Prince William Courage Signs on as a Washington Freedom Affiliate Club

Effective immediately - Prince William Courage Soccer Club, based in Woodbridge, VA, is now an affiliate club with the Washington Freedom of newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer league (WPS). The affiliation agreement is a step forward for the development of female players in Prince William County as well as the development of the Washington Freedom’s professional structure.

Prince William Courage has established itself as one of the premier youth soccer clubs in Northern Virginia and the new partnership with the Washington Freedom will provide even more developmental opportunities for the female players in the club. Courage players will now have the opportunity to tryout for the Washington Freedom Center of Excellence teams.

The Freedom’s Center of Excellence will host teams in the U13, U14, U15, U16 USL Super Y-League and U20 in the USL Super-20 League. The Center of Excellence teams form the base of the Freedom’s professional pyramid structure. The objective of the structure is to develop and promote players through each level of the club and finally to the top of the pyramid - the professional WPS team.

The Super Y-League is a professionalized system that is the first step for developing elite youth soccer players in North America. Affiliated with U.S. Soccer, the league is designed for talented youth players destined for professional or international careers. Players competing with these teams will gain high visibility in the American youth system, providing enhanced opportunities to be selected for U.S. National Team Programs as well as professional WPS teams.

Along with the enhanced developmental opportunities for Courage players, Prince William Courage will benefit from Freedom player appearances and clinics, co-branding opportunities, access to business partners and sponsors, and enhanced developmental opportunities for the Courage coaching staff.

Ken Krieger, Technical Director of Prince William Courage, sums up the partnership: “The Washington Freedom is recognized as the No. 1 Girls Club in North America by the United Soccer League and Prince William Soccer is proud to be an affiliate. In addition to exposing our players to Freedom’s professional system, Courage players will benefit from the opportunity to train and play with other elite players in the area. We are extremely pleased to offer this opportunity to the players in our club.”