I am sure there are many reasons why having different leagues may help some aspects for clubs - or that one can "create" to "sell" the advantages of having different leagues - BUT having watched this system for over 10 years, I believe it is simply wrong. At the same time - maybe I am missing something. Simply saying " I like my league" doesn't work .... using a fancy name in the "league" like Academy or MLS also not exactly a good way to explain the real quality of a league - but good PR. Having to apply for a league to get in ? I tried to explain that concept to my friend who coached a top real league in youth football in Europe - I guess it did not translate. Having to explain to my child that we have 5 good local teams - but we NEVER EVER play them because they all play totally different leagues - so we all get drive further - not easy. Thinking SoCal needs to travel and play teams all over the country - makes no sense ... we have a higher population and probably more youth soccer players in SoCal than the Netherlands - so we can't create a highly competitive league in Socal ? ONE LEAGUE is the only answer I can come up with ...but maybe I am missing something ...