TUCSON, Ariz. - FC Tucson has announced today the founding of the club’s first professional academy that will compete in the inaugural United Soccer League’s (USL) Academy League, set to begin Spring 2021. 

“We are excited for the future of the FC Tucson Pro Academy and the USL Academy League,” said Director of Soccer Operations Jon Pearlman. “This is a powerful input mission to develop talented Southern Arizona players and provide a true path to professional soccer with FC Tucson’s first team.”

The academy will be made up of players from the 2002 to 2005 age groups in conjunction with Souther Arizona Youth Soccer Clubs and will all operate and train within the first-team facilities. FC Tuson’s first-team staff will create the primary coaching curriculum and provide first-team training staff members for the FC Tucson Pro Academy Team.

“Creating valuable opportunities to the Southern Arizona community and to help identify the rich talent pool of players in our area is a great step that will improve the pathway to pro”, said FC Tucson head coach John Galas. “I look forward to developing players and providing a structure for professional development in Tucson. 

FC Tucson will become one of the founding members of the USL Academy League’s Southwest Division. The structure of the USL Academy League provides FC Tucson a progressive model to develop local players for their Senior Team, at a lessened cost of traditional pre-professional academies. 

The eight clubs set to compete in the Southwest Division of the inaugural USL Academy League are as follows:

• Colorado Rush: Denver, CO (USL League Two)

• El Paso Locomotive FC: El Paso, TX (USL Championship)

• FC Tucson: Tucson, AZ (USL League One)

• New Mexico United: Albuquerque, NM (USL Championship)

• Orange County SC: Irvine, CA (USL Championship)

• Phoenix Rising FC: Phoenix, AZ (USL Championship)

• San Francisco Glens SC: San Francisco, CA (USL League Two)

• Ventura County Fusion: Ventura, CA (USL League Two)

All seven regional divisions for the inaugural USL Academy League have now been announced.

Visit the FC Tucson Pro Academy site to learn more, fctucson.com/academy.

For more information on the USL Academy League, visit usl-academy.com/academy-league.