-League will launch a new Regional Team program in 2003 in its continued Olympic Development Program efforts. The regional squads will be selected based on league play by scouts over the course of the season and will compete before the top National Team Coaching Staff members.

 “This is a great step for soccer in the United States,” said Weibe. “Players will actually see rewards for playing hard for the entire season, knowing that each and every game could be the one that gives them the extra distinction to be selected. And when players put forth their best efforts each time they step out on the field, it pushes the sport even further in its development on the regional, national and international level. This kind of system mirrors the ones around the world which have already proven successful.”