All across the state this past weekend, NorCal’s State Premier Leagues, the competition directly below the National Premier League, kicked off.

While the ECNL-RL and NPL comprise the top level of play in NorCal’s league system, the State Premier ranks just below and offers teams the opportunity to earn promotion into a higher tier of play.

Merit-based competition, which allows teams to move up and down based on their on-field performance, is a core aspect of NorCal’s competition philosophy, and over the years several teams that have stuck together have battled their way up, eventually reaching the pinnacle of youth soccer.

Separated by regions for the fall, the top teams from each separate area will qualify for one of the two State Premier Championship divisions in the spring, with the winner of each division earning promotion into the NPL.

“The State Premier Leagues provide teams with quality of competition and the chance to reach the highest level of the game in NorCal youth soccer through merit,” said U11-U19 NorCal League Coordinator Jason Drury. “Having an open system of play ensures that teams will constantly get quality matchups against similarly skilled opponents.”

Overall, 496 different teams from the U13-U19 age groups will participate in NorCal’s State Premier Leagues this fall.

For more information on the State Premier Leagues, click here. To learn more about NorCal Premier Soccer’s structure for promotion and relegation, click here.