Player Choice Award

The Player Choice Award is in recognition of governing bodies and leagues that mandate a borderless, competition system free of restrictive transfer policies giving players the freedom of mobility and club choice between seasons.

"Player-centric" is todays favorite youth soccer buzzword but what does it really mean? Simply put, it is any policy, training method or philosophy that puts the individual player first; above the team, the club, the league or the association. Sadly, boundaries or catchment areas are still common practice for leagues and associations to protect their members viability even if services may be substandard. Imposed player registration monopolies and oppressive transfer policies restrict players from moving to environments of their choice. We treat children like owned assets under professional contracts. And we're still doing this in the face of more then a decade of declining player participation at all levels right across the country.

It's time to put an end to these archaic and unethical practices that offer no tangible benefits to the game, its players and that offer no measure of success for clubs, leagues or governing bodies. The best measure of success is Retention, how many players come back to your club, your league, your Association because they want to, not because they have to. When we stop playing Big Brother and empower people to make choices for themselves, we #growthegame.