ECNL and NorCal Premier Soccer enter long-term partnership for new Regional League

RICHMOND, VA – NorCal Premier Soccer and the Elite Clubs National League have announced a new long-term agreement for the operation of a club-based ECNL Regional League in Northern California, in addition to the existing team-based ECNL Regional League.

This new structure will provide a stable and proven pathway for both teams and clubs to earn their way to the top of the youth soccer pyramid with the creation of the first club-based ECNL Regional League within NorCal Premier. Already since 2022, six boys clubs and two girls clubs from NorCal Premier have earned promotion from the ECNL Regional League NorCal into the ECNL Northern Cal Conference.

“We are excited to move into the next chapter of our partnership with the ECNL,” said NorCal Director of Competitions Daniel Chamberlain. “We believe that this structure will both provide a clearer pathway for clubs to earn their way to the top league in America, and will also help NorCal stay true to its philosophy of merit-based competition. Individual teams can continue to earn their way to the top levels of competition within NorCal, while clubs can prove that they belong at the next level through their performance on the field.”

“We see this as a win-win for everyone involved,” said ECNL Regional League Commissioner Chris Leahey. “Both organizations are working together to provide a platform that leverages the unique strength and depth of the NorCal market, aligns with each organization’s philosophies of competition and structure, and meets the needs of the participating teams and clubs.”

In addition to the current structure that sees top teams qualify for the team-based ECNL-RL NorCal, starting in the 2025/26 season a club-based division of the ECNL-RL NorCal will be launched for both boys and girls.

Clubs qualifying for this new division will compete against other clubs at all ECNL-RL age groups in a club-based competition structure. Recognizing the unique depth and structure within NorCal, individual teams will continue to be able to qualify for the ECNL-RL NorCal team-based division where they will play other top teams from across the region who have earned their way to the league.

Further details on the division formats will be released at a later date.

“This new format will offer the best of both worlds, providing a clear pathway for individual teams, as well as clubs as a whole,” Chamberlain said. “Clubs will earn promotion into the ECNL-RL based on their performance within a team-based ECNL-RL and NPL NorCal divisions, and in turn, teams can earn promotion to the top division based on their team performance in the NPL.”

Applications for club-based ECNL-RL divisions will open on October 1 on the NorCal website and will remain open through the end of the month.

NorCal will select clubs based on their historical performance within NorCal competitions, their adherence to technical and administrative standards and policies, as well as through geographical considerations.

One of the main purposes of this new structure is to provide a clear pathway into the ECNL for clubs. Applications into the ECNL will consider the performance of clubs within the NorCal club-based divisions.