Where to play futsal in NorCal

Please leave a comment at the end of this post if you know of any more futsal clubs, leagues, and/or tourneys so I can update this post. It would be great to make this list as complete as possible. Thank you!

Tens of thousands of kids across NorCal are getting ready for the winter futsal season. Most of the clubs mentioned below offer year-round futsal programs, but there’s definitely a huge surge during the winter months when the outdoor soccer season slows down.

I can’t say this enough – you MUST try futsal. Your sons and daughters are almost certainly going to have a blast and will learn a lot too. It’s excellent for player development. And you will enjoy watching the games – there’s much more action than outdoor soccer and your son/daughter is in the middle of the action pretty much all the time – there are only four field players per team.

If these clips don’t convince you then I don’t know what will: FIFA clip on futsal and superstar Falcao and this compilation of futsal skills.

You don’t have to join a futsal club or be part of one of our soccer clubs to participate – many futsal teams are coached by volunteer parents with soccer background. Simply pull a group of seven to nine outdoor teammates or friends from different outdoor clubs together, register your team, and go play.

With the help of awesome soccer mom Gaby and encyclopedic soccer dad Mark, here goes:

FUTSAL CLUBS (click on the club name for website or FB page)

Futsal Kingz – skills and fun for all levels and age groups, both boys and girls, across various locations in the South Bay. Tim Newsome and his team are GREAT! I can’t recommend them enough. Sessions and camps year-round, both competitive and recreational. Also compete in tournaments, most recently winning U.S. Futsal Nationals in the U8 and U9 age bracket.

World United Futsal Academy (WUFA) – competitive futsal mostly for boys, but girls are welcome too. Led by Vava Marques, USA National Futsal Team Coach, who grew up playing the game competitively and pro in Brazil, and Daniel Berdejo-del-Fresno, who grew up in Spain and most recently was the Head of Coaching & Sports Science at the International Futsal Academy in England and since 2010 on the coaching staff of the England Futsal National Teams. Daniel also wrote a free book on futsal coaching.

World-class coaching for the strongly committed soccer/futsal players. Year-round sessions. Close relationship with FC Barcelona’s futsal program in Spain, including training at FC Barcelona’s facilities and hosting of FC Barcelona futsal coaches in Palo Alto.

Burlingamer in the North Bay and in Evergreen (South/East San Jose). This also includes the Gamer Futsal School. Nice facility and quality coaching year-round. GFS owners Jen Short and Roxy Kamal also serve as the U.S. Futsal Women’s National Team Coaches, and teams compete in various tournaments.

Legends Futsal in Central and South San Jose. One of the oldest futsal clubs in the Bay Area. Very competitive across all age groups for both boys and girls. Also now have a semi-pro mens team I believe.

Futsal Without Borders in San Jose. Organized by passionate soccer mom, Diana. Compete in Bay Area, regional, and national futsal leagues and tourneys, and also organize international futsal trips, but little ongoing coaching and player development. Primarily recruiting kids from the strongest outdoor soccer clubs to maximize performance at tourneys.

Bulldogs Futsal – based in Pleasanton and affiliated with Ballistic United Soccer Club. Compete in leagues and tourneys. Also click here for more information. Founder Rob Bell wrote a book on futsal.

Futsal 415 in San Francisco. Compete in leagues and tourneys. Regular practices.

Stanislaus United in Modesto. Compete in leagues and tourneys. Regular practices.

Futsal Factory in Sacramento. Compete in leagues and tourneys. Regular practices.

Anthem FC in Sacramento. Compete in leagues and tourneys. Regular practices.

Futsal Gilroy Fuego in Gilroy. Compete in leagues and tourneys. Regular practices.

Liga De Leon in Marin County. Regular practices and in-house league.

There are lots of futsal camps and weekly drop-in practices, plus futsal coaching workshops. Some outdoor soccer clubs such as De Anza Force, Red Star, LFC Bay Area, San Juan SC, and Lamorinda SC organize in-house futsal activities too, but I’m not listing those here. Some of these are small-sided games played on turf, so make sure you confirm if these clubs offer real futsal.

WINTER FUTSAL LEAGUES (click on the league name for website or FB page)

Futsal San Jose – this league is the most popular in the South Bay/San Jose area. Hundreds of teams across all age groups, both boys and girls, compete from the first weekend in December to end-February. This league uses a clever ranking and game scheduling system that matches teams based on previous weekends’ game results. Sign up now!

Stanford-Palo Alto Futsal League – teams compete in January & February. This league is organized by Vava Marques from WUFA (see above). Teams are grouped by age and ability. Sign up now!

San Francisco Futsal League – organized by SF Recreation & Parks and played at 13 centers across the city from January to March, U5-U18 boys and girls teams compete in recreational, intermediate, and advanced divisions. Note that the city website refers to ‘indoor soccer league’, but it’s futsal.

Gilroy Futsal League – based down South in Gilroy. Facebook page here.

Alameda Futsal – their website is a little outdated, but click here for the Facebook page.

Diablo Valley Futsal League – based in Walnut Creek/San Ramon. Facebook page here.

NorCal Futsal League – based in Martinez.

East Bay Futsal League – based in Oakland/Alameda.

East Bay Winter League – based in El Cerrito. Hosted by Tottenham Hotspur East Bay.

Mustang Futsal League – based in Danville. Organized by Mustang SC but open to all.

Northern California Futsal League – based in Rocklin and Mather. Run by Futsal Factory for competitive teams/players. Also run the Northern California Developmental Futsal League for less competitive teams/players.

Marin Futsal League – based in Mill Valley. One of the longest-running and largest futsal leagues in NorCal. Also have a Facebook page here.

Also, this webpage lists leagues and clubs including some that aren’t listed above. Some of the information seems to be out of date though.

FUTSAL TOURNAMENTS (click on the tourney name for website or FB page)

Blackhawks Annual Holiday Futsal Tournament – December 29/30 in Sacramento, CA. Open to comp, rec, and high school teams.

U.S. Youth Futsal Northern California Regional Championships – December 3/4 in Rocklin, CA. Only four weeks to go if you’re interested – sign up now! Winners of this tourney can compete at Nationals in Kansas Feb 17-20.

U.S. Futsal Northwest Regional Championship – March 10-12 at the San Jose Convention Center. Very competitive tourney. Winners and runners-up can compete at Nationals below.

U.S. Futsal National Championship – July 13-16 at the San Jose Convention Center. Very competitive.

Keep in mind that the above two Nationals don’t actually attract the various Regional/State Champions from around the country because youth teams are not (yet) willing to travel far (and incur the cost) for futsal. So Regionals can often be more competitive than Nationals. This will change over time with futsal’s continuing growth.

By way of background, U.S. Youth Futsal and U.S. Futsal are the two competing national futsal organizations. My understanding is that both have the same status with the U.S. Soccer Federation, and that USYF is stronger on the East Coast while USF is stronger on the West Coast.

Please leave a comment below if you know of any more futsal clubs, leagues, and/or tournaments. Thank you!