The San Francisco Soccer Football League or SFSFL, established in 1902, is "the oldest American soccer league in continuous existence." The SFSFL is a men's semi-professional and amateur soccer league consisting of teams from

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

and surrounding cities in the Bay Area. The SFSFL is affiliated with the

United States Adult Soccer Association The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NI ...

region IV California Soccer Association-North and regularly sends teams to the

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). In 1923, U.S. ...

. SFSFL teams have won the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

four times.

History

Established in 1902 as the California Football Association, the SFSFL is the oldest soccer league continuously operating in the United States, pre-dating even the 1913 foundation of the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

. The next-oldest U.S. leagues, the

Cosmopolitan Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

of New York City and the

National Soccer League of Chicago The National Soccer League (Chicago), formed by the merger of the Chicago Soccer League and International Soccer Football League of Chicago in 1928, is a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which is the oldest continuously operating soccer league ...

, were formed in 1923 and 1938, respectively. With several community leaders and soccer enthusiasts, alike, they created football (soccer) clubs, such as: Pickwicks, Pastimes, Barbarians, Hornets, Vampires, American Rifles, Independents, Albion Rovers and the Thistles FC. These clubs help lay the foundation for organized adult soccer which led to the inception of the SFSFL. Teams played soccer matches on Sundays, competing with teams as far north as Sacramento when transportation was only by ferry-boat. Over time, the SFSFL helped launch the California Soccer Association and would compete in the first California State Cup in 1904. Dominating the national soccer scene from the earliest days, SFSFL teams have won four Lamar Hunt US Open Cup; numerous state and national titles; to hosting and playing international matches in the historic Kezar Stadium. The SFSFL would be known across the country, producing memorable clubs, players, personalities, all-star games and national champions. SFSFL members have been inducted into both the US Soccer and CSAN Halls of Fame for contributing to the game. Boxer stadium

Some of the league's earliest teams still in operation are: *

Olympic Club The Olympic Club is an athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, California. First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club", it is the oldest athletic club in the United States. Established on May 6, 1860, its first officers were ...

(1916) * SFIAC (1917) * SF Vikings SC (1922) *Club Peru (1926)

Organization

The league currently has three divisions, playing from March through November. Premier Division games are played at

Boxer Stadium Boxer Stadium (also known as Matthew J. Boxer Stadium) is a soccer stadium in San Francisco, California. Located in Balboa Park, the stadium has a capacity of 3,500. It is owned and operated by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department and i ...

. Other divisions split games between Crocker Amazon Park, West Sunset, Beach Chalet, and the

Polo Fields The Polo Fields is a large multi-purpose stadium and sporting field in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Despite its name, polo is rarely played on the Polo Fields. The facility has a multitude of uses. There are six regulation soccer pitches on ...

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the developm ...

. Each team is individually owned and team owners approve new team membership. Annual divisional promotion and relegation occur keeping teams competitive. Division winners are awarded a permanent trophy with teams' names placed on the century-old trophy as well as awarded prize money. Players are granted amateur status preserving

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

eligibility. Standard

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

games laws are used. Teams are allowed 22 roster players of which 17 can play on game day. A three-referee crew are assigned to each match. Elite officials from FIFA to state level travel across California to officiate in the SFSFL.

2018 Team List

This is a list of the participants in the last season:

Premier Division

* Club Marin *

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000,0 ...

* Mezcala SC *

* San Francisco Celtic SC * San Francisco City FC * San Francisco Corinthians *

San Francisco Glens San Francisco Glens Soccer Club, commonly known as SF Glens, is an American soccer club based in San Francisco that was founded in 1961. Their men's first team currently competes in USL League Two and women's first team in the USL W League, both ...

* San Francisco Hibernian FC * San Francisco Italian Athletic Club * San Francisco Vikings SC *

United SC United Sports Club (formerly known as both Prayag United, and Chirag United) is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded as Eveready Association in 1927, the club competes in the Calcutta Premier Division A, ...

Majors Division

* San Francisco Metropolitan FC *

Azteca FC The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was foun ...

* Berenice SC * Club Marin Reserves * Deportivo Cometa * FC Dirty Birds * Indy Athletic FC * Innisfree FC * MCFC * Melchester Rovers FC * Oakland Leopards FC * Olympic Club Reserves * San Francisco Battery FC *

Reserves * Total Football FC

First Division

The Big Green ''The Big Green'' is a 1995 American family sports comedy film by Walt Disney Pictures starring Olivia d'Abo and Steve Guttenberg, written and directed by Holly Goldberg Sloan. It also stars Bug Hall, Chauncey Leopardi, and Patrick Renna. The f ...

* DZ United *

Juventus F.C. )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnell ...

San Francisco Fog Fog is a common weather phenomenon in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as along the entire coastline of California extending south to the northwest coast of the Baja California Peninsula. The frequency of fog and low-lying stratus clouds is ...

* Sport Alianza FC *

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

* Sport & Social Club

Champions

Notable Members

Champions: *1976 San Francisco Italian Athletic Club *1985 Greek-American AC *1993

El Farolito Soccer Club El Farolito is an amateur soccer club based out of San Francisco, California. It currently plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), generally considered the fourth tier of U.S. Soccer, within the Golden Gate Conference. The team is be ...

*1994 Greek-American AC

Finalists: *1979

*1990

*1991

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors Association football, soccer ...

members: *

Matthew Boxer Matthew Boxer was the New Jersey State Comptroller. Matthew Boxer was sworn in as New Jersey's first independent state comptroller on January 17, 2008 after the recreation of the office in 2007. He served in this position until the end of his te ...

(1961) * Ernie Feibusch (1984) *

Stephen Negoesco Stephen "Steve" Negoesco ( ro, Ștefan Negoescu; September 12, 1925 – February 3, 2019) was a Romanian-American soccer player and coach. Considered one of college soccer's all-time greatest coaches, he led the University of San Francisco to m ...

(2003)

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

coach

Lothar Osiander Lothar Osiander (born November 8, 1939) is a German soccer coach who has served as head coach to the U.S. national and Olympic teams as well as the Atlanta Ruckus, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash. Biography Osiander moved to the United ...

capped players: *

Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...

* John Doyle * C.J.Brown *

Troy Dayak Troy Michael Dayak (born January 29, 1971) is an American former soccer player who played as central defender. He spent his entire Major League Soccer career with the San Jose Clash/Earthquakes and nearly all of his professional career playing ...

Peter Woodring Peter Woodring (born February 5, 1968) is a retired U.S. soccer forward. He spent most of his career in the lower U.S. and German divisions. However, he did spend one season in Major League Soccer with the New England Revolution. He also ear ...

* Christopher Sullivan * Peter Cochran * Alberto Cruz

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

players: * John Doyle *

* C.J.Brown *

* Johnny Moore * Christopher Sullivan * Marquis White

References

External links

*
Official Twitter
{{USSoccer Sports competitions in San Francisco Soccer leagues in the United States United States Adult Soccer Association leagues 1902 establishments in California Sports leagues established in 1902 Regional Soccer leagues in the United States