Pre-MLS Teams Make Their Mark
October 14th, 2025; As part of IFA New England’s continued commitment to providing elite training and competitive opportunities for our players, this season has seen the expansion of the U9/U10 Elite Player Program to create the inaugural U9/U10 Pre-MLS Academy.
The IFA Pre-MLS Academy and EPP is the first step on the elite pathway which begins for our younger IFA Boys players and provides competitive opportunities supplementary to the existing current regional programming. IFA New England is a full-member of the nation’s top Boys league - MLS Next which begins at U13.
This weekend saw U9 & U10 Pre-MLS Academy teams participate in the Bolts Columbus Day Showcase. The teams were constructed of players from our Metro West, Central and Greater Boston regions. Our South Shore, South Coast, Greater Lowell regions and partner clubs participated in additional events.
“This weekend was a great experience for U9 and U10 Elite boys program,” said Elite Foundation and Formation Phase Director Jamie Ovens. “Both groups participated in the top bracket with the majority of players playing together for the first time. All games were very competitive and both teams improved greatly over the course of the weekend.”
The U11 & U12 Pre-MLS teams were also in action and competed in Northeast Academy League Columbus Invitational held at Afrim’s Sports Park in Colonie, NY. Both IFA Gold and Blue teams attended and across both age groups the club played 16 very competitive matches. The club picked up Gold, Silver and Bronze with the U11 Gold, U12 Blue and U11 Blue finishing first, second and third respectively, whilst the U12 Gold had a highly competitive weekend finishing 1-2-1 with all matches a one-goal game.
“Overall was a great opportunity to see our teams compete and have success against a variety of new competition from the Northeast region,” said Ovens. “It gave the boys a taste of the MLS Next experience which begins at U13.”
For more information on the IFA Boys Program please click or to tryout for one of our teams, please click here.
