MLSsoccer.com's annual "24 Under 24," presented by adidas, kicks off today.
By this time each year, as the MLS season enters the playoff race's homestretch, a few up-and-comers have announced themselves as serious contributors and even – dare we say it – stars. For some, it comes in an explosive debut; for others, it's the next arc of their already rising trajectory.
This season, we've seen the likes of
Gyasi Zardes
prove to be a goal machine for the LA Galaxy,
Wil Trapp
a steady midfield presence in Columbus, and
Fabián Castillo
one of the league's most fearsome threats for FC Dallas.
There are many other stories about young players this year, including DeAndre Yedlin and his meteoric rise as a World Cup standout, Erick "Cubo" Torres's impressive goal haul that led to a debut for the Mexican national team, and the re-emergence of New England sharpshooter Kelyn Rowe.
These exciting young talents are the inspiration and the focus this week on MLSsoccer.com as we roll out our annual content series, "24 Under 24," presented by adidas. Over the course of the week, we'll celebrate some of the best young players in MLS and explore various aspects of player development, including:
- a feature on the future of the academy system
- a look at MLS's partnership with the French Football Federation
- an assessment of LA Galaxy II's first season in USL PRO
- much more.
On Thursday, Sept. 25, we'll reveal the final ranking of the top 24 players in MLS under the age of 24.
Why "Under 24"?
Ever since we debuted the 24U24 series in 2010, we've been asked why we made the age cutoff 24.
Many people believe that by 23, a player who isn't already established as a pro or "discovered" as a real talent never will be. The argument goes that players cannot develop after 23 to any great extent, so we should only discuss development at earlier ages, like 18, 17 and younger, all the way down to 12 and younger still.
There's certainly truth to that argument. Development of players at very early ages is paramount for the identification and nurturing of talent, which should only lead to growth of the game in the United States and Canada.
But the North American system allows for new talents to emerge in their early 20s. So we decided to employ the cut-off age used by the Olympics -- the men's Olympic tournament is essentially a U-23 competition -- given it's the last real youth national team that any player can represent around the world.
How many MLS players are currently under 24?
Currently there are 183 players under 24 on the books of MLS clubs. That's roughly 27.5% of the total player pool. (Note: This year, we used the last day of the regular season as the cutoff date; therefore a player is considered "under 24" if he is born on or after October 26, 1990.)
How is the 24 Under 24 final ranking determined?
The full list of MLS players under 24 are voted down to a 50-player short list by our internal editorial staff. Then the short list is voted on by both the MLS editorial staff and an external media panel.
