Top Weekend Soccer Games & Youth Players Turning Pro

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00:00Are there any games that we should be tuning in and really, really, uh, analyzing this

00:05weekend?

00:06I mean, yeah, I'm tuning in tonight to ACFC going up against Portland Thorns.

00:11I'm really excited to see, you know, these power dynamics and decided to see who is going

00:16to leave their mark again.

00:18I'm also excited to see Washington spirit versus Kansas city.

00:21It is a classic.

00:22I mean, both teams have this really strong, um, fan base and I'm excited to see how those

00:28dynamics play out in this game.

00:31It's going to be very exciting, especially because I know that Kansas city will be hungry

00:35to get some points.

00:36They are one of the most historical teams in the league and they didn't start their

00:41season in the right foot.

00:42I am sure that they will try to make a statement on this high stake games that you will be

00:47able to see this weekend.

00:48Now Camilla, I know that beyond what happens on the field, this league is making waves

00:55is ripples have been affecting every age group because recently we've seen an influx

01:01of club players.

01:02Yes.

01:03Teenagers that decide to forego their traditional path, including soccer, to go straight to

01:08the league.

01:09Talk to me about this phenomenon of literally kids going to work for the professional soccer

01:15teams.

01:16Yeah.

01:17I mean, it's groundbreaking this weekend.

01:19We actually saw McKenna with him, a 14 year old girl starting her professional career

01:25off with Gotham FC.

01:26I mean, I think it's incredible.

01:27I think that it's giving so much power, like putting the power back into the hands of the

01:32players.

01:33In 2024 alone, we saw 13 young girls completely skipping the, you know, traditional college

01:39route and they went directly from club to the NWSL and I think it's great.

01:44Yeah.

01:45And is there any pushback about these new paths that kids might take is keeping college

01:49altogether?

01:50Yeah, there definitely is some controversy around these young players just going directly

01:55into the professional league.

01:56We have a traditionally strong program, such as the one at FSU.

02:00The head coach, you know, has expressed his opinion on it, maybe not being in the player's

02:06best interest to skip the college, you know, experience, but with everything there is controversy

02:13and yeah, I'm just excited to see how it plays out.

02:15That is true, Camila.

02:16The landscape in youth sports has been changing increasingly fast.

02:20The introduction of NIL money contracts for high school and college students, like in

02:25the rest of the world, kids might be choosing to become professionals at the sport at a

02:29way younger age instead of taking a traditional student athlete route.

02:34Camila, thank you for your insight.

02:36This has been amazing to learn of how this league is not only growing on the field, but

02:41also, you know, changing the paradigm for youth athletes.

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