LA Galaxy Academy U-16’s placed in Group B of 2015-16 Generation adidas Cup Finals

CARSON, Calif. (Tuesday, March 15, 2016) – The LA Galaxy Academy Under-16 team have been placed in Group B of the 2015-16 Generation adidas Cup Finals’ Championship Division. The week-long elite youth competition, hosted by FC Dallas and Dallas Cup, featuring MLS and top international youth academies will kick off on March 18 at the Toyota Soccer Center at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

This year’s U-17 showcase will feature a total of 17 MLS Academy teams, in addition to 11 premier international clubs – the most ever to partake in the Generation adidas Cup since their inclusion in 2013. Select matches, including the Cup semifinals and final, will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com.  

“The Generation adidas Cup is a world-class competition that offers MLS Academy teams the opportunity to compete against some of the most talented youth players and established clubs in the world. Every year, the level of the competition continues to rise and provides a platform in which to display and evaluate the growth of MLS’ youth development system across North America,” MLS Technical Director of Competition Alfonso Mondelo.

Since the tournament’s inception in 2007, D.C. United has won the title a record three times (2007, 2009, 2010), while Real Salt Lake (2008), LA Galaxy (2011) and Philadelphia Union (2012) have each won once. International clubs have taken home the top prize the last two years, with the English Premier League’s Stoke City winning in 2013 and Argentina’s River Plate claiming the title in 2014.

The Championship Division consists of three groups of four teams. Clubs include LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew SC. The Championship Division will also feature six international youth teams: Valencia CF (Spain), Mexican U-17 national team (Mexico), River Plate (Argentina), Aspira Academy (Qatar), Club Universidad de Chile (Chile) and Villarreal CF (Spain).

Tournament play began with three regional tournaments (East, Central and West) featuring U-17 academy teams from nearly all 20 MLS clubs. Each team competed in two regional qualifying events from August 2015 to February 2016, with the top three finishers in each region advancing to the Champions Division of the GA Cup finals and sorted into the following three groups:

Generation adidas group play begins on Friday, March 18 with the tournament final set for Saturday, March 26. A full Generation adidas Cup competition and live stream schedule, and further information on the tournament can be found here.