Michigan State Youth Soccer Association

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TOURNAMENT FORMAT

  • The U12 age group shall have two divisions as outlined below:
    • First Division / NLC Qualifying Division: This division is expected to be comprised of the more competitive teams with the majority of them being Director’s Academy teams. By participating in this division, teams are competing to earn spots at the U13 age group in the Fall Season (2025) of the National League Conferences.
    • Second Division: This division is open to any eligible team, including Director’s Academy teams and teams from other select leagues.
    • It is expected that U12 Director’s Academy teams who are slotted for Tier 1 of the Director’s Academy in the SPRING 2025 season will play in the First Division of the JR State Cup. Any such teams wanting to play in the Second Division must send an email to the JR State Cup Committee at statecup@michiganyouthsoccer.org and outline the reason for their request.
  • The U11 age group shall have two divisions as outlined below:
    • First Division: This division is expected to be comprised of the more competitive teams with the majority of them being Director’s Academy teams.
    • Second Division: This division is open to any eligible team, including Director’s Academy teams and teams from other select leagues.
    • It is expected that U11 Director’s Academy teams who are slotted for Tier 1 of the Director’s Academy in the SPRING 2025 season will play in the First Division of the JR State Cup. Any such teams wanting to play in the Second Division or the U10/U11 division must send an email to the JR State Cup Committee at statecup@michiganyouthsoccer.org and outline the reason for their request.
  • The U10 age group shall have two divisions as outlined below:
    • U10 7v7 Division – This division is open to any U10 eligible team who wants to play 7v7.
    • U10/U11 Division – This division is open to any U10 eligible team who wants to play 9v9.
  • The MSYSA JR State Cup will have five distinct rounds- the Preliminary games, Round of 16 (if needed), Quarterfinals (if needed), Semifinals (if needed), and Finals.
  • In the Preliminary rounds, all divisions will consist of three (3), four (4), or five (5) team brackets. Brackets within a division need not contain the same number of teams.
  • For four (4) or five (5) team brackets, preliminary games will be conducted using a “round robin” format. For three (3) team brackets, preliminary games will be conducted using the “cross-over” method whereby teams from one bracket are matched up against teams from a different bracket (of three teams).
  • Teams will be scheduled for a minimum of three (3) preliminary games but may be scheduled for four (4) preliminary games.
  • All preliminary games are scheduled by the teams involved, unless MSYSA intervention is necessary.
  • To ensure three (3), four (4), and/or five (5) team brackets only, the MSYSA JR State Cup Committee reserves the right to accept or deny teams and place teams into divisions based on prior MSYSA JR State Cup history, prior league play history, team composition, prior tournament history, and/or adherence to application submission and payment deadlines.
  • Winners of each pool in the preliminary rounds and wildcards (when applicable) will advance to the next subsequent round.
  • The MSYSA JR State Cup Committee will schedule and host all Round of 16, Quarterfinal, Semifinal, and Final games.