HARRISON, N.J. – The New York Red Bulls U-16 academy team has departed for Sanford, Fla., to play its final three 2015-16 Generation adidas Cup (GA Cup) qualifiers from Feb. 12-15. The Red Bulls U-16, the defending GA Cup Premier Division champion, enters Spring qualifiers tied in first place with Toronto FC.
The Red Bulls U-16s open Spring qualifying against MLS rival D.C. United on Friday, Feb. 12. New York takes on Orlando City on Saturday, Feb. 13, and finishes qualifying on Monday, Feb. 15 versus Toronto FC.
The Red Bulls U-16s finished 2-1-0 in the Fall qualifying event, tied in first place of the East region with Toronto FC on six points. However, New York holds an advantage over Toronto on goal differential, 7-1.
The GA Cup qualifiers mark the first competitions of the new year for the Red Bulls U-16. In the Fall portion of the 2015-16 U.S. Development Academy season, the U-16s finished 9-1-3 and tied in first place of the Atlantic Division. In the most recent national academy rankings by Grande Sports Academy TeamRank, the Red Bulls U-16 was rated No. 1 in the country.
About Generation adidas Cup:
The Generation adidas Cup is Major League Soccer’s annual elite youth tournament for U-17 academy teams. Teams are divided into three regions (East, Central and West) and participate in two qualifying events per region, one in the Fall and one in the Spring.
The top two teams in each region after both qualifying events will participate against other international sides for the Championship Division title, while the remaining teams will play for the consolation Premier Division title. Both finals tournaments take place in Frisco, Texas on March 18-26, 2016.
