SF & Bay Area Competitive Soccer Leagues

San Francisco Youth Soccer registers select teams to play in a variety of leagues.

In “select”, "private" or “travel” soccer, the nomenclature of Elite / Premier / Gold / Silver / Bronze is used to differentiate the strength of teams.

Local Public Competitive Leagues

Accessible to all who are looking to increase competition. Club membership is NOT required. Ideal for teams at the Bronze-Silver levels.

SFYS COMPETITIVE UPPER HOUSE is a competitive San Francisco-based league, player ages 9 -15 in birth year. SF Upper House is primarily Silver and Bronze strength select teams. Consider this league the 'next step' from recreational soccer.

SFYS VARSITY is a mixed strength league of San Francisco high school age players who want to keep competing and stay fit for their proper high school season. It's also ideal for private travel league non-starter players to have guaranteed weekend playing time, while still being eligible to guest in tournament and non-SFYS league play.

Regional, State & National Private Competitive Leagues

Players must belong to a soccer club.

For teams playing Gold and higher, there is often a need to travel farther than the San Francisco city limits for quality competition. At Nickel and Copper (Recreational) through Bronze and Silver (Developmental Competitive) levels, it's a choice, not a necessity.
Cost to play is 2-10x more than the public leagues, even at the lower levels.

It seems that nearly every year a new "elite" league comes into being. In some cases, particularly at certain ages, it can be a "finally - we needed that!" opportunity and in others, it's yet another "brilliant marketing so we can charge more money" situation. If you trust your player's club with your child's growth and development, then trust them to know the difference (and be able to satisfactorily explain it to you).

CCSL COAST / BAY is a networked league that spans Northern California, run by CalNorth
(US Youth Soccer). Teams from San Francisco play in the Coast division, which runs San Francisco to Monterey. Teams that participate in this travel league must affiliate with CalNorth (this means they must register via a local league). SFYS can insure players for participation in this travel league.
- CSL : The California Select League is CalNorth's highest level competitive division.
NORCAL Premier (US Club) also spans Northern California, with brackets from Bronze to Premier. Teams that participate in this travel league must be part of NorCal member clubs.
- NPL : The National Premier League is NorCal's highest level competitive division.
Top Level Competition:
ECNL | MLS Next