Eastern New York Uses Benefits of Promotion and Relegation to Ensure Competitive Games
With the exception of pro, college and high school soccer in the United States, the rest of the world uses the promotion and relegation system. This system has divisions with diverse levels of ability. The top teams in each division are promoted to the higher division for the next season while the bottom teams are relegated to a less challenging division. This is the prevalent system used in soccer and in some other sports around the world.
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) uses promotion and relegation throughout its program to ensure that all divisions are competitive and there are very few routs. After all, nobody benefits from a 7-0 score, not the winning team and certainly not the losing team. Promotion and relegation also ensures that teams play new opponents every season.
At the top of the pyramid is the US Youth Soccer National League. Eastern New York teams that have recently played in this league include 2014 national champion Manhattan Paris Saint-Germain (pictured above), 2013 national champion Smithtown Arsenal, two-time regional champ Dix Hills Elite, defending State Open Cup champion Dix Hills Hurricanes and seven-time State Open Cup champ Farmingdale United.
Right under that is the new Region 1 Champions League, with teams throughout the Northeast United States. This league is comprised of three divisions, with modified promotion and relegation implemented among the three divisions starting in the spring of 2016. The champion teams are promoted to the National League.
Under that is the Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL) managed by the volunteers of ENYYSA. The ENYPL uses the slogan of “The Gateway to Regional Play” as the division champions are recommended by Eastern New York to play in the Region 1 Champions League. The division finalists also automatically qualify for the New York City Cup being played this summer.
Continuing down the youth soccer pyramid is the Eastern New York Champions Cup, a competition started last year. Division 1 champion teams from Eastern New York’s member leagues play against one another in June with the champion team being promoted to the ENYPL.
Under that are the member leagues, from Long Island to the Canadian border, and their travel teams who play from Division 1 to the lower divisions of each league. Those leagues with more than one division per age group generally use promotion and relegation. Below that is intramural soccer, with recreational teams playing each other within the same club and community. There is a team available for every child who wants to play soccer, no matter their athletic ability, throughout Eastern New York.
“One of the great things about soccer is the promotion and relegation system, which ensures that games and divisions are competitive every season,” commented ENYYSA President Richard Christiano. “We’re very proud of teams such as Manhattan Paris Saint-Germain team, formed a decade ago, who climbed up the ladder in Eastern New York youth soccer and who won the Boys-Under-17 national championship last year.”
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: With over 100,000 youth soccer players–both boys and girls–and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators.
All levels of soccer are offered–from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association.
