Northern Illinois Soccer League to launch girls NPL division

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Via US Club Soccer) – The Northern Illinois Soccer League (NISL) is expanding to include an NPL girls division, beginning in the 2016-17 season.

Fifteen clubs from the Chicago area have joined the league, which will field birth year age groups for 1998/99 and 2000-2005. All games will be played at Olympic Park in Schaumburg, Ill. The regular season schedule includes 6-7 matches over 14 weeks, creating an ideal balance of training and games.

Beginning in 2017, champions of the 1998/99 through 2004 age groups qualify to the NPL Finals, and second place teams from all age groups qualify to the National Cup Midwest Regional.

The league will host Player Development Program (PDP) events, of which top performing players earn invitations to id² Training Camps.

“This league will allow us to add more appropriate and meaningful training to our calendar and still play a local match against quality competition,” said Chad Flanders, Campton United SC Technical Director. “It really helps us two-fold: less travel – cost and time – and more appropriate development will occur, since our game-to-training ratio will improve.”

NISL’s Technical Director, Brendan Eitz, noted the benefits of having a competition calendar that concludes with the annual NPL Finals. “The Northern Illinois Soccer League is excited to offer the National Premier League, where the top girls soccer clubs in the Chicago area will be able to play meaningful league games that lead to a national championship,” Eitz said.