COLUMBUS – The Columbus Crew today announced that the Crew Youth system has extended its partnership with its affiliate program in the Detroit metropolitan area. The new, two-year contract extends the partnership to its fourth and fifth years as a Crew Youth affiliate.
The partnership began in 2011 as a comprehensive relationship between a top youth club (No. 4 in Soccer America’s 2010 rankings) and one of the most successful MLS youth organizations (No. 8 in Soccer America’s 2010 rankings), which was the first of its kind in the country.
“The Wolves have been a great partner with us since 2011 and have long been one of the most successful youth programs in the nation.” said Andrew Arthurs, Crew Senior Vice President of Soccer Business Development and Executive Director of Crew Juniors. “Through the U.S. Soccer Development Academy platform, CSA Wolves offer top Michigan youth the opportunity to compete at the highest level of youth soccer in the United States. This partnership allows us to extend that pathway for their outstanding players all the way into the Columbus Crew First Team. We are excited to be able to enhance the support to these teams with more technical support and oversight, as well as training, friendlies and matches in both Detroit and Columbus.”
"We have enjoyed the initial years of our relationship with the Crew,” said Brian Doyle, Michigan Wolves-Hawks Director of Coaching. “We are excited to continue working together to develop outstanding players and teams."
Crew Youth and adidas will supply significant match and training gear to CSA Wolves teams. In this extension, Wolves teams will also attend Crew matches throughout the year and send numerous teams to the Crew Youth event series annually. CSA Wolves secured a National Championship in 2009 for the Under-16 squad in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
For more information on the Crew Soccer Academy please visit www.thecrewyouth.com/crewsocceracademy.
