FAQ

WHY COMPETE IN THE SLPL?

We put the Clubs first! We are all about sustainability and want to support teams by coming alongside them and help them achieve their goals.

The SLPL game days are meant to be a fun, family-friendly event.To shine light on community leaders, talents and to support local business. Good sportsmanship and courage will be rewarded in this competition.

Instant benefits: Home and away game field provided, Game day interviews available to promote your team, Option for team website available and marketing provided on SLPL website. . Your team will be promoted by the SLPL to MPL and NISA. Game day water provided by SLPL.

Check out the other leagues, is their marketing more about their league or do they put clubs first?

We charge less, so clubs have more money to invest in their teams.

We believe in local and regional competition. We do not believe it is sustainable for an amateur club to be spending thousands of dollars to travel all across the country to determine a so-called "national champion". It costs more to travel to play these games than the prize money you would win!

We believe in US Soccer. We support the US Open Cup and ALL of our member clubs are eligible to complete in the US Open Cup. We believe that is the only competition worthy of traveling across the country for! The USASA national tournament is a distant second, do that for the experience of it!

We believe if your team wants to travel then do it for the experience, find a tournament in another state, another country even, to compete in. Other than that, focus your efforts on growing your club, developing your business plan, spend your money on a run in the US Open Cup. We will help you!

WHEN CAN I REGISTER MY TEAM?

You can register a team at any time. While we take teams anytime we have an opening our traditional open registration period is between June 1 and July 31. You can start by filling out your EXPANSION FORM here.

WHAT COMPETITIONS IS AN SLPL MEMBER CLUB ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR?

We have multiple competitions. These are determined by region, conference and length of competition.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO PLAY IN THE SLPL?

LEAGUE FEES & REFEREE COSTS - 2022-23 Season

CONFERENCE	DIVISION	LEAGUE FEE (annual)	REF FEE*
Men's Open	1st Div	$2,500 (Fall) $2,500 (Spring)	$300 (4th inc)
Men's Open	2nd Div	$2,250 (Fall) $2,250 (Spring)	$250
Women's Open	1st Div	$2,000 (Fall) $2,000 (Spring)	$300 (4th inc)
Women's Open	2nd Div	$1,250 (Fall) $1,250 (Spring)	$250

Payment plans are available to clubs as needed
*Ref fees - each team will pay half of the amount at the game

OTHER COSTS (in addition to league fees)

Team Performance Bond - $500
Player registration - $35 per player
Referee fees per game / per team (see regional FAQ page for local ref fees)
Field fees per game (typical field fees range from $120 - $350 per game, depending on the facility)
Team Website = $35 / month (this is optional)
Included in SLPL fees above - Game Balls, League Patches, Awards, Prizes, Corner Flags, partner/sponsor discounts, NISA affiliation.

SO WHAT IS MY "ALL IN COST" TO PLAY IN THE SLPL?

Depending upon the region and division for a full year costs can range from $5,500 - $12,000 per year.

We are happy to walk through the cost of running a club in SLPL and will create a specific budget for your team to help you plan. We have no hidden costs and everything is up front with our clubs in terms of costs.

HOW DOES PROMOTION/RELEGATION WORK IN SLPL?

SLPL has strategic partnerships with other local leagues across our network. It is NOT our goal to take over smaller/local leagues. If any team wants to promote up into SLPL then we will pay that league up to 75% of the annual league fee to show solidarity to that league. We will also encourage the team to become a club and form a reserve team to continue playing in the league they came from.

Within SLPL, depending on the region we have pro/rel. The division champion is promoted the following season and does not have to pay their annual league fee to help offset the costs of moving to a higher division.

Promotion is NOT mandatory. If a team wins a championship they can pass on the promotion and stay in their division. In this case the team does not get their league fee waived.

Relegation is reviewed on a case by case basis. As is true for all amateur leagues every year there are teams who come and go. We give priority to teams who do not want to relegate based on the number of teams who join the following season.

Our ultimate goal is that each division is as competitive as possible and we review each decision amongst our staff and have discussions with each team as necessary

A club is allowed to start at a higher division if there is a vacancy and a returning team does not want the spot

HOW LONG IS A "SEASON"

While this varies by region (see links to Regional FAQ's to see specifics). We believe in and it is our goal in each region to play in the traditional 10 month season that reflects world football (specifically, the European Calendar of football). Once we can get to at least 2 divisions and 10 teams per division then we only run one season a year for our adult open divisions. They start in September and end in May/June. Our U23 division competes from May - August to accommodate college player schedules.

PLAYER FAQ

HOW OLD DO I HAVE TO BE TO COMPETE IN THE SLPL?

A minimum of 15 years old.