Ecnl

I believe that there is an annual review by the ECNL board for accepting new member clubs.
I don't believe that existing member clubs have to re-apply.

Two of the criticisms from those who are on the outside looking in is that:

1) ECNL is a "members only" program vs. earned by a team winning their league such as USYS RPL/PLE model

2) No quality control - a club may have a top team in one age group, and 3 mediocre teams in the others, and have yet to be asked to improve, probation period, or exit (my guess is that this is coming over time)

It might be that the program is too young, and US Club has yet to implement quality control process like DA has, and they are waiting until they've gained critical mass in States that may not yet have ECNL clubs to start enforcing / implementing a quality control process.

Another criticism is that, DA has clear established development guidelines and criteria that clubs must adhere to in order to keep their membership, otherwise they may be put on probation, forced out or eventually could lose their membership, whereas not quite sure ECNL guidelines are as strictly enforced as DA.

DA has also come a long way in terms of promoting the "no play to play" aspects thru corp or MLS sponsors.
My understanding is that ECNL membership and travel cost is still up to the parents like the current PLE/RPL model (not much of a difference in terms of who pays).