Be a part of something bigger

The National League Midwest is one of 13 conferences within the USYS National League.

The National League features 4,500+ teams each season.

Opportunity for direct advancement into US Youth Soccer’s top regional and national competitions.

The ONLY way to earn automatic qualification into USYS National League Quarterfinals.

Format & Scheduling

WHO COMPETES?
The National League Midwest has Premier I and Premier II Divisions that include play for top teams at a multistate level – primarily from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. The Midwest is open to boys and girls teams in the 13U-19U age groups, with the 18/19U divisions as a combined age group.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT?
National League Midwest divisional brackets will include 4-to-12 teams and play either a single or double round-robin schedule.

WHEN ARE THE GAMES?
Games will take place in the fall and spring (registration for each is separate), allowing 15-19U players to participate in their corresponding high school soccer season.

Season	Age Groups
Fall	13U-14U Boys 13U-19U Girls
Spring	13U-19U Boys 13U-14U Girls

WHY THE NATIONAL LEAGUE MIDWEST?
The National League Midwest provides a regional-level league experience for teams in a competitive and structured environment. It also provides Premier 1 teams an opportunity to earn their place in a same seasonal year postseason event, as well as a National League Quarterfinal event for the next seasonal year.

HOW IS IT MANAGED?
As part of the USYS National League, the Midwest Conference is exclusively managed by the USYS National League staff.

WHAT IS THE COST?
The National League Midwest application fee is $750 per team, per season for all (13U-19U) age groups. This covers the management of the league. State associations may have an additional state fee to cover additional costs associated with the conference. Referee fees are not included in this registration fee.

Your Team’s Path

to the National League Midwest Conference

Earn Your Place...

The highest finishing team(s) from Premier II Midwest divisions may automatically qualify for Premier I Midwest divisions for the next seasonal year. Only USYS National League Premier II divisions and teams transitioning from USYS National League E64/E64RL may be evaluated for direct qualification into Premier I Midwest divisions.

The top four teams in each Midwest Premier I division will be retained in the conference for the next season. Additionally, the top team(s) from the Midwest Premier II division(s) will be promoted to Midwest Premier I for the next season.

Teams that fall outside of the above two pathways can apply for the National League Midwest Premier II Divisions by completing an open application. This pathway allows National League Midwest to welcome the most competitive teams into its competition.

CLick here to apply

2024-25 Dates & Locations

National League midWEST

(Subject to change)

The anticipated “Must Be Available to Play” and National League-Hosted event dates for the 2024-25 season are posted below. More spring dates may be added. National League-Hosted weekends are OPTIONAL events in which league matches are scheduled and organized by the National League. By choosing to play matches at NL-hosted events, you are also agreeing to pay the additional event fee associated with the event.

Fall 2024

Dates	Event
Sept. 7-8, 2024	Must be available to play weekend for Fall season
Sept. 14-15, 2024	Must be available to play weekend for Fall season National League hosted weekend – Sportscore II, Rockford, IL
Sept. 21-22, 2024	Must be available to play weekend for Fall season National League hosted weekend – Rantoul Sports Complex, Rantoul, IL
Sept. 28-29, 2024	Must be available to play weekend for Fall season
Oct. 25-27, 2024	National League hosted weekend – Creve Coeur Soccer Complex, St. Louis, MO

SPRING 2025

Dates	Event
Mar. 28-29, 2025	National League hosted weekend – Rantoul Sports Complex, Rantoul, IL
Apr. 12-13, 2025	Must be available to play weekend for Spring season
Apr. 25-27, 2025	Must be available to play weekend for Spring season National League hosted weekend – MercyHealth Sportscore II, Rockford, IL
May 2-4, 2025	Must be available to play weekend for Spring season National League hosted weekend – Creve Coeur Soccer Complex, St. Louis, MO
May 11-12, 2025	Must be available to play weekend for Spring season

*The National League cannot promise to accommodate all NL-hosted event scheduling requests.

National League Quarterfinals & Semifinals

a next seasonal year event series

MidWEST Team-Based League

The first place team, plus wildcards, qualify to play in the National League Quarterfinals during the next seasonal year.

National League Quarterfinals

Ten groups of four. Top 3 teams per group advance to the semifinals. A team’s finish at the quarterfinals determines seeding at semifinals.

National League Semifinals

The best teams from the quarterfinal round come together to compete for spots in the USYS National Championships.

National League’s Path to the National Championships

PREMIER 1 DIVISIONS

The highest finishing team in each Premier 1 division can qualify for the following season’s National League Quarterfinals. Teams may also apply for a wildcard slot through an application process.

NATIONAL LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS

The 40 best teams in each age group are placed into 10 groups of four. After three days of group play, the top three teams in each group will advance to the National League Semifinals. The higher a team finishes in its quarterfinal group, the higher the pool placement for the semifinals.

National League SEMIFINALS

Featuring teams from both the team-based and club-based divisions of the National League, all of whom compete in knockout style competition in one of three semifinal pools to determine qualifiers to the USYS National Championships, presented by New York Life.