June 2026 update:
Beginning with the 2026–27 season, US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO will use a school‑year style Aug 1–July 31 age‑group system for their leagues, cups, and National League / NPL platforms. However, U.S. Soccer has given organizations flexibility, so a few leagues and clubs may continue using pure birth‑year groups or slightly different seasonal windows (for example, Sept 1–Aug 31).
That means two things for families:
The chart below still shows the default most players will experience in 2026–27 across USYS, US Club, and AYSO competitions.
You should also confirm your specific league’s plan, because MLS NEXT is now split across both systems. The Allstate Homegrown Division is staying on birth-year groupings, while the Academy Division, often called MLS NEXT 2, has moved to the Aug 1–Jul 31 school-year system. That means two teams at the same club can sit on different age calendars. A handful of independent leagues are also staying on birth-year.
As most people are aware by now, U.S. youth soccer is on the brink of another major age‑group shift, and this time the change will be felt across everyday town, travel, and recreational programs—not just elite teams. Beginning with the 2026–27 season, most of the country is moving away from strict birth‑year age groups and back toward a school‑year style model. For most families, tryouts, rosters, and age charts will start to look more like “play with your classmates” again, though exact alignment will vary by local school start dates.
Between now and summer 2026, clubs and leagues will publish detailed transition guides, so parents should watch for updated age‑group charts, communication on “playing up,” and explanations of how current teams will roll into the new structure.
Following USSF’s decision in late 2024 to give member organizations flexibility, the three largest youth soccer organizations—US Youth Soccer (USYS), US Club Soccer, and AYSO—announced a coordinated shift back to a seasonal‑year age‑group cycle starting with the 2026–27 season. Their new standard will group players using an Aug 1–Jul 31 (seasonal/school‑year style) cutoff, aligning age groups more closely with typical school grades and easing the social disruption many families experienced under the calendar‑year model.
For families, the practical effect is that most grassroots, rec, and travel players will experience an Aug 1–Jul 31 system, even though USSF’s framework remains officially “flexible.” The main outlier at the national level will be the MLS NEXT Allstate Homegrown Division, which is holding onto birth‑year groupings for alignment with FIFA and the professional pathway.
| Organization / Platform | Age‑group model from 2026–27 | Key notes for families |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Soccer Federation | Allows birth‑year or school‑year; choice left to members. | Policy is about flexibility; no single mandated cutoff. |
| US Youth Soccer (USYS) | Aug 1–Jul 31 seasonal year. | Applied to USYS leagues and national competitions starting 2026–27. |
| US Club Soccer | Aug 1–Jul 31 age‑group formation. | Covers many competitive and travel leagues nationwide. |
| AYSO | Seasonal‑year (Aug–Jul) model returning in 2026–27. | Impacts a large recreational player base. |
| MLS NEXT Academy Division | School‑year age groups (Aug 1–Jul 31). | Aligns elite academies with the broader youth landscape. |
| MLS NEXT Allstate Homegrown Division | Birth‑year (Jan 1–Dec 31). | Maintains FIFA‑aligned pathway to professional and national‑team levels. |
To find your age group for fall 2026, find the row corresponding with your birth year, and then the month you were born.
| Birth Year | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 |
| 2008 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 |
| 2009 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 |
| 2010 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 |
| 2011 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 |
| 2012 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 |
| 2013 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 |
| 2014 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 |
| 2015 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 |
| 2016 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 |
| 2017 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 |
| 2018 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 |
| 2019 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 |
| 2020 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 |
| 2021 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 |
| 2022 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 |
| 2023 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U3 | U3 | U3 | U3 | U3 |
Quick answers about the 2026–27 age-group change, which organizations use the new cutoff, and what families should confirm with their club.
US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO use an August 1–July 31 age-group cycle for the 2026–27 season, replacing the January 1–December 31 birth-year model. This is often called a seasonal-year or school-year system, but eligibility is still determined by a player’s date of birth, not their actual school grade.
The change takes effect with each participating organization’s 2026–27 season or registration year. For US Club Soccer, the 2026–27 season began on August 1, 2026. Confirm the applicable season and age chart with your club, particularly when comparing tryout information or tournament rules from different seasons.
No. Although US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO use August 1–July 31 groupings for 2026–27, MLS NEXT uses different systems for its two divisions: the Academy Division uses August 1–July 31, while the Allstate Homegrown Division retains January 1–December 31 birth-year groupings. Confirm the rules for your player’s specific team and competition rather than assuming every team at the same club uses one calendar.
Match your child’s full date of birth to the official 2026–27 age-group chart for the organization governing their competition. Under the August 1–July 31 system, U12 covers birthdays from August 1, 2014, through July 31, 2015, while U11 covers August 1, 2015, through July 31, 2016. This means two children born in 2015 can fall into different age groups depending on their birthdays.
Not necessarily. A school-year-style cutoff can bring soccer age groups closer to school grades, but it does not guarantee an exact match or placement with particular classmates. School enrollment cutoffs and individual grade placement can differ, and clubs still make team-placement decisions. Use the soccer age chart to establish eligibility, then ask your club how teams are formed.
Possibly, but neither is automatic. Ask your club whether its league permits playing up, what approval is required, and how the club evaluates readiness and roster placement. Staying with current teammates depends on everyone’s eligibility and the club’s team-formation decisions. Do not assume an older player can join a younger age group simply to keep an existing team together.
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