MLS: 3 potential pitfalls of Elite Player Development Platform

On Wednesday, MLS unveiled plans for the Elite Player Development Platform which will take the place of the U.S. Development Academy. Here are three potential pitfalls.

After the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that the U.S. Development Academy would close amid financial pressures due to the coronavirus, youth football in America was left in a rather dark hole. Someone needed to fill the void with clubs and academies around the country waiting for a new system or league to be developed.

This week, Major League Soccer announced plans for the Elite Development Program which sees 95 clubs across the country, 30 of which are MLS academies and five are connected to USL teams, play in a youth league of varying ages. You can read the full plans here.

Here are three potential pitfalls with the proposal.

3. How much does it cost?

One of the primary issues with the DA was the cost. Families were billed thousands of dollars just so that their kids could play for a youth team. It was an unfair and unsustainable model, and it left plenty of high-performing young kids out in the cold as they could not afford the extortionate fees.

The MLS Elite Development Platform, which has not been given an official name just yet, is set to up the standard. MLS teams were said to be frustrated with the DA, forced to play teams two or three years above their age group just to find a competitive game. Improving the quality of the competition is a positive step, of course, but it comes with a cost.

The league must find the balance upping the standard of the operation, from the quality on the pitch to the facilities that are used, and the cost to play. Some academies cover the cost of their kid; others do not. The non-MLS affiliated clubs will certainly have to charge kids to play. What will these costs be and will they rule out portions of prospective players?