At the 2025 Generation Adidas Cup, MLS NEXT director Luis Robles spoke with academy coaches, technical directors and front office members from all around the world to ask them about what they're doing at the academy level that some might deem "radical." The responses rolled in, with a wide variety of answers.
In Germany, at the U13 and U14 levels, they're going back to 9v9 instead of 11v11 on the pitch - with some leagues not even using goalkeepers. "They're putting two small goals on the side, and the idea is more touches, more creativity, gets a goal," Robles told GOAL.
In Belgium, academies are even going back to small-sided 7v7 matches, while in England, they're going box to box. What Robles picked up, was variation, but there was an extreme emphasis on the development of the U13 and U14 age groups across each country.
That age group has been identified to be the perfect level that is "ripe for tinkering," and as a result, it's given Major League Soccer and MLS NEXT the chance to try something new: "quality of play" rankings via the Taka mathematical formula.
But what is Taka? What are quality of play rankings? What does this mean for the development of youth soccer at the MLS NEXT level, and why does it matter - at all?
Wins, losses, and draws are no longer accounted for at the U13 and U14 MLS NEXT level. Now, instead, players are judged and analyzed individually through positive and negative moments on and off the ball. It's a unique change, and one that Robles believes will create more "professionals," as they develop further at the MLS NEXT level and - eventually - into the professional ranks, whether that be signing as a Homegrown player in MLS or abroad.
"It's another way to reward teams and coaches and players who are looking to implement whatever style they want to play, while also realizing that traditional data may not capture creativity, may not capture the sort of players that we're hoping to develop. And that's, it's players that are dribbling, it's making those passes. It's, it's ones that, over a length of time, if supported, could end up being super influential players," Robles said.
It's a shift away from normality, or tradition, per se - but, it's also a move that could pay dividends if it benefits the growth of the youth game at the U13 and U14 levels over time.
READ MORE: MLS Next is reimagining youth soccer development by removing wins and losses
"We believe each club or team should have its own identity, so we have no preference of a style of play," Vice President of Player Development Fred Lipka said. "We want to celebrate all types of team actions, which can happen everywhere on the field as there is a value in seeing players think and act in synchronization and coordination during the offensive and defensive phases.
"For MLS NEXT, we want to shift the paradigm in player development to focus on the process and progress. That is a goal of quality of play, and why we are partnering with Taka to launch this pilot program," Lipka added.
GOAL looks at Taka and what it means for the future of academy soccer at the U13 and U14 levels in the U.S.
