TL;DR: Greater Los Angeles has 19 clubs on ClubScout with confirmed league affiliations, spread across five counties. Inside Los Angeles County there are seven, and they come in two shapes: a full ECNL ladder at LAFC So Cal and LA Breakers FC, or MLS NEXT paired with DPL at ALBION SC Los Angeles and Los Angeles Bulls Soccer Club. Two numbers explain the metro better than any ranking could. DPL is the widest tier here — 10 of the 19 clubs hold a place in it, which is a different structure from Texas or the Southeast. And seven clubs hold an MLS NEXT place, an unusually broad top tier. The thing nobody tells you: the deepest girls market is not in LA County. It is in Orange County. This guide lists facts, not rankings. In a metro this size the right club is mostly a function of which freeway you are on.
Are you a club director in Los Angeles or the surrounding counties? Parents across Greater LA are searching for program information every tryout season, and not one Southern California club in our database publishes a competitive season fee. Claim your free ClubScout profile to verify your details, publish your cost ranges, and respond to parent reviews.
How This Guide Works
We are not ranking these clubs. Greater LA runs about 70 miles from Santa Monica to Riverside, and traffic decides more club choices here than coaching philosophy does. For each club we list what our database confirms — league affiliations, program structure, facilities, leadership — and we say plainly where the data runs thin.
A word on "confirmed." We only state a league affiliation the database carries a record for. Several LA-area clubs describe programs on their own sites that our data does not confirm, and we leave those claims out rather than repeat them. If a club names a league at a tryout that we do not list, ask about it — it may be new, or a tier below what the name suggests.
New to all this? Start with recreational vs. travel soccer, then the age-by-age guide and the glossary. Our guide on how to choose a club has the framework, and the coach evaluation guide has the questions worth asking.
Greater LA Clubs at a Glance
| Club | Area | Confirmed Leagues |
|---|---|---|
| LAFC So Cal | Los Angeles | ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls |
| LA Breakers FC | West LA | ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls |
| ALBION SC Los Angeles | Los Angeles | MLS NEXT, DPL |
| Los Angeles Bulls Soccer Club | Los Angeles | MLS NEXT, DPL |
| Culver City Football Club | Culver City | NPL, DPL |
| ALBION SC Santa Monica | Santa Monica | DPL |
| City SC Central Valley | Antelope Valley (see note) | DPL |
| Eagles SC | Camarillo and Santa Clarita | ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Coast Soccer League |
| Ventura County Fusion | Ventura | MLS NEXT, DPL |
| Strikers FC | Irvine | MLS NEXT, MLS NEXT Academy Division |
| Slammers FC | Huntington Beach | ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls |
| Pateadores | Santa Ana | ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls |
| So Cal Blues | San Clemente | ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, DPL, Pre-ECNL Girls |
| Rangers FC | Fullerton | Girls Academy |
| SoCal Reds FC | Irvine | MLS NEXT, Girls Academy, DPL |
| SoCal Elite FC | Irvine, multi-region | DPL |
| Albion SC Riverside | Riverside | MLS NEXT, NPL, DPL |
| Legends FC | Eastvale | NPL |
| City SC Southwest | Temecula Valley | MLS NEXT, Girls Academy |
Club pages for the two Irvine clubs not linked in that table: SoCal Reds FC, which holds MLS NEXT, Girls Academy, and DPL places, and SoCal Elite FC, which holds a DPL place.
For what these league names mean, read MLS NEXT, ECNL, Girls Academy, DPL, and NPL. For head-to-head comparisons, see MLS NEXT vs ECNL, ECNL vs Girls Academy, DPL vs ECNL, and Girls Academy vs DPL. Everything side by side is in compare all youth soccer leagues.
DPL is the tier that actually describes this metro. Ten of the 19 clubs hold a Development Player League place, and in LA it functions as the broad competitive middle — where a strong player who is not on a national-platform roster still gets organized league play. In Texas that middle is the ECNL Regional League. Here it is DPL. If you moved from another state, recalibrate before you compare clubs.
ECNL RL is a different league from ECNL. Five clubs here hold ECNL RL Boys places and six hold ECNL RL Girls places. When a club talks about "our ECNL program," ask whether your player is being offered a national ECNL team or an ECNL RL team. The travel and the cost are materially different. ECNL RL vs EDP vs NECSL explains where the tier sits.
Inside Los Angeles County
LAFC So Cal
Location: Los Angeles, CA Confirmed leagues: ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls
One of only two clubs inside LA County holding the full ECNL ladder on both sides — national ECNL, ECNL RL below it, Pre-ECNL below that, boys and girls. That is the most complete pathway in the county: a player can move up or down a tier without changing clubs, which matters more than parents expect at U12 and U13. Our data is thin past the affiliations, so confirm training sites, staff, and tryout timing directly. Note also that this is a distinct record from the LAFC first-team academy, which is not an approved listing in our directory.
LA Breakers FC
Location: West Los Angeles, CA (offices at 12100 Wilshire Blvd) Confirmed leagues: ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls
The other full-ladder ECNL club in the county, and the Westside option for families unwilling to commit to an Orange County drive. Beyond the competitive teams it runs a wide slate of supplemental programming — sports performance, goalkeeper training, Friday Night Lights, camps at most school breaks — plus a College Pathway Program. That breadth cuts both ways: useful if your player is a keeper, and also a lot of separately priced add-ons, so ask which are included in the season fee. Tryouts for 2026-27 register online, with no dates or locations published.
ALBION SC Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, CA (St. Pius X–St. Matthias Academy) Confirmed leagues: MLS NEXT, DPL
An MLS NEXT club with a full ladder underneath — ALBION Juniors at the recreational end, then Academy, then the boys teams at U13 through U19. Coaching staff hold US Soccer A, B, or C licenses. Read our coaching licenses guide before you weight that: a license says someone completed a course, not that they can hold the attention of a group of 12-year-olds. Financial assistance is available for qualifying players, which is rare enough here to ask about specifically. Talent ID sessions for boys U11–U19 have run in June and July at St. Pius X–St. Matthias Academy.
Per the club, ALBION SC is a founding member of the MLS NEXT platform and the Elite Academy League, and the network cites 21 national championships and more than $62 million in college scholarships. Those are network-wide figures across many ALBION clubs, not Los Angeles results, and we have not independently confirmed them.
Los Angeles Bulls Soccer Club
Location: Los Angeles, CA Confirmed leagues: MLS NEXT, DPL
The second LA County club pairing MLS NEXT with DPL underneath. Our record confirms the affiliations and little else — no facilities, staff, or tryout detail. Treat the leagues as verified and everything else as a question for the club. On paper the affiliations here are identical to ALBION SC Los Angeles, so the decision comes down to the training site, the coach your kid would actually get, and the drive.
Culver City Football Club
Location: Culver City, CA (5659 Selmaraine Dr, plus futsal at Pulisic Stomping Grounds) Confirmed leagues: NPL, DPL
Founded in 1999, a nonprofit serving ages 6 through 18 across boys and girls programs, and the most complete picture we have of any club inside the county. The staff is unusually credentialed for a club this size: Technical Director Kevin Eagleston holds a UEFA B and USSF C with 10 years as a professional, Director of Coaching and Methodology Patryk Tenorio holds a UEFA A and USSF A, and strategic advisor Todd Saldana was the founding LAFC Academy Director. The club also runs semi-pro men's and women's sides, which is genuinely unusual on the Westside.
Tryouts run December through April, and the club will register players who missed them — a real advantage if you are moving to LA mid-cycle. Its own program list includes tiers our league data carries no record for, so ask which league a specific team plays in before you sign.
ALBION SC Santa Monica
Location: Santa Monica, CA Confirmed leagues: DPL
The Westside entry point in the ALBION network, and the best option in the county for a young beginner: ALBION Juniors is a no-tryout, professionally coached recreational program for boys and girls ages 5 to 9, where registration and wanting to play are the only requirements. Above it sits the competitive pathway, where the confirmed place is DPL. This is also the only club in Greater LA publishing any pricing at all — summer camp at $400 per week or $100 per day, goalkeeper camp at $250 or $75 per day. Those are camp rates, not season fees.
City SC Central Valley
Location: Antelope Valley, CA — see note Confirmed leagues: DPL
Read this one carefully. Our record carries the name "City SC Central Valley" but describes City SC Antelope Valley, a 501(c)(3) non-profit serving Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Rosamond, Lake Los Angeles, Littlerock, and Mojave — northern LA County, not the Central Valley. We are flagging the mismatch rather than papering over it. What we can confirm is the DPL place and the programming shape: all ages and levels, including a City SC Juniors program for young beginners. If you are in the Antelope Valley, this is the record worth checking, and confirm the club's name and league placement with the club itself.
Northern LA County and Ventura County
Eagles SC
Location: Camarillo, CA (7261 Los Coyotes Place) and Santa Clarita, CA Confirmed leagues: ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Coast Soccer League
The most useful club on this page for the northern arc of the metro, because it runs two campuses — Camarillo in Ventura County and Santa Clarita in LA County — and Santa Clarita families otherwise face a long drive to reach anything. Six confirmed places spanning national ECNL Girls, the ECNL RL tier on both sides, Pre-ECNL Boys, and NPL: a wider ladder than anything inside LA County except the two ECNL clubs. Camarillo is the headquarters, and tryouts register online.
Ventura County Fusion
Location: Ventura, CA Confirmed leagues: MLS NEXT, DPL
An MLS NEXT place with DPL underneath, and the northernmost top-tier option in the region. Our data confirms the affiliations but carries no facility, staff, or fee detail. For Oxnard, Ventura, and Ojai families this is the nearest MLS NEXT program by a wide margin. For anyone inside the basin it is a long run up the 101 at exactly the wrong time of day.
Orange County: Within an Hour, and Where the Depth Is
Six of the region's deepest clubs sit in Orange County, 35 to 55 miles from downtown LA depending on where you start. For a Westside or South Bay family that is a real option on a good day and an unsustainable one on a bad one. Drive it at 5:30 PM on a weekday before you talk yourself into it. But if your daughter is chasing a national-platform roster, this is where the market is.
Strikers FC
Location: Irvine, CA Confirmed leagues: MLS NEXT, MLS NEXT Academy Division
The only club in Greater LA holding an MLS NEXT Academy Division place alongside its MLS NEXT place, which makes it the deepest confirmed boys pathway in the region. Over 40 years of history in Orange County, programming from U5 through U19, and staff tenure that is genuinely unusual: Technical Director Don Ebert (USSF A) since 1989, Director of Coaching Roy Chingirian (USSF A) since 2008, and MLS NEXT Director Willie Diaz (USSF A) since 2019. Nine alumni have played for the USMNT, including Chad Marshall, Jonathan Bornstein, and Matthew Hoppe. Tryouts for 2026-27 are open by request through the club site. Watch the calendar: per the club, MLS NEXT teams begin in July while Pre-MLS and flight teams begin in March or April.
Slammers FC
Location: Huntington Beach, CA Confirmed leagues: ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls
Founded in 1994, and one of only three clubs in this guide holding the complete seven-place ECNL ladder on both sides. Its college placement record spans Stanford and UCLA down to regional programs, and it runs a "Share the Dream" financial support program — worth asking about, given that nobody here publishes fees. Per the club, it holds 22 national championships and six ECNL overall club championships and maintains a partnership with the Danish club HB Køge. Ask what that partnership means for an actual 14-year-old before you weight it.
Pateadores
Location: Santa Ana, CA Confirmed leagues: ECNL Boys, ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Boys, ECNL RL Girls, Pre-ECNL Boys, Pre-ECNL Girls
A six-place ECNL ladder covering both sides at all three tiers, and the only club in this guide whose confirmed affiliations are exclusively ECNL-family. Our data is thin past the affiliations — no facilities, leadership, or tryout detail — so treat the leagues as verified and go ask about everything else.
So Cal Blues
Location: San Clemente, CA Confirmed leagues: ECNL Girls, ECNL RL Girls, NPL, DPL, Pre-ECNL Girls
A girls-side club with the full three-tier ECNL ladder — national ECNL, ECNL RL, Pre-ECNL — plus NPL and DPL. If your daughter is aiming at a national ECNL roster and you will drive south, this is one of six clubs in the region holding that place. San Clemente is the far southern end of the metro, which makes it natural for south Orange County families and a genuine commitment for anyone else. Our record's prose describes boys teams while the league data carries only girls-side places; we go with the league data, and you should confirm the boys situation with the club.
Rangers FC
Location: Fullerton, CA Confirmed leagues: Girls Academy
One of three clubs in this guide holding a Girls Academy place. Programming spans birth years 2011 through 2018 across competitive and recreational tiers, with separate tryout request forms per program. The club's own site lists additional tiers our league data carries no record for, so ask which league a specific team plays in. Note also that the tryout deadline published on its site reads May 24, 2025, which is stale — check current dates directly.
SoCal Reds FC
Location: Irvine, CA (12 Mauchly, Suite P) Confirmed leagues: MLS NEXT, Girls Academy, DPL
The rare club holding a top-tier place on both sides at once: MLS NEXT for boys and Girls Academy for girls, with DPL as the tier beneath. The ladder starts early — Mini Reds, Junior Reds, then a Pre Club Academy, then the competitive teams — so a family can enter at five and never change organizations. Technical Director James Curry leads the staff. Per the club, it holds four national championships and has had players invited into professional academies including the LA Galaxy. For the pathway question this club poses directly, read ECNL vs Girls Academy and Girls Academy vs DPL.
SoCal Elite FC
Location: Irvine, CA, training at Pomona Fairplex, more than a dozen regions Confirmed leagues: DPL
The widest geographic footprint of any club here. Regions include Chino Valley, Costa Mesa, the Inland Empire, LA County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Coachella, the High Desert, and Las Vegas, with UPSL and a national select program alongside the confirmed DPL place. For families outside the dense coastal corridor that structure is the point — it may put an organized team within a reasonable drive where nothing else does. The trade is that a club this distributed varies by site, so evaluate the region and the coach, not the brand.
The Inland Empire
Albion SC Riverside
Location: Riverside, CA Confirmed leagues: MLS NEXT, NPL, DPL
Three confirmed places including MLS NEXT, plus programming from ALBION Juniors up through the academy tier and a futsal program. The club has a dedicated College Placement Director for both the boys and girls programs — a real service, and not a common one. See our college recruiting guide for what to expect from it. Tryouts are referenced on the homepage with a registration link but no dates, so contact the club directly.
Legends FC
Location: Eastvale, CA Confirmed leagues: NPL
Also known as JS Academy FC, founded under Javier Saavedra, who is still Founder and Director of Coaching. Program tiers run Micro-Academy, Academy, Select, Premier, and UPSL, serving birth years 2006 through 2015, with rolling ID Events rather than a single tryout window. Our confirmed league record is NPL only; the club's own materials reference programs our data does not carry, so ask which league a specific team plays in before you commit.
Just Outside the Metro
City SC Southwest (Temecula) holds MLS NEXT and Girls Academy places — a top-tier place on both sides, which only two other clubs in this guide manage. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit formed from the merger of Murrieta Soccer Academy and City SC Temecula, serving Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, and Menifee from Los Alamos Sports Park. It also publishes two of the only real fee figures in Southern California: the Little Cityzens introductory program for ages 3 to 10 runs $59 per month with a $5 sibling discount, and need-based financial assistance is available for the Girls Academy and MLS NEXT programs. Temecula is roughly 85 miles southeast of downtown LA — a genuine option for far-southeast and Inland Empire families, a non-starter for everyone else.
What Club Soccer Costs in Los Angeles
Not one club in this guide publishes a competitive season fee. That is not a gap in our research; we checked every California record in the database. Two clubs publish program pricing that is not a season fee: ALBION SC Santa Monica lists camps at $400 per week, and City SC Southwest lists its introductory program at $59 per month. Everything below is modeled from comparable programs nationally, not scraped from LA club sites.
| Level | Estimated Annual Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-ECNL (U9–U12) | $1,800–$3,200 | The paid feeder tier; five clubs here hold a Pre-ECNL Boys place |
| DPL | $2,500–$4,500 | The broad middle in LA; 10 of 19 clubs |
| NPL | $2,500–$4,500 | Regional competitive play; eight clubs |
| ECNL RL | $3,000–$5,000 | The conference tier below national ECNL |
| Girls Academy / ECNL | $5,000–$9,000+ | National showcases, year-round commitment |
| MLS NEXT | $5,000–$10,000+ | Full national program, travel-heavy |
These are all-in figures — kit at $150 to $400 in year one, tournament entries, family travel — not dues alone. Three LA-specific things to budget for:
Gas and time are the real line item. A 20-mile club in LA is not a 20-minute club. Three practices a week at 45 minutes each way is roughly six hours in the car weekly, plus fuel, for three or four years. Price that before you compare two clubs' fees.
Add-ons are unbundled here. Several clubs run goalkeeper academies, sports performance programs, and camps at every school break as separately priced products. Ask for the all-in annual number in writing, and ask what is excluded.
Year-round weather cuts both ways. You will not pay for an indoor winter facility the way a New England family does, which is a genuine saving. It also means there is no offseason, so the commitment runs 12 months. Our budget guide and travel soccer cost breakdown have the component math, and if you have more than one player, read club soccer with multiple kids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Los Angeles club is best for boys players?
We cannot rank them, and any guide that does is overstating what the data supports. What the data says: seven clubs in Greater LA hold an MLS NEXT place, and inside LA County those are ALBION SC Los Angeles and Los Angeles Bulls Soccer Club. Strikers FC in Irvine is the only one that also holds an MLS NEXT Academy Division place. Four clubs hold an ECNL Boys place: LAFC So Cal, LA Breakers FC, Slammers FC, and Pateadores. Go watch a training session before you decide anything — the framework is in how to choose a club.
Which Los Angeles club is best for girls players?
Three clubs hold a Girls Academy place: Rangers FC, City SC Southwest, and SoCal Reds FC in Irvine. Six hold an ECNL Girls place: LAFC So Cal, LA Breakers FC, Slammers FC, Pateadores, So Cal Blues, and Eagles SC. Notice the geography: four of those nine sit in Orange County and one in Ventura County, while LA County proper has two, both ECNL. If your daughter is chasing a national-platform roster, the drive is part of the decision. Start with our girls club soccer guide and ECNL vs Girls Academy.
Why do so many LA clubs play in DPL?
Because DPL is the competitive middle in Southern California the way the ECNL Regional League is in Texas. Ten of the 19 clubs here hold a place in it, either on its own or beneath a national-platform team. It is not a lesser version of ECNL; it is a different league with its own structure, and for most families it is the realistic tier. Read what is DPL and DPL vs ECNL before you treat one as a consolation prize for the other.
When should my child start competitive club soccer in Los Angeles?
Several clubs start young. ALBION SC Santa Monica runs a no-tryout Juniors program for ages 5 to 9, and Strikers FC runs programming from U5 upward. The formal paid feeder tier is Pre-ECNL, covering roughly U9 through U12; five clubs in this guide hold a Pre-ECNL Boys place and five hold a Pre-ECNL Girls place. A nine-year-old entering a paying pathway is normal here, and it is not a verdict on your kid either way. See the age-by-age guide.
When do LA clubs hold tryouts?
Earlier and more spread out than in most states. Culver City Football Club runs tryouts December through April and will register players who missed them. ALBION SC Los Angeles has run talent ID sessions in June and July. Strikers FC takes tryout requests year-round, with MLS NEXT teams starting in July and flight teams in March or April. Legends FC uses rolling ID Events rather than a window. Check each club's site, and be aware that at least one club in this guide still displays a 2025 deadline. Our tryout preparation guide covers what to bring.
How much does the commute really matter in LA?
More than any other factor on this page, and more than in almost any metro we cover. The clubs are not evenly distributed: the ECNL and Girls Academy depth sits in Orange County, the MLS NEXT places are scattered across five counties, and LA County proper has seven approved records for a county of nearly 10 million people. Two clubs are built around that problem. Eagles SC runs campuses in Camarillo and Santa Clarita. SoCal Elite FC runs more than a dozen regions, from Chino Valley to the High Desert. Before you commit, drive the route at practice time on a weekday. Parents consistently tell us the commute, not the coaching, is what ends a club relationship.
Why are only seven clubs listed inside LA County?
Because we only publish records we can stand behind. Our directory holds additional Los Angeles-area organizations whose records are still pending review, and we do not link to a club page a reader cannot open. Greater LA has more clubs than the 19 confirmed here, and some of the names you will hear at the sideline are in that pending set. If your club is missing or wrong, a director can claim the profile and fix it.
What if none of these clubs are the right fit?
LA is a deep market once you widen past the county line, and the five-county spread above is the honest picture of where the programs are. If you are weighing a move from a club you are already in, read when to switch clubs first — the answer is more often "stay one more season" than parents expect. If your player is a high schooler balancing both, club soccer and high school covers the conflict.
What to Do Next
- Work out which tier you are actually being offered. National ECNL, ECNL RL, DPL, and NPL are four different leagues with four different budgets, and clubs here hold places in several at once. Ask which team, in which league, before you plan anything else.
- Match the club to your side of the metro. Westside: LA Breakers FC, ALBION SC Santa Monica, Culver City Football Club. Central LA: LAFC So Cal, ALBION SC Los Angeles, Los Angeles Bulls Soccer Club. Santa Clarita and Ventura: Eagles SC, Ventura County Fusion. Antelope Valley: City SC Central Valley. Orange County: Strikers FC, Slammers FC, Pateadores, Rangers FC, So Cal Blues. Also in Irvine: SoCal Reds FC and SoCal Elite FC, both covered above. Inland Empire: Albion SC Riverside, Legends FC.
- Ask to join a session, not just watch one. Many clubs will let a player train with a team on a trial basis if you ask. A session your kid actually plays in tells you more than any website, and it is the most useful thing you can do before tryouts.
- Get the all-in annual number in writing. No club in Greater LA publishes a season fee. Ask what is excluded — kit, tournament entries, goalkeeper training, summer programming, showcase travel — and ask whether financial assistance exists. Three clubs in this guide confirm that it does.
- Drive the route at 5:30 PM on a Tuesday. Not on a Sunday morning. This is the step families skip and regret.
More Resources
- How to Choose a Club Soccer Club
- How to Evaluate a Youth Soccer Coach
- What Is MLS NEXT?
- What Is DPL?
- ECNL vs Girls Academy: Which Path Is Right for Your Daughter?
- ECNL RL vs EDP vs NECSL: The Tier Below the National Leagues
- Compare All Youth Soccer Leagues Side by Side
- Club Soccer on a Budget: Under $3K/Year
- Club Soccer Age-by-Age Guide: U8 Through U18
- Girls Club Soccer: A Parent's Guide
- College Soccer Recruiting Guide
- Youth Soccer Glossary