Why Are We Like This: A Brief History of the US Soccer Federation, Birth Year Regulations and ECNL Alums Drafted into MLS | Ep. 110

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The first Breaking the Line episode of 2025 features special guest Mike Cullina, CEO of US Club Soccer.

Cullina and the Breaking the Line crew open the episode with a topic on the forefront of everyone's minds: birth year regulations. The three provide an update to the discussion about what comes next for clubs and leagues regarding roster cutoff dates for birth year, why that decision was made, what does it mean for players and clubs and when will those changes be made.

That discussion evolves into a discussion into where US Club Soccer fits as a whole within the US soccer ecosystem, and why the American soccer ecosystem differs from other countries. The Breaking the Line team goes into how the US Soccer Federation was founded more than 100 years ago and how the organization operated in the past has led us to the decisions and conversations we're having today.

Finally, the group closes out the podcast recognizing the 20 ECNL alumni from 18 different clubs who were selected in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft on their incredible achievements. Congrats!

As always, if there you have any questions or topics of discussion for Breaking the Line, submit your questions here: ecnl.info/BTL-Questions.