U.S. Soccer is kicking off a formal feedback process about birth year and school year registration. Affiliate member league and club VIPs of Cal South have already been sent a survey in which we have asked for one submitted response representing their full organization’s perspective.

In this article, however, we are asking teams, individual participants, parents/guardians, and others to submit their feedback regarding the Birth Year vs. School Year registration debate via our Ecosystem Review website here.

Your voice is very important to this discussion, so we ask that you please take part if you have something to add.

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Background

Player registration is one issue that we are reviewing collaboratively across all levels of play, specifically between birth year (January 1-December 31) and school year (August 1-July 31 or September 1-August 31) registration.

U.S. Soccer has facilitated informal feedback to understand how registration choice fosters growing the game and developing winning teams. We determined that this is a highly complex and important issue that merits a more formal process. Registration affects every child and handling this process with care is a top priority.

Our Process

U.S. Soccer, in collaboration with the Board of Directors’ Technical Development Committee, is currently conducting a formal survey with members, leagues, and clubs. We will present the findings and recommended path forward at the Board of Directors meeting on November 22. U.S. Soccer plans to communicate the path forward to the ecosystem by the end of the year.