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Prairie Cities Soccer League and Illinois Fusion have been working collaboratively together in player development, coach education, field use and more for several years. After reflecting on the results, both boards voted unanimously to merge the two organizations where we will continually work together to provide programming and initiatives that are mutually beneficial. This merger follows trends we are seeing at local, regional and national levels with clubs/entities coming together to pool resources, increase programming and provide a pathway and platform for all players no matter if they are a recreational player or a national level competitive athlete. It will also provide unity and scale as we work to develop a new facility supporting soccer in Bloomington/Normal.
The Illinois Fusion Soccer Club has been designated as an Illinois Fire Junior Youth Soccer Club and will be known as the Illinois Fire Juniors, effective June 1, 2017. Aligning with a professional organization such as the Chicago Fire will be a tremendous benefit to our League.
The Chicago Fire is committed to build upon our foundation to ensure children receive world class coaching and the ultimate soccer experience. This relationship with the Chicago Fire Soccer Club increases the educational opportunities and platforms for our players, coaches and parents to develop without having to leave our League. Being connected to a greater network will allow sharing of best practices that can improve everything we do as a league. In addition, community exposure to the professional game and professional athletes will foster a deeper connection and inspire our current players as well as future players to continue with soccer as they get older.
Changes to our league will be minimal. Prairie Cities Soccer League is coming up on its 40th year of providing recreational youth soccer in the community and we are not looking to change it, only enhance it. Our name will not change, nor will our colors, uniforms or cost.
We will transition into a new website as we move forward, but you can expect similar registration procedures and communications. Merger FAQ's
We are excited about moving forward together in our collaboration and merger with Illinois Fusion and the Chicago Fire!
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