The pinnacle of the ECNL Girls season kicks off Saturday, when more than 285 teams from around the country will converge on Seattle, Washington for the ECNL Girls National Playoffs and Finals, a week full of action that will see the ECNL Girls National Champions and ECNL Girls Regional League National Champions crowned in the U13-U17 age groups, as well as a number of other winners in cup competitions.
The ECNL Girls National Playoffs and Finals is also a premier opportunity for college, professional, and international scouts to see thousands of ECNL athletes from around the country on the field. In a demonstration of the incredible diversity and quality of the players competing, nine federations will be in attendance in Seattle to take advantage of that opportunity.
With multiple scouts at nearly every ECNL event, the United States Soccer Federation will be on site in Seattle, as players from ECNL clubs make up a significant portion of every US Soccer YNT age group. In addition, scouts from Belize, England, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Wales, and Western Samoa will all be in Seattle, searching for their next international stars. Pat McStay, Director of the Heritage Project, will also be in attendance to meet with each of the international federations to strengthen relationships, discuss Heritage Project players, and identify opportunities for ongoing collaboration between the ECNL and these federations.
"The Heritage Project continues to grow because of the incredible partnerships we are building with federations around the world," McStay said. "This event provides a unique opportunity to connect directly with federation leaders, identify talented players, and develop pathways that allow ECNL athletes to represent their heritage at the international level. We are also very proud of the performance of the numerous ECNL players selected for US Soccer Youth National Teams every year, and it is just as important for us to provide the opportunity for ECNL players eligible for other countries around the world to accomplish their international dreams."
In just two years since its founding in 2024, the ECNL Heritage Project has now grown to a database of more than 4,000 players, with connections to 53 different international federations around the world.
Multiple international Federations, including some who will be on site in Seattle, have given dozens of players opportunities to train in youth national team camps and compete on international stages.
Recently, the U17 Puerto Rico Women's National Team qualified for their first World Cup at any level in their history when they advanced through their group at the CONCACAF U17 Women's World Cup qualifiers. With 14 current ECNL athletes on that team, Puerto Rico Sporting Director Eduardo Jimenez has praised the ECNL Heritage Project for the role it has played in making scouting players around the United States much more manageable for their federation.
"The Heritage Project has streamlined our recruiting process in the United States, tenfold. Being a smaller federation, it's tough for us to cover the amount of games, clubs, and players, both on the boys and girls side, that we would like to cover," Jimenez said. "It's helped our process so much and obviously we've seen the result of it with this last U17 World Cup group."
Jimenez was recently in attendance at the ECNL Girls North Carolina showcase in May and wants people to know the Puerto Rico Federation continues to look for players at ECNL events.
"With the success we've had with the Heritage Project we're even more enticed now to come to the showcases," Jimenez said. "We want people to know that the Puerto Rican National Team is recruiting at ECNL events."
With the US Soccer Federation and eight other international federations on site at the ECNL Girls biggest event of the season, the ECNL Heritage Project continues to grow and provide additional pathways for players with dual heritage.
