Surf Soccer Club calls out San Diego County government amid return-to-play battle

One of the nation’s most successful youth soccer clubs, San Diego Surf, has publicly called out its local government as the battle for return-to-play in California continues.

Surf shared a letter that was sent by club leadership to the San Diego County government on Thursday, stating their case against the ongoing COVID-19 regulations which remain in effect across most of California.

According to the letter shared on social media, San Diego County had been actively monitoring Surf’s soccer activities for several consecutive days, before officials posted a cease and desist order on the front door of the club’s facility.

The letter penned by Surf SC describes instances of what they view as unequal enforcement of COVID-19 regulations, as youth sports continue to be played on fields across the county. It also cites several studies, including one conducted by the ECNL, which have deemed youth soccer to be an overwhelmingly safe activity.

Surf Cup Sports released results from its own study back in August, in which zero cases of COVID-19 were discovered to have been transmitted as a result of playing soccer, across 6,560 players and 263 coaches from six local youth soccer clubs.

The letter also cites local politics as a potential reason for the county’s crackdown on Surf SC, including a recent report from the local ABC news station. See below for the full post.

San Diego County officials taped a Cease & Desist order to our front door this morning. This is our response which we sent earlier today. #LetThemPlay #LetThemPlayCA #ReturnToPlay pic.twitter.com/VBNyw0DHdj

— Surf Soccer Club (@SurfSoccerClub) February 19, 2021