Soccer Is So Expensive To Play in the U.S.

We have been saying this since the early 90’s when there was the “Soccer Boom” here in the United States and Canada and nothing has really changed since then. 30 years have gone by and it is still ridiculously pricey to play competitive travel soccer especially if your child plays in the ECNL or the MLS Next leagues.

The average cost between club registration, soccer kits, cleats, tournament fees, hotels and gas is around $9,000 per year, but in leagues like the MLS Next where the team travels up to 400 miles for a game or tournament, the costs at the end of the year can go up to $18,000!!

Then there are the Summer Goalkeeper Camps and Soccer Camps that can cost up to $500 for a 3 day camp and once the child gets older you’ll have to keep in mind the showcases and college ID camps that range around average $450 each.

Yes, maybe it is worth it, your child will make a DI or a DII college soccer team and you’ll save a ton of cash on the tuition fees, but it is a lot of cash up front and a ton of time to dedicate that everything works out the way you hope.

It also comes at a certain risk, because competitive travel soccer club players that actually receive an offer from a college to play on their team is just 11%. So, your child has to be pretty darn good to reach the specs that a college soccer coach is looking for.

There is also the pathway to professionalism, where soccer players are recruited by one of the MLS pro-teams to attend their soccer academy. That has no tuition cost, you don’t have to purchase the kits or the cleats (free gloves for the goalkeepers). The free package includes free schooling and meals. But the chance that your child will make it to a MLS Academy are close to 0.5%, basically 1 in 200 will actually make it!

So, spending all this cash and with all the odds against you and you’re still backing up your child. You have all of my respect!!