SOCAL Soccer League
Travel / Select (L5) · Boys & Girls
The main US Club Soccer league for Southern California, with over 180 member clubs and more than 4,600 teams.
Overview
SOCAL is where most of Southern California plays its league season: it puts itself at over 180 member clubs and more than 4,600 teams, boys and girls from U7 to U19.
It started in 2011 as the Southern California Developmental Soccer League and rebranded to SOCAL Soccer League in 2021-22, when it became a member of US Club Soccer. That is the sanctioning to know: it is not a Cal South competition, so a club can play its league season here and still enter the Cal South cups.
Divisions run in flights by ability within each age group, which is why two teams at the same club can sit several flights apart. From 2026-27 SOCAL is also one of the named operators of the National 1 League in the West.
- The largest league footprint in Southern California, so the league season stays regional
- Flighted divisions mean a team plays near its own level
- A named operator of the National 1 League in the West from 2026-27
- Flight names change between seasons, so last year’s flight is a poor guide to this year’s level
Who plays here
220 clubs we catalogue play in SOCAL. Open one to see every league its teams actually enter, not just this one.
AC BreaNational EliteCA
Academia de Futbol TigresTravel / SelectSan Diego, CA
ALBION SC RiversideNational EliteRiverside, CA
ALBION SC San DiegoPre-ProfessionalCA
ALBION SC Santa AnaNational EliteSanta Ana, CA
ALBION SC Santa MonicaNational EliteCA
Anaheim Football ClubTravel / SelectCA
Antelope Valley Football ClubCompetitive RegionalLancaster, CA
Apple Valley SC StormCompetitive RegionalApple Valley, CA
Athletic Soccer ClubCompetitive RegionalFoster City, CA
AYSO United SoCalNational ElitePacific Palisades, CA
Aztecs FCTravel / SelectSan Ysidro, CACollege commitments
422 college commitments from 30 New York and New Jersey member clubs, taken from public commitment lists. Those two states are the only ones these counts cover.
These counts cover this league’s New York and New Jersey member clubs only. “Unverified” means the school matched but the program level did not. No league publishes college placement by youth league, so read this as one slice of two states rather than a scoreboard. We never print a current youth player’s name.
Rules
What this league asks before your kid can register: the ages it runs, whether they can still play the high school season, and who sanctions it. The college-exposure and cost lines are our read of the league, not a figure the league publishes.
Age groups
U7-U19
Geographic footprint
Regional
College exposure (our read)
Limited
Cost level (our read)
Moderate
Governing body
US Club Soccer
Founded
2011
The other leagues at this level
Leagues on the same rung of the ladder, so you can hold a club’s pitch against what the alternatives actually ask of a family.
| Factor | SOCAL This league | BWNYJSL | Thruway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Boys & Girls | Boys & Girls | Boys & Girls |
| Ages | U7-U19 | — | — |
| Clubs in directory | 220 clubs | 10 clubs | 9 clubs |
| HS soccer ok? | — | — | — |
| Footprint | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| What it is | The main US Club Soccer league for Southern California, with over 180 member clubs and more than 4,600 teams. | Buffalo/WNY Junior Soccer League (BWNYJSL), a NY travel/club league. | Thruway League (Thruway), a NY travel/club league. |
Pathway from here
Most club players in the country are on this rung, and staying here is a normal plan. If your kid wants more, the next move is a state or regional league and it happens at a tryout. What decides how much they develop here is how many minutes they get and who is coaching them.
Which SOCAL clubs are inside your drive time?
Put in your ZIP and the finder shows the SOCAL Soccer League clubs near you alongside everything else at that level. Or tell us about your kid and we’ll rank them with the reasoning spelled out.