The Inner-City Debate: Where should youth soccer players be recruited from?

(By Jill Jacoby and Jeremy Mikula)

As director of the Chicago Fire Academy (CFA), Larry Sunderland’s main job is to scout out and find the best young soccer talent in the Chicagoland area.

One major point of debate when it comes to developing soccer players in the U.S. is where youth players are recruited from. Should teams recruit in suburban areas — where organized club soccer is dominant — or should they scope out the local urban talent?