Super-20 League Version 2.0
2nd year league prospers on the strength of Mid Atlantic and Midwest growth
 Wednesday, April 18
TAMPA – United Soccer Leagues second-year initiative, the Super-20 League, concluded its expansion for the upcoming 2007 season today. Following the release of the six divisional alignments for the second season of the league, USL is proud to announce the substantial growth of the league in its first off-season. The 40 team league of a year ago has added 20 clubs in twelve months. The 2007 season will now be a 60 team national fight concluding at the North American Finals in August.
The both the men’s’ and women’s’ side of the Super-20 League gained substantial support through the addition of a South Atlantic Division. The both sides of the U20 league gained five clubs from a formidable soccer hotbed of the U.S. The women’s North American Finals, held annually in conjunction with the men’s Super-20 Finals, will jump from 14 teams in 2006 to 21 in 2007.
“The growth of the Super-20 League stems from the torrent of talented youth players coming out of successful clubs already part of the USL Super Y-League,” said USL Managing Director of Club Development Matt Weibe. “We have also developed Super-20 League teams to serve and support USL Premier Development League and W-League teams as a reserve division.”
The backbone of the Super-20 League has been the Mid Atlantic Region, adding six clubs this off-season. The division has positioned itself as the most competitive U20 league of any division or region in North America.
The Mid Atlantic is home to two youth academies of Major League Soccer franchises, D.C. United and 2006 Super-20 finalist Red Bull New York, the youth academy of one USL Second Division franchise in the Harrisburg City Islanders, and four youth academies of USL PDL franchises, the Brooklyn Knights, Long Island Rough Riders, Reading Rage and Ocean City Barons.
The women’s side of the region encapsulates the youth academy side of the W-League’s Long Island Rough Riders and Washington Freedom. The Freedom took the 2006 Super-20 League title with a penalty kick victory over Parsippany SC at the North American Finals.
Competing with the Mid Atlantic region, primarily through the ever growing rivalry of Red Bull New York vs. the Chicago Magic, the Midwest region gained eight clubs during its initial off-season. The addition of MLS’s Chicago Fire pushed two Super-20 teams into the U20 fray – the Chicago Fire and the West Michigan Fire Juniors. The aforementioned Chicago Magic, the number one ranked youth club in North America, added another side. The youth academy sides of three PDL teams contributed to the upward growth of the league with the addition of the St. Louis Lions, Indiana Invaders and the Des Monies Menace.
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