San Francisco Elite Academy Enters Strategic Partnership to Establish Youth-To-Pro Pathway for Student-Athletes

San Francisco Elite Academy has established a complete player pathway by announcing a strategic partnership with Metro FC, where players in the Bay Area will now develop and compete at the youth level while having the ability to pursue a professional pathway through SF Elite Metro.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- San Francisco Elite Academy and Metro FC announced a strategic partnership expected to expand competitive opportunities and foster the overall growth of community soccer initiatives in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Metro FC will now become SF Elite Metro and serve as the men's program of the San Francisco Elite Academy, thus creating an established player pathway to the professional ranks for male student-athletes and the opportunity for a full-circle developmental player lifecycle under the SF Elite umbrella.

"It's our honor to work with a youth soccer club as established and integrated into the community like San Francisco Elite Academy. Together we'll be able to create opportunities that can provide a one-stop pathway to the professional ranks for boys playing in the Bay Area," said SF Elite Metro's Francis Langbein.

For seven years, the highly regarded community-facing youth soccer club, San Francisco Elite Academy, has served the San Francisco Bay Area through its purpose-driven mission and influential socioeconomic footprint centered on inclusivity and unparalleled access to the game of soccer. 

In providing the San Francisco soccer community with top-tier competitive platforms in the Girls Academy League, Boys MLS Next, National Premier League (NPL), and now NISA Nation and the SFSFL, San Francisco Elite Academy has long established itself as a proven player pathway that provides opportunities at every level of the game for youth student-athletes.

"The SF Elite Metro partnership embodies our club's intentional desire to cultivate and expand the game of soccer in the San Francisco Bay Area by working together to provide youth student-athletes with a clear vision of just where the game can take them. Our purpose exists in our community, so this partnership will continue SF Elite's efforts to create inclusive opportunities for players at every level while remaining steadfast in developing better people to become better soccer players," said Joe Dugan, President and Executive Director of San Francisco Elite Academy.

San Francisco (SF) Elite Metro is currently a member of NISA Nation, a full-year league providing independent amateur clubs a groundbreaking path to professional status and features two men's teams in the SFSFL. 

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO ELITE ACADEMY:  
San Francisco Elite Academy is a mission-driven 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization born out of the belief that club soccer should be accessible to all. SF Elite has created an inclusive, equitable, and accessible player pathway for youth student-athletes across the San Francisco Bay Area through our intentional club structure. San Francisco Elite Academy is one of the original 59 clubs nationwide to be recognized by U.S. Club Soccer as a Players First organization.

IG: @sfeliteacademy   /   FB: @sfeliteacademy   /   TW: @sfeliteacademy  

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SOURCE San Francisco Elite Academy