St. Louis CITY SC Academy Introduces U-17 and U-16 Academy Team Rosters

ST. LOUIS (August 11, 2021) - Before the start of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) NEXT season, St. Louis CITY SC introduces their U-16 and U-17 Academy teams rosters. The St. Louis CITY Academy teams will be the first to represent the new MLS club on the pitch ahead of the club's historic, inaugural season in 2023.

"After all of the work we have done to create the academy from scratch and scout for top talent to build out our U-16 and U-17 teams, it's exciting to think we will be playing our first match so soon," said Lutz Pfannenstiel, St. Louis CITY's Sporting Director and Acting Head Coach. "St. Louis has a lot of homegrown talent, and we are excited to have them be a part of our Academy and hopefully, have some go on to play soccer professionally."

The St. Louis CITY SC Academy roster is made up of a talented group of players with a diverse range of playing backgrounds. Players were selected for the team through scouting, invitational trials and open community trials. The series of open trials were hosted at various locations throughout the St. Louis region and provided an opportunity for all boys within the St. Louis region born in 2005 and 2006 to showcase their talent, no matter their background. As a result of participating in the open trials, five local players were selected to participate in the STL CITY SC Academy.

St. Louis CITY SC is taking a holistic approach that not only focuses on growth as a player but also includes a strong emphasis on personal development - physically, socially and academically - with the club's Academy teams acting as the first step on the pathway to professional soccer. Academy players who demonstrate the necessary skills and talent can progress to the development team, which starts play in spring 2022, and hopefully earn the opportunity to play on St. Louis CITY's MLS first team in 2023.

St. Louis CITY SC's Academy is a world-class boys professional development academy seeking to develop top soccer talent around the St. Louis region and beyond. The Academy will train at multiple locations until the opening of the club's world-class athletic training and performance center located within the stadium district, expected to be completed in 2022. STL CITY SC's Academy will be led by Head Coach Andreas Schumacher, formerly with the Bundesliga, with support from Assistant Coaches David Critchley, Luis Swisher and Elvir Kafedžić, as well as Goalkeeper Coach Tim Kelly and Specialist Coach Charles Renken.

To learn more about the academy players, please find all player bios, headshots and group images in this link here. To stay up to date with St. Louis CITY SC, visit stlcitysc.com and follow the club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

*St Louis City SC Official Press Release*