The Illinois Cup is a state championship tournament open to Illinois Youth Soccer member travel and high-level rec teams. Starting in 2018, the Illinois Cup will offer two levels of play:

• Illinois Cup Gold: Open to any Illinois Youth Soccer member team
• Illinois Cup Silver: Only open to teams that compete in the 3rd division or lower of their league play

This in-state only tournament follows a similar format as the other Cup competition (State & Presidents) and offer teams that State Cup or Presidents Cup may not be right fit for, the chance to experience a state-wide tournament. 

For the Illinois Cup Silver: Only teams or players that play in the following  are NOT eligible for the Illinois Cup Silver:

• C Division or lower of the Illinois Women’s Soccer League (IWSL). Open Division teams are also inelgible UNLESS they played in C Division the previous year.
• 3rd Division or lower of the Young Sportsmen’s Soccer League (YSSL)
• Gold Division or lower of Central Illinois Youth Soccer League (CIYSL)
• Gold Division or lower of St Louis Youth Soccer Association Illinois (SLYSA)            
• Team that finished in 3rd or lower of their Illowa Division the preceding season            

ANY Illinois Youth Soccer member team (inlcuding tournamnet only teams) are eligible for the Illinois Cup GOLD Division

COMMON QUESTIONS - SELECT LINK FOR ANSWERS

• What Are The Illinois Cup Rules?
• Who Can Play In Illinois Cup?
• What Are The Fees?
• What Players Can Be On My Illinois Cup Roster?
• How Does The Group Play Scoring Work?
• What Are The Team Requirements Prior To Our First Game?
• What Do I Need To Bring To My Illinois Cup Matches?

WHAT ARE THE PLAYING RULES?

• Illinois Cup Rules

WHO CAN PLAY IN THE ILLINOIS CUP?

This tournament is open to any team currently registered to Illinois Youth Soccer Association (IYSA). The team must be in good standing and in compliance with Illinois Youth Soccer rules and requirements.

Illinois Cup GOLD Division is open to any member teams

The Illinois Cup SILVER Division  is designed for 3rd-Level teams and below.

Unless otherwise noted*, Teams or players that play in the following groups are NOT eligible for the Illinois Cup Silver:

• A or B Division of the Illinois Women’s Soccer League (IWSL). Open Division teams are also inelgible UNLESS they played in C Division the previous year.
•  1st or 2nd Division of the Young Sportsmen’s Soccer League (YSSL)
• Major Club Division of CIYSL North
• Platinum Division of Central Illinois Youth Soccer League (CIYSL)
• Platinum Division of St Louis Youth Soccer Association Illinois (SLYSA)            
• Team that finished in the Top 2 of their Illowa Division the preceding season            
• Any team  that played in MRL            
• Any team or player that played in State Cup         
• Any team or player that played in Presidents Cup                  
• Any team that played in State Premiership Division

WHAT ARE THE ILLINOIS CUP FEES?

All teams will pay $725 at time of applying for the tournament. This fee covers all expenses for the tournament. Teams that do not play their group play games in Rockford will be refunded $50 per game and if a team adds a 3rd game in Rockford they will be required to pay a additional $50 field rental fee.

WHICH PLAYERS CAN BE ON MY ILLINOIS CUP ROSTER?
In 2012 Illinois Youth Soccer and the US Youth Soccer  moved to the Club Pass system. The Club Pass allows teams to use on their  roster any player from within their club that is currently registered with an Illinois Youth Soccer competitive member league. Players from outside the club are NOT ALLOWED on Illinois Cup rosters. NO GUEST PLAYERS!

Rosters are frozen once a team plays their first game. Players can only be listed on one Illinois Cup roster and may NOT have played on a State or Presidents Cup teams.

(1) For teams competing in the 13U, 14U, and 15U age groups, each player on the team must be (A) of the age of the age group competition in which the team is participating in that seasonal year, or (B) of the age in either of the next 2 younger age groups of that age group competition in which the team is participating in that seasonal year.

(2) For the teams competing in the 16U, 17U, 18U, and 19U age groups, each player on the team must be (A) of the age of the age group competition in which the team is participating in that seasonal year, or (B) of the age of any younger age group, through the Under 14 age group, of that age group competition in which the team is participating in that seasonal year.

HOW DOES THE GROUP SCORING WORK?
Group winners advance to semifinal and then championship play.

Group play will be based on the same scoring used at the US Youth Soccer Midwest Regionals:

• Win: 3 points
• Tie: 1 points
• Loss: 0 points

If group play ends in a tie, the following criteria will determine tie-breakers.

• 1st: Head-to-head
• 2nd: Most Wins
• 3rd: Goal Differential (4 goal max per game)
• 4th: Goals Allowed
• 5th: Penalty Kicks

HOW DO I SCHEDULE MY ILLINOIS CUP GAMES?

Once the brackets & schedules are announced on , teams will see which date they are scheduled to play. Teams will have two games scheduled in Rockford  and one home team host game that must be played by a specific deadline.

Teams can mutually agree to play their matches scheduled in Rockford on another date and location but they must be played BEFORE the scheduled date. Requests to play other than in Rockford MUST be received by the registration deadline.

Teams must play semifinals and finals in Rockford on the Illinois Youth Soccer assigned day.  To avoid school conflicts teams must submit specific info no later than August 1. Click here for details on school conflicts 

To play on a date and location other the set location, teams must mutually agree and submit the game change request to iysascheduling@gmail.com

TEAMS DO NOT ASSIGN REFEREES The State Referee Assignor will assign the officiating crew  for all games including games moved to different locations.

WHAT ARE THE TEAM REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO OUR FIRST GAME?
NO LATER THAN 48- HOURS PRIOR TO YOUR MATCH, TEAMS MUST:

• Enter into the Official Illinois Cup Roster in the GotSport Registration System all players who will be competing on your team in Illinois Cup Cup. The maximum number of players is Twenty-Two (22). Include every player even if a player may be missing the first game(s). Your roster FREEZES after your first match, NO ADDITIONS. Only players who are listed on the official Illinois Cup roster are eligible to compete in Illinois Cup.  
• Roster is frozen after team's first match - players cannot be added after first match.
• Email  katie@illinoisyouthsoccer.org or fax (847-290-1576) a copy of your Illinois Youth Soccer competitive member league roster(s) for EACH PLAYER entered on your Official Entry Event roster in GotSoccer. Only players who are listed in GotSoccer are eligible to compete in State Cup.

WHAT DO I BRING TO MY ILLINOIS CUP MATCHES
Teams are responsible to print and bring their Match Card to each Illinois Cup game. Here is how you print your Game Card:

Teams also bring the player cards and pinnies for players sitting on the bench for each match

Questions?? Contact Chris Jamrozy at chrisj@illinoisyouthsoccer.org / 847-290-1577 ext. 103 or Bill Bruno at forbillb@gmail.com