Philadelphia Union II. On December 6, 2021, the Union II announced the team would join the newly established MLS Next Pro. Philadelphia Union Academy The Philadelphia Union operates an elite youth Academy training and competition program starting with the Under-9 age group and running through Under-17, after which players graduate to Union II, the Philadelphia Union's second team. As for competition, the Union participates in MLS Next starting with the Under-13 age group. MLS Next is an elite North American youth soccer league organized, managed, and controlled by Major League Soccer. The league was launched in 2020. The Union's younger age groups from Under-9 through Under-12 participate in various regional leagues and tournaments, often playing one year up. The Union Academy teams train and compete in Wayne, Pennsylvania, as well as in Chester, Pennsylvania, home of Philadelphia Union's first team organization. While the Union's competition rosters in MLS Next are composed of boys teams representing age groups Under-13 through Under-17, the Union Academy is unusual in that with many of its young players are competing with and even starting for the Union's USL Championship team, Union II. Widely considered one of the top youth academies affiliated with an MLS club, the Union Academy has seen success in tournaments both domestic and international. The Union Academy sources talent internally through the Union Junior Academy, as well as externally through well-regarded local area programs such as FC Delco, Real Jersey FC, and The SWAG. Families have even been known to relocate to Pennsylvania to take advantage of the many benefits provided through the Union Academy such as admittance to the YSC Academy, a world class soccer training and college preparatory school that operates in an alliance with the Union Academy. The Philadelphia Union Academy has produced numerous players for the Philadelphia Union, Union II, elite NCAA programs, and professional clubs across the world. YSC Academy Between 70 and 80 of the Philadelphia Union Academy's players attend private school YSC Academy which was founded by Philadelphia Union investor Richie Graham in September 2013 as an innovative, first-of its-kind, soccer-specific school for elite soccer players from grades 6 through 12. The school has campuses in Wayne, Pennsylvania and at the Union's training complex in Chester, Pennsylvania and is designed for student-athletes who aspire to play professional-level soccer. YSC Academy's first graduating class was in 2015. A substantial portion of the school's graduates have gone