Boston Breakers partner with new youth club

The Boston Breakers announced a new youth club partnership today, incorporating New England Football Club into their academy system.

"The fusion of the NEFC Girl’s program with the Boston Breakers Academy will create unparalleled opportunities for the young female player in New England," said NEFC Director of Coaching Chris Hamblin. "These synergies will impact all of our girl’s programs from our youngest players to our college bound student-athletes and beyond. We are very much looking forward to working with Lee, Matt, and the entire Breakers staff."

The Breakers' old partner was FC Boston, renamed from Scorpions FC. It should be noted that while FC Boston was an Elite Clubs National League club, it appears that NEFC is is a member of National Premier Leagues. ECNL is widely considered to be the top platform for girls' youth soccer in the United States.

According to general manager Lee Billiard, the Breakers primarily "operate their reserve team and college academy and will incorporate a new U20 development squad. NEFC will mostly run the admin and operation of the youth club, along with [Billiard] and some experienced Breakers staff."

The merger FAQ says that female players will be provided with Breakers seasons tickets, although it's unclear if this deal is for every female player at every level (unlikely).

NWSL partnerships with youth clubs are usually a good sign - youth academies can bring in quite a bit of revenue, while the club also manages to embed itself in the local community. It can also provide additional income for NWSL players, who may take on coaching or instructional roles within the academy or access contacts to set up private coaching sessions.