Copa Rayados Int

At a glance

Copa Rayados is a boys' international youth football tournament held from 25 to 29 November 2026 in The Woodlands and the Houston area, Texas, USA.

It is organized jointly by Mexico's CF Monterrey Rayados and the US company Premier Soccer Services, and 2026 is its 15th edition.

Ten categories from U9 to U19 are played 7-a-side, 9-a-side and 11-a-side, with 5 matches guaranteed from U11 upward.

The 2026 team list includes teams from several countries, such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador.

In the A flight, Liga MX and MLS professional club academies face each other, and international teams take part through a separate package including hotel.

About the tournament

Copa Rayados is a boys' international youth football tournament held every Thanksgiving weekend in The Woodlands, Texas, USA, by Mexican Liga MX club CF Monterrey Rayados and the US company Premier Soccer Services. Ten categories from U9 to U19 are played, and Liga MX and MLS professional club academies compete in the A flight. 2026 is its 15th edition.

Details

Copa Rayados (Copa Rayados Internacional) is a boys' international youth football tournament organized jointly by Mexican Liga MX club CF Monterrey Rayados and US tournament operator Premier Soccer Services. 2026 is its 15th edition, and despite its name it is held not in Mexico but in The Woodlands and the Houston area, Texas, USA. 📅 Dates It takes place from 25 (Wed) to 29 (Sun) November 2026, over the US Thanksgiving holiday. · U11-U19: group mini-games Wednesday to Friday, semifinals and finals Saturday and Sunday. Traveling teams must arrive by Tuesday · U9-U10: three days, Friday to Sunday 📍 Venues Matches are played at nine locations in total: six fields in The Woodlands, including the tournament headquarters at Gosling Sports Fields, plus Conroe (Houston Dutch Lions), Houston (Matias Almeyda Training Center) and Tomball (Crossbar Academy). ✈️ Airport transfers The official website describes The Woodlands as 30 minutes north of Houston and close to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. ⚽ Categories There are ten boys' categories: U9, U10, U11, U12, U13, U14, U15, U16, U17 and U19. The 2026 tournament follows the US Soccer school-year-based birth year groupings. · U9-U10 7-a-side, U11-U12 9-a-side, U13 and above 11-a-side · Groups are formed in units of 8, 12 or 16 teams, and Liga MX and MLS professional club academies are placed in the A flight 🏆 Teams The 2026 team list on the official website (applied and accepted teams, updated weekly) showed 126 teams as of 11 September, 53 of them from outside the USA. These include 40 teams from Mexico and teams from Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Canada and Colombia, as well as the Liga MX academies of Monterrey, Tijuana and Santos Laguna. ⏱ Format These are the tournament rules posted on the official website (based on the 2025 tournament). · 5 matches guaranteed for U11-U19, 4 for U9-U10 · Group mini-games: halves of 20 minutes for U9-U12, 22.5 minutes for U13-U16, 25 minutes for U17 and above · Semifinals and finals: halves of 25 minutes for U9-U11, 30 minutes for U12, 35 minutes for U13, 40 minutes for U14 and above · Substitutions: unlimited up to U14 regular groups; from U14 Super Group upward, 7 per match with no re-entry · Drawn finals go to two 10-minute halves of extra time, then penalties 🏟 Organization · Squads: 11-a-side 22 players (18 per match), 9-a-side 18 (15), 7-a-side 18 (13) · The tournament follows MLS NEXT rules so it can be approved by MLS NEXT for the relevant ages · Traveling teams must book hotels through the official housing agency KEY Bookings; for international teams, the hotel is included in the entry fee 🌊 About the area The official website highlights The Woodlands, a planned community north of Houston, with over 200 miles of walking and cycling trails, 135 parks, the George Mitchell Nature Preserve and Waterway cruises.

How to enter

For Copa Rayados, teams register interest, apply through GotSport, and the organizer accepts applications in the order received. The 2026 early registration deadline was 20 July, and the final registration deadline is 10 October. Teams that withdraw after acceptance and confirmation cannot get their entry fee back. 1. Register interest and apply · Use the Register your interest form on the official website to receive tournament updates · Applications are made on the GotSport tournament registration page · International teams should first contact the tournament office (USA +1-210-305-4821, Mexico +52-81-2188-0173, tournamentdirector@premiersoccerservices.com) to agree on the process 2. Acceptance and entry fees · Applications are reviewed in the order received, and the organizer states that applying early improves the chance of acceptance · Entry fees for US teams: U9-U10 895 dollars, U11-U12 1,195 dollars, U13-U15 1,455 dollars, U16-U19 1,595 dollars · International teams pay a separate package price that includes hotel rooms; the amount is not published, so contact the organizer 3. Accommodation · Accommodation for international teams is handled by international team director Jose Manuel Luna (Manuel@premiersoccerservices.com) · Traveling US teams must book a team room block through KEY Bookings: at least 8 rooms for 5 nights for U13 and above, 6 rooms for 5 nights for U11-U12, and 6 rooms for 3 nights for U9-U10; without a block, 600 dollars per team is added 4. Online check-in and documents · Online check-in opens on 30 October, and the document upload deadline is 13 November. Teams that do not check in online pay a 100-dollar on-site check-in fee · Upload to GotSport the tournament roster, player cards (passport photo page for international teams), guest player documents (up to 5), medical release forms for players and staff, and the staff code of conduct pledge · International teams need a permission letter from their national association; operations manager Collins Gitau (collins@premiersoccerservices.com) assists with documents · Players cannot be changed after the roster freeze date 5. On-site check-in and tournament · On-site check-in is on 24 November (Tue), 17:30-20:00, at Hyatt Place Houston/The Woodlands · Teams must arrive at the field at least 30 minutes before the match with the approved, stamped roster and player cards 📌 Steps at a glance Register interest → GotSport application → Organizer acceptance and entry fee → Accommodation booking → Online check-in → Tournament

At a glance

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About the tournament

Details

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