The Long Island Soccer Football League will hold the Ryder-Vass Under-23 men’s tournament this summer after all.

The league announced that the competition will be held at Massapequa S.C. fields in Massapequa, N.Y. from Aug. 9-30.

The league had called off the competition, which usually is played in June and July, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but has seen a window of opportunity to hold a smaller version of the tournament.

The league needs to know by Thursday if teams are committed to registering a team. The first 12 teams to commit will be entered in the tournament.

The cost per team is $800, which includes team registration, 18 player passes and field rental for each game. Additional player registrations and fines will cost additional money.

Game officials cost is $90 per team, per game. A three-person system is mandatory so there will be one referee and two assistant referees for each game.

There will be two groups of six teams each. Winners of each group will play the second-place side from the other group in the semifinals. Winners of the semifinals play in the final on Sunday, Aug. 30.

Each team will play a minimum of five games apiece, which will be held on Sundays and midweek at night.

The LISFL is only offering spots in the tournament to U-23 teams in good standing with the league and clubs from the league that are also in good standing. Additional teams are not being offered a spot in the tournament unless 12 teams haven’t committed by Thursday.

If you have any questions, please send an email to David Harris at [email protected] or [email protected].

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.