Girls Academy’s ASPIRE platform is targeting Florida as part of its next phase of national expansion, signaling another change in the elite girls’ soccer landscape in the state. Early January messaging confirmed that “Girls Academy Aspire is coming to the Sunshine State” and invited interested Florida clubs to engage, indicating that the league is moving from pilot markets into a broader Southeast footprint.
ASPIRE is a newer competitive platform built under the Girls Academy (GA) umbrella, functioning as a national second tier beneath full GA membership for U13–U19 players. It offers a merit-based, performance-driven environment for clubs that either aspire to full GA status or want a national platform without taking on the complete GA commitment, effectively creating a clearer ladder from local and regional play into ASPIRE and then GA.
Competition within ASPIRE blends regional league play with national events and showcases that mirror much of the college recruiting environment seen in GA. While specific Florida conferences and schedules are not yet public, the model in other markets emphasizes clustered regional play to manage travel, combined with selected national events where multiple conferences come together for higher-level competition and recruiting visibility.
Girls Academy ASPIRE is already active across multiple regions nationally, with clubs organized into several conferences for 2025–26.
Current ASPIRE Conferences
- The Mountain West conference includes clubs in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, such as Arizona SC, SC del Sol, Phoenix Premier FC, ALBION SC Las Vegas, Black Diamond FC, Utah Celtic, Impact United, and Wasatch SC. These markets give ASPIRE a strong presence in the Southwest and Intermountain West.
- In Texas, the Lonestar conference features GFI Academy, Dallas Surf SC, HTX Soccer, San Antonio City SC, Capital City SC, and Houston Surf, anchoring ASPIRE in key Texas metro areas. This creates dense in-state competition with manageable travel between Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.
- The Great Lakes conference covers parts of Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, with clubs like Galaxy SC, Chicago FC United, Sockers FC, Wheaton United, Michigan Jaguars, Midwest United, Midwest United SCOR, Michigan Stars Elite, Elmbrook United, Wisconsin United, North Shore United, and SC Wave. This footprint ties together the Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Milwaukee corridors under the ASPIRE banner.
- Further south and east, ASPIRE operates in a Mid-America conference including Indy Premier, Javanon, Kings Hammer SC NKY and Club Ohio, and Kings Hammer SC TN, connecting Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. In the New England conference, markets such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire are represented by Ginga FC, NEFC, Seacoast United Massachusetts, IFA, FC Boston Bolts, and Seacoast United New Hampshire.
- Finally, in the Southeast, ASPIRE already lists a Southeast conference anchored by Tophat, AFC Lightning, Georgia Impact SC, and Inter Atlanta FC in the Atlanta metro, together with Charlotte Independence North and South and Fox Soccer Academy of the Carolinas in the Charlotte area, plus Lowcountry United SC in the Charleston, South Carolina market. Florida’s pending addition would extend this southeastern footprint farther south, connecting into an existing regional ASPIRE structure rather than starting from scratch.
The Florida Launch
The Florida announcement remains in an early, exploratory phase. Public messaging has been framed as an open call – “Who wants in?” – rather than a final list of member clubs, with a teaser referencing “TLH” (Tallahassee) but no confirmed partners or conference maps yet. This suggests the current focus is on identifying interested clubs, evaluating their environments, and building out the Florida and regional footprint over the 2026 tryout and recruitment cycle.
Girls Academy already has a strong event presence in Florida, including a major national event at IMG Academy in Bradenton in March 2026, which provides ready-made showcase infrastructure for ASPIRE clubs in and around the state. For families, this means access to national events and recruiting opportunities without flying across the country for every major showcase, a key factor as they weigh cost and time against platform branding and perceived status.
For Florida clubs, ASPIRE’s arrival creates both opportunity and strategic choices. Strong USYS, National League, E64, or regional powers may see ASPIRE as a way to step into a nationally branded girls’ pathway while preserving some flexibility in how they structure their overall program. Organizations with long-term GA ambitions can treat ASPIRE as a proving ground, while others may position it as their top platform alongside parallel offerings for different player pools.
For parents and players, the pitch will center on national-level competition, enhanced college exposure, and a clearly branded pathway under the GA umbrella. ASPIRE aims to deliver more consistent game environments and scouting opportunities, especially in key recruiting age groups, while keeping travel somewhat more manageable than some existing national platforms. As always, the most important questions for families remain: the quality and consistency of the daily training environment, the coaching staff, and how any new platform fits into a player’s long-term development and overall life balance.
Ron Stitt
Co-Founder, U.S. Soccer Parent