Country United States Divisions 3 | Founded 1902 Website www.sfsfl.com | |
Confederation United States Soccer Federation | ||
The San Francisco Soccer Football League or SFSFL, established in 1902, is "the oldest American soccer league in continuous existence."
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The SFSFL is a men's semi-professional and amateur soccer league consisting of teams from San Francisco, California and surrounding cities in the Bay Area. The SFSFL is affiliated with the United States Adult Soccer Association region IV California Soccer Association-North and regularly sends teams to the National Amateur Cup. The league is on the fifth tier of the American soccer pyramid and features its own promotion-relegation system between 3 divisions. SFSFL teams have won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 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 next-oldest U.S. leagues, the Cosmopolitan Soccer League of New York City and the National Soccer League of Chicago, 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. Overtime, the SFSFL would help launch the California Soccer Association and would compete in the first California State Cup in 1904. Dominating the national soccer scene in the early days thru the present-time, SFSFL teams have won four (4) 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 this lovely game.
Some of the league's earliest teams still in operation are:
Organization
The league currently has three divisions, playing from March through November. Premier Division games are played at Boxer Stadium. Other divisions split games between Crocker Amazon Park, West Sunset, Beach Chalet, and the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park.
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 eligibility. Standard FIFA 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.
Notable Members
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Champions:
National Amateur Cup Finalists:
National Soccer Hall of Fame members:
United States men's national soccer team coach Lothar Osiander
United States men's national soccer team capped players:
Major League Soccer players: