FC Cincinnati have become the latest team to launch a residency program for players to join their academy, the club announced Tuesday. The program will support the club’s expansion of national youth recruiting to fill its five teams.
With increased emphasis on scouting FCC academy recruits from across country and internationally, greater residency needs are required to home out-of-market players in the Greater Cincinnati region. The residency program allows non-local academy players to live with screened host families and attend local schools during the team’s training and competition season, which typically runs from late July through early June.
“The Residency Program is the next evolution for our Academy,” FC Cincinnati director of player development Larry Sunderland said in a statement. “We’re ambitious when it comes to talent identification and recruitment within our region. And with the introduction of this program, our reach will become even greater. This is an opportunity for local families to play a significant role in the life of future FC Cincinnati players”.
Entering its second season in 2020-21, the FC Cincinnati academy has expanded the club’s player development pyramid to five youth teams. Beginning next season, the club is comprised of two Pre-Academy teams (Under-13 and Under-14 teams) and three Academy teams (Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 teams). All FC Cincinnati academy and pre-academy teams will compete in MLS’s recently-announced elite player development platform.
The club has yet to sign their first Homegrown player after starting their academy prior to the 2019-20 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season.
