Union host top soccer academies from Europe and North America at their ‘world-class facility’ in inaugural tournament

The Union had the opportunity to show off the club’s new WSFS Bank Sportsplex facility to teams from a wide range of nations last week, as it hosted the inaugural “Snow Bowl,” a tournament showcasing some of the world’s best youth academies.

Clubs from across Europe and North America were represented in the tournament, which included divisions for under-15, under-16, and under-18 teams. The tournament drew in 10 major soccer clubs, including England’s Manchester United and Newcastle United, and Germany’s Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Jon Scheer, the Union’s director of academy and professional development, said the Union’s ability to draw in European clubs of this caliber speaks to the club’s global reputation. .

“To get Manchester United, PSV, Dortmund, some of the best European clubs, to come, I think it says something about the brand of the Philadelphia Union now,” Scheer said. “Certainly our facility was a big reason why they agreed to come, but also because of the level of competition that we brought in.”

The Union also invited the Netherlands’ PSV Eindhoven, Mexico’s Monterrey, Denmark’s Lyngby, Portugal’s Benfica, and Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire academies.

“We really wanted to target clubs that we felt would bring over academy-level talent that would really push ourselves,” Scheer said. “And they would, in turn, benefit from the opportunity for their players.”

The Generation Adidas Cup, which started as MLS’s top academy tournament in 2007 and expanded to include clubs from outside MLS in 2014, served as a common meeting place for many of the academies that attended this year’s Snow Bowl in Chester.

The Union’s U-17 team won the GA Cup in 2023 and 2024. PSV, Monterrey, and Manchester United have also competed in the tournament, hosted in the spring at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

“Through things like Aspire Conference and through our relationship with U.S. Soccer and success at the GA Cup level and success at the MLS level, I think that’s starting to make our reputation a bit stronger globally,” Scheer said.

While the Union’s reputation convinced teams to come, the WSFS Bank Sportsplex made hosting the tournament a possibility. Teams competed on the indoor turf field at the facility, which the club opened last July.

Scheer said the visiting clubs were surprised by the quality of the facility.

“When they came over here, they said this is truly a world-class facility,” Scheer said. “There’s nothing like this in Europe, from what they’ve talked about.”

Aloys Wijnker, the academy head at PSV Eindhoven, was particularly impressed with the Union’s campus. Wijnker, who worked for U.S. Soccer from 2016-18 before returning to his native Netherlands, remembered when the club’s first team, second team and academy were spread apart. Now, the Union hosts all of its operations on the waterfront in Chester.

“This is amazing,” Wijnker said. “We heard about the dome, but then you see, oh, what kind of dome is it? This is a real building with all the facilities inside, with the gym. I [haven’t seen] everything so far, but it’s impressive.”

For the Union, hosting the Snow Bowl not only gives academy players an opportunity to play against high-level talent from Europe and North America, it also allows the Union’s academy staff to compare notes on development with their counterparts from around the world.

“We have such a growth mindset and a passion for learning,” Scheer said. “We want to get better. We think we do a good job but we know we can get better. And if we can take one piece of information here or there, selfishly, by interacting with some of the best clubs in the world, we’re certainly going to be able to do that.”

Wijnker, who served as director of the U.S. Soccer Boys’ Development Academy for three years, said he was impressed with the Union’s focus on developing first-team players from their academy.

“I think they are on top in the U.S., top three with the academy,” Wijnker said. “They do a big investment with money, but also with resources, with the energy they put in. Also the whole philosophy in the club, not buying expensive players, they’ve really invested in the youth. If you ask me the question, I think that this is what every club should do.”

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The club hopes to make the Snow Bowl an annual tradition. This year’s tournament was sponsored by The SWAG, a no-cost youth soccer organization philanthropically funded by members of the Union’s ownership group, and YSC Academy, the club’s school.

“We want to do a really good job this year, and hopefully have others, in addition to SWAG and YSC Academy, help sponsor the event,” Scheer said. “I do think it’ll be one of the best developmental opportunities our academy kids could have with the competition they’re facing.”

The Union’s U-15, U-16 and U-18 teams were unbeaten in the group stage of the tournament, picking up wins over Newcastle’s U-15 squad, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U-16 team and Benfica’s U-18 team.

“We are probably further along, not only at the Union, but in our country, than we think we are sometimes, in terms of development and the game of football,” Scheer said. “[Other clubs] are not only commenting on our facility, but they’re commenting on some of the quality of our individual players, our success at the team level. Ultimately, that’s what it’s about.”

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