Development Academy awards 175 scholarships for 2012-13 season

The U.S. Soccer Development Academy has awarded scholarships to 175 players through its Academy Scholarship Program for the 2012-13 season. The scholarship list consists of players among 40 of the participating 80 Academy clubs.

Scholarship athletes must maintain full-time status as an Academy athlete for the entire season, fulfill the 25 percent start requirement for a full-time Academy athlete and submit a detailed online athlete Activity Log in order to keep their scholarship. The Academy Scholarship Activity Logs are sent out every two weeks and focus on questions regarding practice, future goals, soccer-related activities they have performed and more.

The Scholarship Program is a joint venture between the U.S. Soccer Federation and the U.S. Soccer Foundation to help Academy clubs and players move away from the pay-to-play model of soccer.

More than 150 Academy athletes participated in the Academy Scholarship Program in 2011-12, with 95 percent successfully completing the program by finishing their comprehensive Activity Logs over the course of nine months. Recipients received funding to assist with travel to Academy training, games and events, as well as products provided by Nike to facilitate their everyday training.