Midwest Teams on Way to Finals

Super Y-League News Release

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

TAMPA, Fla. – The Super Y-League announced today four clubs from the Midwest Division that have accepted bids for the 2012 North American Finals from December 7-11 at the world-class facilities of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Cleveland Internationals, Force Football Club Academy, Kalamazoo Kingdom, and Mequon United will make up 14 of the 23 participants from the division across all age groups.

The Cleveland Internationals sent two teams to the 2011 Finals in Tampa – their U13 girls and the U12 boys that won the championship. Following up on that success, Cleveland will send all seven of its Super Y-League teams to Florida, including the now-U13 boys with last year’s medals. Also in attendance will be the new crop of U12 boys, the U12 girls, U13 girls, U14 boys, U14 girls, and U15 girls.

Force Football Club is in its first year in the Super Y-League and will have three of its 10 teams make the trip from Michigan. The U16 and U17 boys placed first in their respective divisions and the U17 girls finished second only on goal difference after the 2012 Midwest Division season came to an end this past weekend.

The Kalamazoo Kingdom had two teams in championship games at the 2011 Finals. The U17 boys lost a heartbreaker in a penalty-kick shootout, but the U14 girls convincingly took the title with an undefeated regular season and 4-0-1 Finals record. The Kingdom’s U12 girls, U13 boys, and U17 girls will attempt to recreate some of their predecessors’ success in December.

Mequon United’s sole qualifier for this year’s Finals is the U14 girls squad, which finished five points behind the division-winning Cleveland Internationals. Mequon sent one team to the 2011 Finals, as well, its U15 girls.

In its 14th consecutive year, the SYL North American Finals has helped launched the careers of many notable U.S. soccer stars such as Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo and 2010 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year Mollie Pathman.

With 130 teams competing, the total daily attendance for December’s Super Y-League North American Finals is expected to exceed 15,000, and fill more than 7,000 hotel rooms in Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Earlier this year, IMG hosted the Super-20 Finals, the Super Y-League Olympic Development Program (ODP) National Camps for boys and girls, and the USL PRO Combine.

The world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex, IMG Academy has already hosted a myriad of soccer team training camps in 2012, including clubs such as the Seattle Sounders, D.C. United, Columbus Crew, Sweden’s Malmö FF, as well as the U.S. Women’s National Team preparing for the London Olympic Games and the Antigua & Barbuda Men’s National Team preparing for World Cup qualifying. The Super-20 League North American Finals were also held in Bradenton from July 19-22.

Additional qualifying teams will be announced in the coming days.