The ECNL was founded by leaders in the grass roots of American club soccer who, seven years ago, identified a need for immediate change in female club soccer and made an unprecedented collective commitment to transform the daily training and competition environment for their players.  The ECNL continues to be led by Directors of Coaching from every region of the country with a rich diversity of background and years of experience in consistently developing the top players in the country.  The input, advice, and recommendations of these leaders, based on their decades of knowledge and experience in youth soccer in communities across the country, is a key part of the creation, operation, and review of every ECNL program and platform.  This collaborative and transparent leadership and governance model has resulted in a transformation of the American female youth soccer landscape, and a fantastically improved experience and development process for American female youth soccer players.

The ECNL's mission to RAISE THE GAME at the highest level of American club soccer, and to serve the players, coaches, and clubs in the league, continues.  The league represents the leading female youth clubs, coaches, and players in the United States, and will continue to operate and make decisions based on the feedback and input of these leaders.  The ECNL believes in the importance of grass roots leadership, the value of the contributions and perspective of those with experience in youth club soccer, and the positive outcomes created through the combination of collaboration, transparency, and accountability.  Consistent with our philosophy to focus solely on constantly improving our platform and its impact on players, coaches and clubs, the ECNL will continue to serve and support our membership and accomplish this mission.