TL;DR: Florida has 67 clubs on ClubScout, every one of them with a confirmed league affiliation, and 32 compete in a top-tier national league (MLS NEXT, ECNL Boys, or Girls Academy). That's the deepest single-state coverage in our database. Two of those clubs are MLS academies that cost families nothing: Inter Miami CF fully funds six age groups U12 through U17, and Orlando City SC runs its academy at no cost to accepted players. Below that, South Florida holds 32 of the state's 67 clubs, and Weston FC (MLS NEXT, NAL, DPL, EDP) and FC Prime (ECNL Boys, 1,000+ players across Broward and Miami) are the anchors. Florida Premier FC is the largest club in the state by membership: 10,000+ members, 420+ competitive teams on the Gulf Coast. Florida Kraze Krush anchors Central Florida with 1,650+ players and 400+ college commitments. Costs run from about $1,050 a year at the competitive level to $7,000+ at the MLS NEXT tier, with two notable exceptions at $0. Five distinct regions, and 650 miles between the ends of them.
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Florida Club Soccer at a Glance
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Total clubs on ClubScout | 67 |
| Clubs with confirmed league affiliations | 67 |
| Top-tier clubs | 32 (MLS NEXT, ECNL Boys, and/or Girls Academy) |
| Leagues active | MLS NEXT, ECNL Boys, Girls Academy, NAL, DPL, EDP, NPL, US Youth Soccer |
| MLS NEXT clubs | 19 |
| ECNL Boys clubs | 12 |
| Girls Academy clubs | 5 |
| NAL clubs | 25 (the most common league in the state) |
| EDP clubs | 17 |
| DPL clubs | 11 |
| Fully funded (free) academies | 2 (Inter Miami CF, Orlando City SC) |
| Annual cost range | ~$1,050 (competitive) to $7,000+ (MLS NEXT/ECNL), plus two at $0 |
| Tryout season | April through July (MLS NEXT and ECNL clubs start as early as April) |
| Primary regions | South Florida, Central Florida, Tampa Bay/Southwest, North Florida, Panhandle |
| State association | Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA), US Youth Soccer affiliate |
For context on total costs beyond registration fees, see our travel soccer cost guide and soccer on a budget guide.
What Makes Florida Different
Florida is the largest state in ClubScout's database by club count, and it does not work like the Northeast. Five things define it.
Two MLS academies, both free. This is the headline. Inter Miami CF launched its academy in 2019 and fully funds six age groups from U12 through U17, training at the Inter Miami Training Center alongside the professional teams. Orlando City SC runs a no-cost academy under Academy Director Jose Campos and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira, with an explicit stance that participation should not depend on a family's ability to pay. Most states have one MLS academy or none. Florida has two, and for the small number of players who get in, the annual cost of top-tier soccer drops from $6,000 to zero. Rosters are tiny and entry is by scouting, not open tryout, so treat this as a possibility rather than a plan.
NAL is the backbone, not EDP or a state league. In New Jersey, EDP is the default competitive league with 116 clubs. In Florida, the National Academy League is the most common affiliation in our data: 25 of 67 clubs. EDP has expanded south and now covers 17 Florida clubs, but it is one option among several rather than the organizing structure. Below the national leagues, clubs also compete in FYSA state competition and regional structures that show up repeatedly in club data: the Florida Academy League, the Central Florida Premier League, the West Florida Premier League, and sub-associations including SFUYSA, SFYSA, and FLUGSA. If a Florida club's website mentions three leagues you have never heard of, that is normal here.
International club brands are everywhere. Barcelona, Atletico de Madrid, Juventus, Sevilla, and PSG all have named youth programs in Florida, plus residential and preparatory academies including IMG Academy in Bradenton, FC Florida in Davie (a preparatory academy with an academic partnership at The Pine School), Schulz Academy, and DME Academy in Daytona Beach. This category barely exists in the Northeast. It matters for two reasons. First, a European club's name on the crest tells you about a licensing agreement, not necessarily about coaching quality or league level. Second, the residential and prep academies serve a different family than a community club does. If you are looking for a local team your kid trains with twice a week after school, a residential academy is not that, no matter how good the badge looks.
There is no indoor season, and that changes the budget. In Massachusetts or New Hampshire, indoor training from November through March is a real line item, anywhere from $0 to $800 depending on whether the club includes it. Florida clubs train outdoors year-round, so that cost disappears. The tradeoff runs the other direction in summer: heat pushes sessions to early morning or evening, and some clubs pause or shift to camps in July and August. When you compare a Florida club's fee against a Northeast number, you are not comparing the same 12 months.
The state is 650 miles long and the markets do not overlap. Pensacola to Miami is farther than Boston to Richmond. West Florida Flames in Pensacola is the only club in our Panhandle data, and it holds five league affiliations because it has to serve everything in the region by itself. Panhandle families are closer to Mobile and Atlanta than to Orlando. Jacksonville is 350 miles from Miami. Orlando is 235 miles from Miami. These are four or five separate soccer markets that happen to share a state association, not one connected region the way eastern Massachusetts or coastal Connecticut are.
Leagues Active in Florida
Ordered from the most competitive tier down.
Top-Tier National Leagues
MLS NEXT — Nineteen Florida clubs hold MLS NEXT membership, the most of any state in ClubScout's data. In South Florida: Inter Miami CF, Weston FC, Plantation FC Rush, Miami Futbol Academy Rush, Athletum FC Academy, IdeaSport Soccer Academy, Sol SC Florida, and South Florida Football Academy. In Central Florida: Orlando City SC, Orlando City Youth SC, Orlando City Soccer School South, Chargers Soccer Club, IdeaSport SA, and Nona Soccer Academy. Elsewhere: Tampa Bay United, IMG Academy, United Soccer Alliance and Jacksonville FC in the northeast corner, and West Florida Flames in Pensacola. MLS NEXT is primarily the top boys pathway. For how it compares, see MLS NEXT vs ECNL and MLS NEXT vs EDP.
ECNL Boys — Nine Florida clubs compete in ECNL Boys, among them: FC Prime (Sunrise), Miramar United Elite FC (Miramar), Florida Kraze Krush (Winter Springs), Orlando City YS (Orlando), Florida Premier FC (New Port Richey), Florida West FC (Fort Myers), Florida Elite SA (St. Johns), Jacksonville FC (Jacksonville), plus CESA Liberty and United Futbol Academy, whose Florida locations are pending confirmation in our data. Several of these clubs also field ECNL Regional League teams, which is the tier below ECNL proper and a realistic target for more players. See DPL vs ECNL and ECNL-RL vs EDP vs NECSL.
Girls Academy — Five Florida clubs compete in Girls Academy: Pinecrest Premier (Pinecrest), Florida United (Miramar), Palm Beach United (Palm Beach Gardens), IMG Academy (Bradenton), and West Florida Flames (Pensacola). This is the one place Florida is thinner than you would expect from its size. Five Girls Academy clubs across 67 total is meaningfully less coverage than boys get from 19 MLS NEXT and 12 ECNL Boys clubs, and four of the five sit in South Florida or on the Gulf. Girls in Central Florida and Jacksonville looking for the Girls Academy tier specifically will be traveling. The practical alternative is ECNL Girls, which several Florida clubs run even where our confirmed data records ECNL Boys: FC Prime, Florida Premier FC, and Florida Elite SA all list dedicated ECNL Girls programs and directors. Ask about the girls side directly rather than assuming from a league badge. See ECNL vs Girls Academy and Girls Academy vs DPL.
Regional and Tier-2 Leagues
DPL (Development Player League) — Eleven Florida clubs: Weston FC, Florida Celtic, FC Sarasota, FC Sarasota Inc, Naples United FC, Palm Beach Kicks, Florida Prime Soccer, IdeaSport Soccer Academy, Orlando City Soccer School Lake Nona, Clay County SC United Soccer Alliance, and West Florida Flames. DPL is a strong girls option a tier below Girls Academy, and given how thin Girls Academy coverage is here, it is worth a hard look. Florida Celtic runs Girls U13-U19 DPL ID clinics in April at its Largo complex.
NAL (National Academy League) — Twenty-five clubs, the most common affiliation in Florida. It functions as the broad competitive middle here: structured multi-state competition without full national-showcase travel. NAL clubs span every region, from Key Biscayne Soccer Club (founded 1971, ages 3-18) to Kings Hammer Swan City and OC Seminole in Sanford, Azzurri Storm Soccer Club, Miami Breakers, Southern Homestead Academy, and Athletum FC, which describes itself as the largest academy in South Florida with 1,500+ kids.
EDP Soccer — Seventeen Florida clubs, mostly in Miami-Dade and Broward. The international-brand programs cluster here: Barca Academy Orlando, BARCA Academy Pro Miami, Atletico de Madrid Academia Miami, Juventus Academy Miami, Sevilla FC Academy Florida, and Ives Estates PSG. Also Weston Select Soccer Club, Schulz Academy, AC Delray, Elite Academy Jupiter, Academia Doral Soccer Club, Key Biscayne SC, South Orlando Soccer Club, and Florida Legends FC, founded by former professional Tony Taylor and training at Fort Family Regional Park in Jacksonville.
NPL (National Premier Leagues) — Five Florida clubs: Nona Soccer Academy, Florida Celtic, Doral Soccer Club, Cape Coral SA, and West Florida Flames.
FYSA state competition — Every Florida club sits under the Florida Youth Soccer Association. FYSA State Championships and the Commissioner's Cup are the state-level competitions, and they are where most travel players actually spend their season. Team Boca has won 34 FYSA State Championships alongside 3 US Youth Soccer National Championships, which tells you FYSA play is not a consolation tier.
Geographic Regions
South Florida (32 clubs)
Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties: Miami, Doral, Hialeah, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Homestead, Miramar, Weston, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Jupiter, and Palm Beach Gardens. Just under half the state's clubs are here.
Key characteristics:
- 32 of Florida's 67 ClubScout clubs, 13 of them top-tier
- The densest concentration of international-brand academies in the country
- Traffic on I-95 and the Palmetto is the real constraint. Map your drive at 6:00 PM on a Tuesday before you commit to anything.
- Multiple clubs operate across several parks rather than one home complex, so "where is practice" can have four answers
Top-tier clubs in this region:
Weston FC (Weston) — MLS NEXT, NAL, DPL, EDP. A 501(c)(3) founded in 1998 that grew from 100 players to roughly 1,000 aged 7-19, drawing from across South Florida. Four confirmed league affiliations means genuine internal tiering: a kid can move up or down without changing organizations. Trains at Vista Park and Weston Regional Park. Leadership includes founder and President Steve Ziegler, and VP/Treasurer Stefan Tesoriero, who holds an MS in Sports Business from NYU. Weston hosts the Weston Cup, which the club describes as one of the largest tournaments in the country at 1,100+ teams. Financial aid averages about 20% of total fees for qualifying families, which is one of the few concrete aid figures any Florida club publishes.
FC Prime (Sunrise) — ECNL Boys, and it runs ECNL Girls and ECNL Regional League programs as well. Formed by merging FC Prime, Sunrise SC, and Coral Springs United; now 1,000+ players across Broward, Miami, and Miramar. The staff is split by program rather than stretched across everything: Lionel Brown (Boys ECNL Director), Garvin Quamina (Girls ECNL Director), Andres Camacho (Girls Director), John Buraty (Girls Youth Director), Juan Henao (Boys Youth Director), Aaron Ingham (Goalkeeper Director). The club claims the most college commitments in Florida over the last five years, 100+ ahead of the next South Florida club. Tryouts run April and May at Mullins Park, Sunrise Sportsplex, and Tamarac Sports Complex, with separate Broward and Miami sessions.
Inter Miami CF (Miami) — MLS NEXT, NAL. The professional club's academy, launched 2019, fully funding six age groups U12 through U17 at the Inter Miami Training Center. Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson oversees soccer operations. Entry is by scouting, not open tryout.
Plantation FC Rush (Plantation) — MLS NEXT, NAL, EDP. Established 1985, approaching 40 years, part of the national Rush organization. Full ladder from Future Stars Juniors (ages 4-6) through Elite Development Program (U9-U12), Florida Academy League (U13-U19), and NAL, plus competitive futsal and a TOPSoccer program for players with disabilities. Home at 320 S Pine Island Rd. Open tryouts for 2026-27 begin May 4.
Pinecrest Premier (Pinecrest) — Girls Academy, NAL. Girls Academy plus girls competitive U8-U19, boys competitive U9-U19, rec, and a Future Stars program for younger players. Trains across six sites including Flagler Grove Park, Evelyn Greer Park, Palmer Trinity School, and Riviera Prep. One of only five Girls Academy clubs in the state.
Miami Futbol Academy Rush (Miami) — MLS NEXT, NAL. Rush affiliate with an MLS NEXT ID session pathway and a Rush College Advisory Program. Registration for 2026-27 is open.
Team Boca (Boca Raton) — ECNL Girls, and also runs ECNL Regional League and Pre-ECNL teams. The travel arm of the Soccer Association of Boca Raton, a 501(c)(3) serving the area since 1977. 3 US Youth Soccer National Championships, 9 Southern Regional Championships, 34 FYSA State Championships, 1 ECNL RL National Championship. Tryout information at teamboca.com/tryouts.
Also top-tier here: Miramar United Elite FC (ECNL Boys), Florida United (Girls Academy, Miramar), Palm Beach United (Girls Academy), Athletum FC Academy (MLS NEXT), IdeaSport Soccer Academy (MLS NEXT, DPL), Sol SC Florida (MLS NEXT), and South Florida Football Academy (MLS NEXT, NAL).
Strongest non-top-tier option: Doral Soccer Club (Doral) — NPL. A non-profit founded in 2005 at 5300 NW 102 Ave with rec through Academy, Competitive, ECNL Regional League, and Elite teams. It is also the one Florida club in our data publishing a complete fee: $1,050 covering monthly fees September through May, FYSA registration, coach registration, insurance, league fees, referee fees, and administration. That is a real number with a real inclusion list, which is rarer than it should be.
Central Florida (18 clubs)
Orlando, Lake Nona, Kissimmee, Sanford, Winter Springs, and Daytona Beach.
Key characteristics:
- 18 clubs, 8 of them top-tier, heavily weighted toward MLS NEXT
- Orlando City's youth structure appears under several entries reflecting different program arms and locations
- No Girls Academy club in the region. Girls at that tier are looking at DPL locally or traveling south.
Top-tier clubs in this region:
Florida Kraze Krush (Winter Springs) — ECNL Boys, plus ECNL Regional League, Pre-ECNL, and Central Florida Premier League teams. A professionally managed 501(c)(3) with 1,650+ competitive players across 68 teams, 600+ more in recreational and developmental programs, and 400+ college commitments. The program ladder is unusually explicit, from Minis (ages 2-3) and First Touch through Developmental, PreSelect, Junior Select (PreECNL and PreECNL-RL), and Senior Select. Home fields at Central Winds Park and Freekick Orlando. Financial assistance and sibling discounts available. 2026-27 tryouts May 1-4. For Seminole and Orange County families, this is the most complete single organization in the region.
Nona Soccer Academy (Lake Nona) — MLS NEXT, NAL, EDP, NPL. Family-owned, founded by Fabio Silva, a former UCF player with junior experience at Corinthians, Santos, and Atletico Paranaense and a master's in sports management. Four league affiliations covering rec through MLS NEXT, with a stated "No Politics. No Promises. Just Performance." philosophy. Home at Heroes Community Park and Austin Tindall Sports Complex. 2026-27 tryouts May 1-3 for boys U8-U19 at Austin Tindall and May 4 for girls U8-U15 at Heroes, with MLS NEXT Talent ID sessions April 6, 13, and 20. Note the earlier MLS NEXT ID dates: that is the April tryout window in practice.
Orlando City SC (Orlando) — MLS NEXT, NAL. The MLS academy, free to accepted players, with a Pre-formation and Formation structure below the MLS NEXT Academy team. Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira, Academy Director Jose Campos, Player Development Lead Matthew Brewer.
Also top-tier here: Orlando City Youth SC (MLS NEXT), Orlando City Soccer School South (MLS NEXT), Orlando City YS (ECNL Boys), Chargers Soccer Club (MLS NEXT, NAL), and IdeaSport SA (MLS NEXT).
Other options: Schulz Academy (EDP) runs a residency and home-school program with Director of Coaching Roland Kollmann, and its facilities are in Boca Raton despite the Orlando listing, so confirm location before you plan a commute. South Orlando Soccer Club (EDP), Barca Academy Orlando (EDP), Florida Prime Soccer (DPL), Kings Hammer Swan City and OC Seminole (NAL, both Sanford), and Orlando City Soccer School Lake Nona (DPL) fill out the region.
Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida (9 clubs)
Tampa, Largo, Palm Harbor, New Port Richey and Odessa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples. Fewer clubs than South or Central Florida, but two of the largest organizations in the state.
Top clubs in this region:
Florida Premier FC (New Port Richey, main facility in Odessa) — ECNL Boys and ECNL Girls. Founded 1979. This is the biggest club in our Florida data by membership: 10,000+ members, 420+ competitive teams, 500+ college commitments, 20+ locations, programs for ages 1.5 through 19 including rec, Futures, futsal, HappyFeet, TOPSoccer, and UPSL. CEO Novi Maric. Tryouts for 2026-27 begin May 1, with one-on-one evaluations, free tryout clinics, and ECNL ID clinics available beforehand. At that scale, ask a specific question at tryouts: which of the 20+ locations will your kid actually train at, and how many teams share that field at the same time.
Tampa Bay United (Tampa) — MLS NEXT, ECNL Girls, NAL, and US Youth Soccer. Confirmed in MLS NEXT for the boys and the ECNL girls pathway, plus a rec program and camps. Four affiliations across the competitive spectrum in the Tampa market.
Florida West FC (Fort Myers) — ECNL Boys. Formed by consolidating several Southwest Florida clubs. The coaching credentials here are the deepest in the region: President and CEO Robert Peltram holds a UEFA A License and an NSCAA Director of Coaching Diploma and coached at FC Bayern Munich; COO Patrik Peltram holds UEFA A, B, and C Licenses and also coached at Bayern; Director of Coaching Danny Fahey holds a UEFA B; Mike Stojsavljevic holds USSF A and B Licenses plus NSCAA National and Advanced National Diplomas; College Liaison Prince Nartey holds a USSF B. 20+ licensed staff. Worth repeating what we say everywhere: a higher license does not automatically mean a better coach for your kid. It does tell you the club invests in staff education. Main office and training facility at 19451 S Tamiami Trl, with a Cape Coral campus under Director Davy Hendriks.
IMG Academy (Bradenton) — MLS NEXT, Girls Academy, NAL. A residential athletic academy, not a community club. Our enrichment data for IMG is incomplete, so verify programs and cost directly. This is a boarding-school model with boarding-school pricing, and it serves a fundamentally different family than a local club does.
Other options: Florida Celtic (Largo) — DPL, NPL. Founded 1979 as Belleair Youth Soccer, a 501(c)(3) serving Pinellas County from four campuses (Belleair, Largo East, Largo West, Palm Harbor) with one of the largest rec programs in Tampa Bay and financial aid available. Girls U13-U19 DPL ID clinics April 2, 9, 16, and 30 at SJWAA Soccer Complex; boys U13-U19 ECNL RL ID clinics April 6, 19, and 26 in Largo. Also FC Sarasota (DPL, plus WFPL/NPL and a Girls GA Aspire program, financial aid available), Naples United FC (DPL), and Cape Coral SA (NPL).
North Florida (4 clubs)
Jacksonville, St. Johns, Clay County, and the Palm Coast corridor.
Florida Elite SA (St. Johns) — ECNL Boys, and also runs ECNL Girls. Also operating as Sporting Jax Soccer Academy, formed in 2014 from a merger of two organizations. Programs run from ages 2.5 to 19 across Jacksonville/St Johns, Oakleaf, Palm Coast, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and West Florida, including a USL Academy program, goalkeeper academy, home-school and after-school programs, TOPSoccer, and Special Olympics Unified Sports. Directors are split by program: Academy Director Levo Guler, ECNL Boys Director Jonathan Palmer, ECNL Girls Director Lewis Amos, plus Gerson Penza (U11-U19) and Kate Bowles (Oakleaf). Competitive tryouts for ages 9-19 and U8 Bridge Team tryouts, with pre-tryout ID clinics at every level.
United Soccer Alliance (Jacksonville) — MLS NEXT, NAL. Jacksonville FC (Jacksonville) — MLS NEXT, ECNL Girls. Clay County SC United Soccer Alliance (Jacksonville) — DPL. Florida Legends FC is listed without a confirmed city but trains at Fort Family Regional Park in Jacksonville, serving ages 6-14 in EDP.
Four clubs for a metro of 1.7 million is thin coverage compared to South Florida, and it is the region where our data most likely understates what exists. If you know a Jacksonville club that should be here, tell us.
Panhandle (1 club)
West Florida Flames (Pensacola) — MLS NEXT, Girls Academy, DPL, NAL, NPL. Five league affiliations, the most of any Florida club, because it is the only top-tier option for hundreds of miles. Pensacola families should also look west toward Mobile and north toward Alabama clubs; the geography makes more sense than driving to Tallahassee or Orlando.
Top-Tier Clubs at a Glance
These 32 clubs hold membership in at least one of the three top national leagues.
| Club | City | Leagues | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Florida Flames | Pensacola | MLS NEXT, Girls Academy, DPL, NAL, NPL | View profile |
| Weston FC | Weston | MLS NEXT, DPL, NAL, EDP | View profile |
| Nona Soccer Academy | Lake Nona | MLS NEXT, NAL, EDP, NPL | View profile |
| Tampa Bay United | Tampa | MLS NEXT, ECNL Girls, NAL, USYS | View profile |
| IMG Academy | Bradenton | MLS NEXT, Girls Academy, NAL | View profile |
| Plantation FC Rush | Plantation | MLS NEXT, NAL, EDP | View profile |
| Inter Miami CF | Miami | MLS NEXT, NAL | View profile |
| Orlando City SC | Orlando | MLS NEXT, NAL | View profile |
| Miami Futbol Academy Rush | Miami | MLS NEXT, NAL | View profile |
| Chargers Soccer Club | Orlando | MLS NEXT, NAL | View profile |
| South Florida Football Academy | South Florida | MLS NEXT, NAL | View profile |
| United Soccer Alliance | Jacksonville | MLS NEXT, NAL | View profile |
| Jacksonville FC | Jacksonville | MLS NEXT, ECNL Girls | View profile |
| IdeaSport Soccer Academy | Miami | MLS NEXT, DPL | View profile |
| Athletum FC Academy | Miami | MLS NEXT | View profile |
| Sol SC Florida | Miami | MLS NEXT | View profile |
| Orlando City Youth SC | Orlando | MLS NEXT | View profile |
| Orlando City Soccer School South | Orlando | MLS NEXT | View profile |
| IdeaSport SA | Orlando | MLS NEXT | View profile |
| Pinecrest Premier | Pinecrest | Girls Academy, NAL | View profile |
| Florida United | Miramar | Girls Academy | View profile |
| Palm Beach United | Palm Beach Gardens | Girls Academy | View profile |
| FC Prime | Sunrise | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| Team Boca | Boca Raton | ECNL Girls | View profile |
| Miramar United Elite FC | Miramar | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| Florida Kraze Krush | Winter Springs | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| Orlando City YS | Orlando | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| Florida Premier FC | New Port Richey | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| Florida West FC | Fort Myers | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| Florida Elite SA | St. Johns | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| CESA Liberty | Florida | ECNL Boys | View profile |
| United Futbol Academy | Florida | ECNL Boys | View profile |
What to expect at top-tier clubs: MLS NEXT, ECNL Boys, and Girls Academy programs compete in national showcases, travel beyond the state for league play, and run year-round. Annual costs at this level typically run $3,500 to $7,000+ before tournament fees, uniform kits, and family travel. Rosters are selective. Tryouts can begin as early as April, and in Florida the MLS NEXT ID sessions genuinely do start then: Nona Soccer Academy ran theirs April 6, 13, and 20. For what commitment looks like by age, see our age-by-age guide and tryout preparation guide.
A Note on Florida Data Quality
We would rather tell you this than have you find it yourself.
Florida is one of the newest states in ClubScout's coverage, and our enrichment pass has gaps. Three specific things to know:
Some organizations appear more than once. Orlando City's youth structure shows up under several entries reflecting different program arms and locations. IdeaSport appears three times (IdeaSport, IdeaSport SA, IdeaSport Soccer Academy), and Athletum, Florida Prime, FC Sarasota, and Key Biscayne each appear twice. Sixty-seven entries does not mean 67 fully separate organizations, and we are working through the consolidation.
A few profiles are thin or wrong. Our crawler occasionally landed on the wrong website. Where a club's description looks off or missing, the league affiliation is still confirmed (that comes from league directories, not the club's own site), but treat the rest as pending. Chargers Soccer Club, Florida Prime, DME Academy, Jacksonville FC, and IMG Academy all need a verification pass.
Three clubs have no confirmed city. CESA Liberty, United Futbol Academy, and Florida Legends FC are recorded in Florida without a confirmed location. Legends trains in Jacksonville based on its facility data. Confirm the other two before planning a commute.
If you run one of these clubs, claim your profile and fix it in a few minutes. If you are a parent who spots something wrong, tell us. Accurate data is the entire point.
What Club Soccer in Florida Actually Costs
Most Florida clubs have not published fees to us yet. Here is what we can confirm, and it is worth reading before the estimate table because the confirmed numbers are lower than you might expect.
Confirmed fees from Florida clubs:
| Club | Confirmed Cost | What It Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Inter Miami CF | $0 | Six academy age groups U12-U17 fully funded by the club |
| Orlando City SC | $0 | Academy participation at no cost to accepted players |
| Doral Soccer Club | $1,050/year | Monthly fees Sept-May, FYSA registration, coach registration, insurance, league fees, referee fees, administration |
| Atletico de Madrid Academia Miami | $2,200/season | Plus $250 registration and $395 uniforms. Boys competitive includes $1,050 prepaid tournaments. Monthly programs $180-$250. |
Note what Doral's $1,050 covers. Referee fees and league fees are inside that number, which is not universal. When you compare it to a club quoting $1,400, ask what the $1,400 excludes before you decide which is cheaper.
Estimated ranges by tier, based on comparable clubs in our database and Florida market data:
| Level | Estimated Annual Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MLS academy (Inter Miami, Orlando City) | $0 | Fully funded. Entry by scouting, not tryout. |
| FYSA / regional league competitive | $1,000-$2,500 | State and regional play, minimal travel |
| NAL / EDP | $2,000-$4,000 | Multi-state competition, some travel |
| DPL / NPL | $2,500-$4,500 | Regional plus national events |
| Girls Academy | $3,500-$6,000 | National showcases, dedicated coaching |
| ECNL Boys | $3,500-$6,500 | National showcases, year-round |
| MLS NEXT (non-MLS clubs) | $4,000-$7,000+ | Full national program, travel-heavy |
| Residential / prep academy | Boarding-school pricing | Different category entirely. Ask directly. |
These ranges exclude uniform kits ($150-$400 in year one), tournament fees ($500-$1,500), and family travel. One Florida-specific saving: there is no indoor season, so the $0-$800 winter training line item common in New England does not apply here.
Clubs that confirm financial aid: Weston FC (averaging about 20% of total fees for qualifying families), Florida Kraze Krush (financial assistance plus sibling discounts), Florida Celtic, FC Sarasota, and Key Biscayne Soccer Club. Most clubs that offer aid do not advertise it. Ask every one of them about payment plans and scholarships, and ask before tryouts rather than after your kid makes a team.
On uniforms: most clubs run a two-year kit cycle. Ask whether you are entering year one or year two before you order. In year one, buy what fits now rather than sizing up wildly; in year two you can replace individual pieces your kid outgrew.
What This Means If You're Searching for a Club
For families in South Florida: You have 32 clubs and the problem is narrowing, not finding. Start with commute, honestly measured at practice time, then compare. Weston FC and FC Prime give you internal tiering, which matters more than it sounds: your kid can move between levels without changing organizations, coaches, or carpools. Read how to choose a club before you schedule anything.
Before you pay for a European badge: Barcelona, Atletico, Juventus, Sevilla, and PSG programs all operate here, and some are genuinely good. But the crest is a licensing arrangement, not a guarantee about coaching or league level. Compare them on the same criteria you would use for a local club: who coaches your kid's age group, what league do the teams actually play in, how many teams share the field at training, and what does it cost all-in. Atletico de Madrid Academia Miami publishes its fees, which is a good sign. Ask the others.
For boys players: Nineteen MLS NEXT clubs and 12 ECNL Boys clubs is the deepest boys coverage of any state in our data. That is genuinely good news and also a trap, because MLS NEXT is not automatically the right answer. Read MLS NEXT vs ECNL and MLS NEXT vs EDP and be honest about the travel your family can sustain for three or four years, not one season.
For girls players: This is where Florida is weaker than its size suggests. Five Girls Academy clubs, four of them in South Florida or on the Gulf. If you are in Orlando or Jacksonville, your realistic top-tier options are ECNL Girls programs at clubs like Florida Premier FC, Florida Elite SA, and FC Prime, or DPL locally at Florida Celtic or FC Sarasota. Do not assume a club has no girls program because our data records ECNL Boys. Call and ask. See ECNL vs Girls Academy.
For Panhandle families: West Florida Flames is your only in-state option at the top tier, and it is a legitimate one with five league affiliations. Also look at Alabama. Mobile is closer than Tallahassee and much closer than Orlando.
If cost is the constraint: Start with the confirmed numbers. Doral Soccer Club at $1,050 all-in is real competitive soccer at a third of what the top tier costs. Large multi-tier clubs like Florida Premier FC, Florida Kraze Krush, and Florida Celtic let you enter at a lower level and move up, which is a better financial structure than committing to the top tier and discovering in February that you cannot sustain it. See our budget guide and, if you have more than one player, our multiple kids guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is club soccer really free at Inter Miami and Orlando City?
For accepted academy players, yes. Inter Miami CF fully funds six age groups U12 through U17, and Orlando City SC states its academy carries no cost to players. That is the MLS academy model and it is real. What it is not is an option you can plan around: rosters are small, entry is through scouting and invitation rather than open tryouts, and both academies recruit from the clubs listed in this guide. The practical path is to play well somewhere else first.
Which Florida club is best for boys players?
There is no single answer, and geography decides most of it. In South Florida, Weston FC and FC Prime are the deepest organizations. In Central Florida, Florida Kraze Krush and Nona Soccer Academy. On the Gulf Coast, Florida Premier FC, Tampa Bay United, and Florida West FC. In Jacksonville, Florida Elite SA. Pick by commute and program fit first, league badge second.
Why does Florida have so few Girls Academy clubs?
We do not have a clean answer, only the data: 5 Girls Academy clubs against 19 MLS NEXT and 12 ECNL Boys. Part of it is that ECNL Girls is well established at Florida clubs and shows up under different affiliations in our records; part of it is that Girls Academy simply has less Florida footprint than its Northeast or Mid-Atlantic presence. The practical takeaway is to search for the club, not the league, and ask each one what girls program it actually runs. DPL is a genuinely strong alternative tier here.
What is FYSA, and does it matter if a club plays in it?
The Florida Youth Soccer Association is the state's US Youth Soccer affiliate, and effectively every club sits under it. FYSA State Championships and the Commissioner's Cup are the state-level competitions. It matters because FYSA play is where most Florida travel players spend their season, and it is not a lesser tier by default: Team Boca has 34 FYSA State Championships alongside 3 US Youth Soccer National Championships. A club playing FYSA and a regional league rather than a national one can still be the right club for your kid.
Do Florida clubs train year-round?
Mostly yes, and it changes your budget and your calendar. There is no indoor winter season, so the November-through-March indoor training fee common in the Northeast does not exist here. In exchange, summer heat pushes sessions to early morning or evening and some clubs shift to camps in July and August. Ask each club directly what the summer looks like and what happens during hurricane season, because field closures are a real scheduling factor.
When do Florida clubs hold tryouts?
April through July, and the top of the market genuinely starts in April. Confirmed 2026-27 dates from our data: Nona Soccer Academy ran MLS NEXT Talent ID April 6, 13, and 20, then competitive tryouts May 1-3 (boys) and May 4 (girls). Florida Celtic ran DPL and ECNL RL ID clinics through April. Florida Kraze Krush tryouts May 1-4. Florida Premier FC from May 1. Plantation FC Rush from May 4. Many clubs run ID clinics before tryouts that function as informal evaluations and are worth attending. Confirm dates on each club's site, because windows are short.
How is Florida club soccer different from the Northeast?
More clubs, more MLS NEXT, two free MLS academies, no indoor season, and a much larger set of international-brand and residential academies. The league structure is different too: NAL is the common middle tier here rather than EDP or NECSL. And the distances are not comparable. Florida's five soccer markets are hundreds of miles apart, so unlike eastern Massachusetts, your region determines your options almost completely.
Next Steps
Florida has 67 clubs listed on ClubScout. Search by zip code to find clubs near you, filter by league and age group, and compare profiles side by side. If your club is missing, add it.
Related guides:
- How to Choose a Youth Soccer Club
- What Is MLS NEXT?
- ECNL vs Girls Academy: Which Path Is Right for Your Daughter?
- MLS NEXT vs ECNL: What Parents Need to Know
- How Much Does Travel Soccer Cost?
- Club Soccer on a Budget
- Club Soccer Age-by-Age Guide: U8 Through U18
- How to Evaluate a Youth Soccer Coach
- College Soccer Recruiting: When Coaches Start Watching