League Info
2025 Season
Clubs
The visionaries of the League for Clubs are Sean Jones of the WPSL, with the five founders, Dennis Crowley (Kingston Stockade), Adam Lewin (FC Davis), Andrew Weilgus (Atlantic City FC), Sonny Dalesandro (Tulsa Athletic) and Arik Housley (Napa Valley 1839 FC). Those were also supported by many within their team of people around them and their organizations.
A national amateur league intended to bridge the gap between MLS Next Pro/USL 1 and the fourth division of American soccer. (Other note***) The misunderstanding of many outside the loop is the level. Division 3 (professional) annual budgets are 1.5M to 3M/year on average. Amateur soccer budgets average $60K/year. That is an immense separation and unsustainable if promotion and relegation ever were to be instated.
There are currently four regions in TLfC. The West Region is made up of 13 clubs in Northern California. The Central Region will field 13 clubs in 2025, located in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. The East region is made up of 8 competing clubs in Pennsylvania (Philly area), New Jersey and New York. The South region includes 9 clubs, located in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. This conference (Gulf Coast Conference) was created in partnership with the Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL).
We purposefully offer flexibility of season. The West Region begins in March and ends with everyone in time for national playoffs. The Central, South and East regions begin in May and end at the same time as the West Region for national playoffs. The semifinals and championships will be played in late July, giving college players a chance to rejoin their teams in August.Pockets of the country also plan to offer a fall season. For example, in the West, the intent is to offer amateur soccer to showcase players and organizations from March through middle November.
TLfC currently has two regional league partnerships, one with the Metroplex Premier League in Dallas/Ft. Worth and one with the Gulf Coast Premier League. We understand that every regional league is different and therefore every regional league partnership will be different. With that in mind, we are dedicated to working with each interested regional league to form a partnership that is best suited to benefit all parties.
Every member team of TLfC is a stakeholder. Twenty percent of the net proceeds annually will go back to the stakeholders. Stakeholders have 51%. We are not owners, so there is no K1 or tax scenario. If there is ever a buyout of the league, the clubs would receive 51%.
There are other leagues that many of us have already been a part of. Our vision is to help incubate teams to not only survive but to also thrive. Most teams in the US collapse within three years. The cost for travel, stadiums and so many other expenses add up and this becomes an expensive hobby. Imagine a food network show on failing restaurants, nearly all the owners say, “I always wanted to have a restaurant and my friends said I was a good cook.” The League for Clubs believes we can help grow the game by helping clubs become successful. It starts with communication. We must be able to communicate with our partner clubs.We look at it as our job to help clubs be sustainable. That only happens through communication, transparency and collaboration.
The pro/rel debate is important for our country and the growth of the game and we believe in the concept, yet it is not as easy an answer as some believe. In order for promotion and relegation to work, we believe that it needs to be regionalized. Our country is immense, so to compare it to the Netherlands, England or Spain is not realistic. When it comes to The League for Clubs, yes, we do intend to have promotion and relegation. In Northern California, we have 13 clubs playing this season with many more clubs interested in joining for 2026. The clubs competing in the NorCal Conference this season are competing to remain in the conference next season. The bottom clubs will drop to NorCal Division 2, which will start in 2026. From there forward, promotion/relegation will be in full effect in Northern California.As with regional league partnerships, pro/rel looks different in all parts of the country. We hope to be able to institute promotion from some regional leagues into TLfC in the future. Our partnerships with regional leagues are the best way to make this happen.
Annual dues - $4500Travel pool - $1000Expansion fee - $4000If clubs play TLfC's fall program in their region, there will be an additional (smaller) fee.
When the founders of TLfC were searching for a template on how to build and grow a successful league, they looked to the Women's Premier Soccer League. The professionalism, best practices and processes of the WPSL were the reasons that TLfC decided to partner with them. While the two leagues are partnered, we are not mirror organizations. We do share many policies, best practices and collaborate at every opportunity, but there is no overlap between TLfC and WPSL staff. Both the WPSL and TLfC have a dedicated staff to handle all issues separately.
