As many of you know, beginning with the 2026-2027 season, youth soccer is moving away from birth year age groups to grade year age groups. It is our priority to make this transition as smooth as possible.

We have gathered information from a number of sources and compiled them for your convenience below. We will continue to add information and an FAQ section to answer questions.

US Club Soccer, US Youth Soccer and AYSO announced in June 2025 an adjustment to the previously announced age group cut-off decision. For years, teams have been formed using a January 1st to December 31st calendar, known as "birth year" registration. Starting with the 2026-27 season, this will shift to an August 1st to July 31st timeframe, which more closely aligns with a typical school year. 

The primary reason for this major change is to solve the "trapped player" problem. A trapped player is a child whose birthday places them in an older soccer age group than their school grade. This creates a major disruption at two key moments in their youth career. The first is in eighth grade. When their ninth-grade teammates move on to play for their high school teams in the fall, the eighth-grade "trapped player" is often left without a full team to play on for a season. This negatively impacts their development and social experience. The same issue reappears four years later, when players in their senior year of high school can be displaced on their club team by college freshmen who are still in the same birth year age group.

Second, an Aug. 1 age group cut-off best aligns soccer age groups with school year ages, maximizing the number of players who participate in soccer programs with their school-year friends. This alignment has a positive correlation with increased numbers of youth players entering and staying in the sport.

This decision to move to the Aug. 1 cut-off reverts to the same age group cut-off used prior to 2017, when U.S. Soccer mandated a Jan. 1-Dec. 31 timeframe. US Club Soccer, US Youth Soccer and AYSO – the three largest youth soccer organizations in the country – have remained together in making these decisions, recognizing the importance of consistency across the landscape.

Why is Aug. 1 a better age group cut-off than Sept. 1?

Initially, US Club Soccer, US Youth Soccer and AYSO had wanted to use a Sept. 1 age group cut-off instead of Aug. 1. After receiving significant feedback and identifying missing information in Department of Education school year cut-off lists, it has been determined that the Aug. 1 cut-off best reduces misalignment between age and school year. The Aug. 1 cut-off reduces not only the trapped player effect, but it also reduces the number of “force-ups,” a term referring to players in a younger soccer age group but older school year who must play up an age group in order to be with their school-year friends.



ECNL, Girls Academy & MLS NEXT

Both national league platforms, Girls Academy and ECNL (boys and girls programs), will be adopting the August 1 to July 31 age group formation calendar starting in the 2026-27 season. This move is part of a collaborative effort with other major youth soccer organizations to create more consistency across the soccer landscape. MLS NEXT is NOT changing. It will continue to use the January 1st birth year cut-off to align with international professional standards.