The United Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid and larger by membership than most professional leagues in the world, is moving its entire competition onto iP: Intelligence Platform.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Every UPSL player receives a verified competition record that follows them across clubs, divisions and seasons, plus access to a UPSL branded athlete app.
- The League gains a single view of more than 900 independently owned clubs across five divisions and two seasons a year, covering registration, scheduling, competition management, compliance, payments and reporting.
- A new open registration lets players in the United States and abroad put themselves forward to UPSL clubs directly, and lets clubs contact them to arrange trials.
- Clubs are eligible for U.S. Open Cup qualifying through the League’s U.S. Soccer Federation National Affiliate membership, so a UPSL side can be drawn against a professional one.
MIAMI and MENLO PARK, Calif., Aug. 7, 2026 – The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), the largest pro-development soccer league in North America, has announced a multi-year partnership with Kitman Labs to unify league operations and support long-term growth. The partnership creates a single operational foundation for more than 900 clubs and 40,000 players nationwide, and represents one of the largest league operations deployments in U.S. soccer. The UPSL occupies the fourth tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid, directly beneath the three professional tiers.
Since launching in 2011 with 10 teams in Santa Ana, California, the UPSL has grown to more than 900 independently owned clubs across the country. More than half of the League’s players and coaches are of Hispanic descent, making it one of the most diverse competitions in American sport. That growth has created a competition operating at a scale few leagues anywhere can match. This partnership provides the infrastructure to support that growth while preserving the club independence that has defined the League.
At the center of the partnership is Kitman Labs’ iP: Intelligence Platform. The League Operations Solution in iP brings registration, scheduling, competition management, compliance, payments, reporting and communications into one connected environment. iP Core carries operations and administration. My iP delivers personalized reporting, so every club, squad and administrator sees the view relevant to them. The League sets standards centrally while each club keeps the day-to-day autonomy that has defined it.
With every UPSL club independently owned and operated, the platform serves hundreds of separate organizations while giving the League one view of the competition. The Premier Division alone fields 344 clubs in Spring 2026, competing for 32 places in the National Playoff Bracket.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR PLAYERS
For players, the partnership adds something this level of the game has not had. Consistent competition data across the League means performances are recorded season to season, and a verified player profile travels with a player, whether the next step is a college program, a professional club in the United States or a club abroad. Because that record follows a player across clubs and divisions, time in the league compounds rather than resets. Clubs, in turn, gain a way to show what their programs produce.
Every UPSL player will also have access to the Kitman Labs Athlete App, branded under the UPSL umbrella, and mirroring the experience enjoyed by players at professional clubs and leagues worldwide. In it, players see their own profile and competition history, their schedule and calendar, reports on their development across a season, performance video, and communications from their club and their league in one place. Players activate their own accounts directly from league registration, so no club administrator has to set anyone up, and guardians of younger players in the Academy divisions can hold their own credentials and act on a player’s behalf.
The League will also be able to reach its membership directly through the app, adding UPSL competition dates to player calendars and communicating with a division, a group of clubs or the entire League without relying on a chain of intermediaries. For a competition of more than 900 independently owned clubs, it is the first time the League has been able to speak to its players directly.
A NEW ROUTE INTO THE LEAGUE
The partnership also opens a front door. Players anywhere in the world who want to play for a UPSL club can now register directly and be visible to every club in the League. Clubs review those registrations and contact players themselves to arrange trials and vetting. For an owner, it surfaces players who would never have reached them through word of mouth. For a player, it offers a way in that does not depend on already knowing someone, and a chance to find a club that fits their level, their ambition and the community they want to play for. Registration is open to domestic and international players at UPSL Registration.
The League’s stated mission is connecting players with opportunities at the next level, and a consistent record makes a player’s case easier to share and easier to trust.
“We work with some of the biggest organizations in world sport, and by membership the UPSL is larger than most professional leagues anywhere,” said Stephen Smith, Founder and CEO of Kitman Labs. “The questions are the same whoever you are: consistent standards, data you can trust, one connected system rather than a dozen separate ones. What the UPSL has built is rare, and our job is to give it infrastructure that matches the ambition of the people who built it. A player in this league will now have the same kind of record, and the same app in their pocket, as a player at the top of the professional game.”
The platform is designed to better serve every member of the UPSL community, from club owners, administrators and match officials to players, fans and the communities they represent. By simplifying operations and creating a more connected experience, the platform will help clubs spend less time on administrative work, allowing owners to focus more on supporting and growing their organizations.
“This partnership is about much more than technology,” said Steve Tello, CEO of United Premier Soccer League. “Every one of our 900 clubs is a small business, and we see the UPSL as the leader in soccer entrepreneurship in North America. By investing in professional-grade infrastructure, education and support, we’re giving club owners the tools they need to build stronger, more sustainable organizations. At the same time, we’re creating a better experience for players and fans, and building the foundation for the next chapter of the UPSL.”
The partnership was announced at the UPSL Men’s National Finals, held August 7 to 9 at UCLA in Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE UNITED PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE
Founded in 2011 in Santa Ana, California with 10 teams, the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is the largest and most competitive pro-development soccer league in North America, with more than 900 member clubs and over 40,000 players. It occupies the fourth tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid, directly beneath the three professional tiers, and has been a National Affiliate member of the U.S. Soccer Federation since 2022, with clubs eligible for U.S. Open Cup qualifying. The league runs Men’s Premier, Division 1, Division 2, Women’s and Academy divisions across two competitive seasons each calendar year, providing a structured pathway between the youth and professional game. Players come from 90 nations and the average participant age is 22.5. Every UPSL club is independently owned and operated.
ABOUT KITMAN LABS
Kitman Labs is the global leader in performance intelligence. Its iP: Intelligence Platform unifies data, workflows and decision-making across more than 2,000 teams, leagues, federations and high performance organizations in 26 countries, including the NFL, MLS, USL, NWSL, Premier League and WSL Football, plus national rugby unions and football federations. iP brings together Performance Medicine, Performance Optimization, Coaching & Development and League Operations, underpinned by iP Core, into a single environment, representing the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance and medical intelligence across every stage of the athlete lifecycle. Kitman Labs is headquartered in Dublin and Silicon Valley. For more information, visit www.kitmanlabs.com.
