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ECNL Oct 06, 2015

ECNL releases 2016 post-season overview, competition structure

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The competition structure for the 2015-2016 ECNL season is similar to the past – but there are some very important changes that every player, coach, and parent should be aware of.  See below for basic descriptions for the regular season and post-season formats for all age groups.

+Read: Dallas Texans SC slashes or eliminates fees for Development Academy, ECNL programs

  • To see complete information regarding the competition structure for each age group, view Exhibit C of the 2015-16 ECNL Competition Rules: Click Here 

Regular Season – Conference Alignment

  • Click Here for the 2015-2016 ECNL Conference map to see what every conference looks like and to see the ECNL “footprint” on the US!

U18  |  Post-Season  |  ECNL Champions League: 16 Teams

  • The 16 qualifying teams for the U18 ECNL Champions League will be determined in a very similar process to last year.  First, 15 teams will earn automatic berths in the U18 ECNL Champions League based on the results of their regular season conference games.  The final spot in the U18 ECNL Champions League is a wildcard berth.  Teams will qualify for wildcard consideration based on the results of their conference games, and then the top team in the wildcard pool, based on points-per-game from all games, conference and national event, will qualify for the U18 ECNL Champions League.
  • The 16 qualifying teams in the U18 ECNL Champions League will compete to crown the ECNL National Champion at the ECNL Play-Offs, June 23-28 in San Diego.  These teams will be seeded into 4 groups, where they will play 3 group games, a semi-final, and a final.
  • For complete information view Exhibit C of the 2015-16 ECNL Competition Rules.

U15, U16, & U17  |  Post-Season  |  ECNL Champions League: 32 Teams Per Age Group

  • Each conference will have a certain number of automatic qualifiers based on the size of the conference.  In total, 26 teams per age group will earn automatic berths in the ECNL Champions League in this manner.  Results in regular season conference games will also determine which teams qualify for wildcard consideration for the ECNL Champions League.  An additional 14 teams will be in consideration for a wildcard berth in the ECNL Champions League based on their conference results.  Of these 14 teams in the wildcard pool, the top 6 teams based on points-per-game from all games played, conference and national event, will qualify for the ECNL Champions League.
  • The U15-U17 ECNL Champions League Play-Offs is a 32-team group-play, round-robin competition, followed by a knockout round. From group play, eight (8) teams will advance directly to a single game, single-elimination knockout match.   The Play-off competition takes place over five days.  Upon completion of the Play-offs, four (4) teams, in each age group, will advance from the Play-offs to the ECNL Final IV/National Finals taking place in July.
  • U15, U16, & U17 ECNL Champions League Play-Offs take place June 24-28 in San Diego, CA.
  • U15, U16, & U17 ECNL Champions League Finals take place in early July.
  • For complete information view Exhibit C of the 2015-16 ECNL Competition Rules.

U15, U16, & U17  |  Post-Season  |  ECNL North American Cup: 16 Teams Per Age Group

  • In the 2015-16 season, 16 teams per age group will qualify for the ECNL North American Cup. After the qualifiers are determined for the ECNL Champions League, the remaining teams in the ECNL that did not qualify for the ECNL Champions League (including wildcard consideration teams that did not qualify for the ECNL Champions League) will be ranked based on points (PPG) from all games played, including conference and national event games.  The top sixteen (16) teams in this ranking will qualify for the ECNL North American Cup.
  • The 16 teams that qualify for the ECNL North American Cup will play a “knock-out” cup competition at the ECNL Play-Offs.  The top 8 teams will be seeded in the bracket, and the remaining teams will be drawn into the bracket via a blind draw. The North American Cup consists of a guaranteed 3-game knockout competition with a fourth game to crown the North American Cup Champion. The North American Cup will be played in its entirety at the ECNL Play-offs.
  • U15, U16, & U17 ECNL North American Cup takes place June 24-28 in San Diego, CA.
  • For complete information view Exhibit C of the 2015-16 ECNL Competition Rules.

U15, U16, & U17  |  Post-Season  |  ECNL Showcase Division: 16 Teams Per Age Group

  • After the ECNL Champions League and ECNL North American Cup participants have been determined, the next 16 teams (teams ranked 49-64) in the ECNL based on PPG from all games played, including conference and national event games), will play in a guaranteed 3-game knockout competition with a fourth game to crown the champion at the Play-Offs.
  • U15, U16, & U17 ECNL Showcase Division takes place June 24-28 in San Diego, CA.
  • For complete information view Exhibit C of the 2015-16 ECNL Competition Rules.

U14  |  Post-Season  |  ECNL Champions League: 16 Teams

  • The 16 qualifying teams for the U14 ECNL Champions League will be determined in a very similar process to last year.  First, 15 teams will earn automatic berths in the U14 ECNL Champions League based on the results of their regular season conference games. The final spot in the U14 ECNL Champions League will be a wildcard spot.  The wildcard will go to the next highest finisher, based on points from conference games only, from the top conference based on Conference Strength from the previous year’s Overall Club Ranking.   For the 2015-2016 season, one wildcard spot will go to the Southwest Conference.
  • The 16 qualifying teams in the U14 ECNL Champions League will compete to crown the ECNL National Champion at the ECNL Play-Offs.  These teams will be seeded into 4 groups, where they will play 3 group games, a semi-final, and a final.
  • U14 ECNL Champions League Finals take place June 23-28 in San Diego, CA.
  • For complete information view Exhibit C of the 2015-16 ECNL Competition Rules.

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