Today the United States Soccer Federation's Development Academy announced that Metropolitan Oval has been awarded the U18/19 Boys Development Academy (DA) team. This addition bestows full academy status onto Met Oval by the USSF.
Full academy status completes Met Oval’s development pathway offered through its Youth Center of Excellence. “Achieving full academy status has been the goal of Met Oval since I arrived at the club in 2015,” says Director of Coaching Filippo Giovagnoli. “Now our top-level players will be granted the continuity that they deserve. Full academy status will enhance the overall reputation of the club while aiding our players in their post Met Oval pathways be it college or professional.”
Metropolitan Oval is a leader in elite player development having placed over 40 youth players into professional academies in the United States and abroad over the past 4 years. With programs based in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island, Met Oval can now offer talented players of the region the avenue, the expertise and the platform needed to pursue their soccer dreams after they graduate from the youth ranks.
Met Oval’s partnership with NYCFC has provided a route for the most talented players in the region to attain their goal of playing professionally. This includes Justin Haak, who spent many years developing at Met Oval before joining NYCFC. Haak recently became just the 3rdplayer to sign a Homegrown deal with the MLS club.
"This is a testament to the high caliber staff at the Oval and the professional development environment which they have crafted. This coupled with investment in our facilities and technology has solidified Met Oval and its youth center of excellence as the leading developer of talent in the region," says Sporting Director Jeffrey Saunders.
About:
The Metropolitan Oval is a USSF Development Academy dedicated to developing the New York regions elite level soccer talent at our Youth Center of Excellence while offering youth of all backgrounds the opportunity to play soccer in a committed environment. Our professional pathway places players in youth national team programs, MLS and Int'l academies and collegiate programs. In the past years, Met Oval has placed more youth players in MLS and Int'l academies than any other club in the region. Met Oval is an affiliate partner of NYCFC and a Nike Premier Club.
The Met Oval's soccer facility in Queens was originally built in 1925 by immigrants from Germany and Hungary, and remains the most historic soccer facility in the United States. The Met Oval is a Non-Profit organization and the only New York City soccer club that owns its own field and related facilities and now has additional programs in Long Island and Brooklyn.
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