| Clubname: | El Farolito |
| Upright: | 0.95 |
| Fullname: | El Farolito Soccer Club |
| Nickname: | Faro |
| Founded: | 1985 |
| Stadium: | Boxer Stadium |
| Capacity: | 3,500 |
| Owntitle: | Owners |
| Owner: | Salvador Lopez |
| Mgrtitle: | Head Coach |
| Manager: | Santiago Lopez |
| League: | National Premier Soccer League |
| Season: | 2024 |
| Position: | Golden Gate Conference 1st |
| Current: | 2024 National Premier Soccer League season |
| American: | true |
El Farolito is an amateur soccer club based in San Francisco, California. It currently plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), generally considered the fourth tier of U.S. Soccer, within the Golden Gate Conference. The team is best known for its 1993 U.S. Open Cup championship under its previous name, Club Deportivo (CD) Mexico.
The club was founded in 1985 and was first known as El Farolito, named after the owner's chain of restaurants. 'El Faro' was a new force in the San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL) that was rising to challenge the dominance of teams like the Greek Americans. The team gained successive promotions to the top division in the space of five years. By the 1991–92 season, the club had won the SFSFL championship and had reached the final of the National Amateur Cup. The following season, El Faro retained the title as 'Club Deportivo Mexico'.
In 1993, San Francisco C.D. Mexico won the U.S. Open Cup, an American soccer competition open to all United States Soccer Federation (USSF) affiliated teams. The team pulled off wins against the defending tournament champion San Jose Oaks, Milwaukee Bavarian SC, before defeating United German Hungarians in the Final.[1] [2] As U.S. Open Cup champions, C.D. Mexico qualified for the 1994 CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup and played Club Necaxa of the Mexican First Division in the quarterfinals. They lost 5–1 in San Jose.[3]
When the California Premier Soccer Association (CSPA) was formed in 1993, CD Mexico was one of the SFSFL representatives along with Greek-American A.C., SF United, and Concordia. The CPSA was developed as a 'super league' composed of teams from the SFSFL, Peninsula Soccer League, and the San Joaquin Valley Soccer League. The team, returning to their original name El Farolito, won multiple titles over the next two and a half decades.
On November 20, 2017, El Farolito announced it would field a team in the National Premier Soccer League for the 2018 season.[4]
On March 22, 2023, El Farolito defeated Inter San Francisco 3-0 in the first round of the 2023 U.S. Open Cup, scoring all 3 goals in extra time.[5] On April 4, 2023, El Farolito was downed by Bay Area rival Oakland Roots SC in its second round Open Cup match.[6]
On March 19, 2024, El Farolito bested MLS Next Pro side Portland Timbers 2 in the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open Cup by a 2-1 tally, after MLS Commissioner Don Garber withdrew the annual participation of every MLS first team in the U.S. Open Cup.[7]
| Year | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limited information available on early seasons in the San Francisco Soccer Football League | |||||
| 1991–92 | SFSFL | 1st, Major Division[8] | did not qualify | ||
| 1992–93 | 1st, Major Division | Champions | Defeated United German-Hungarians, 5–0, in U.S. Open Cup Final | ||
| 1993–94 | No information available | ||||
| 1994–95 | |||||
| 1995–96 | 1st, Premier Division | did not qualify | |||
| 1997 | No information available | ||||
| 1998 | |||||
| 1999 | 1st, Premier Division | did not qualify | |||
| 2000 | 3rd, Premier A Division[9] | did not qualify | |||
| 2001 | 1st, Premier Division | did not qualify | |||
| 2002 | 2nd, Premier Division[10] | did not qualify | |||
| 2003 | 1st, Premier Division[11] | did not qualify | |||
| 2004 | 4th, Premier Division[12] | did not qualify | |||
| 2005 | 3rd, Premier Division[13] | did not qualify | |||
| 2006 | 3rd, Premier Division[14] | Semifinal[15] | did not qualify | Lost to San Francisco Glens SC in CPSA Semifinal | |
| 2007 | 1st, Premier Division[16] | Champions | did not qualify | Defeated San Francisco Glens SC, 4–1, in the CPSA Final | |
| 2008 | 2nd, Premier Division[17] | Semifinals | did not qualify | Lost to Olympic Club in the CSPA Semifinal | |
| 2009 | 1st, Premier Division[18] | Champions | did not qualify | Defeated Rosal FAS, 2–0, in the CSPA Final | |
| 2010 | did not qualify | ||||
| 2011 | 2nd, Premier Division[19] | did not qualify | |||
| 2012 | 1st, Premier Division[20] | Champions | did not qualify | Defeated Olympic Club, 1–0, in Cup Final | |
| 2013 | 2nd, Premier Division[21] | Champions[22] | did not qualify | Defeated Olympic Club, 1–0, in Cup Final | |
| 2014 | 3rd, Premier Division[23] | Semifinals | did not qualify | Lost to Olympic Club in Cup Semifinal | |
| 2015 | 1st, Premier Division[24] | Champions[25] | did not qualify | Defeated Olympic Club, 1–0, in Cup Final | |
| 2016 | 2nd, Premier Division[26] | League Final | First Qualifying Round | Lost to Olympic Club in Cup Final | |
| 2017 | 1st, Premier Division[27] | Champions[28] | First round | Defeated Olympic Club, 3–2, in Cup Final | |
| 2018 | NPSL | 1st, Golden Gate Conference | Regional semifinal | Disqualified[29] | Lost to FC Mulhouse Portland in Regional semifinal |
| 2019 | 5th, Golden Gate Conference | did not qualify | Second round | ||
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[30] | ||||
| 2021 | Finalist, Golden Gate Conference Playoffs | Golden Gate Conference did not participate in regular league play | Not held | Lost to Academica SC in conference playoffs | |
| 2022 | 2nd, Golden Gate Conference | Regional Finals | Did not qualify | Lost to Crossfire Redmond in Regional Finals | |
| 2023 | 1st, Golden Gate Conference | Regional Finals | Second round | Lost to Crossfire Redmond in Regional Finals | |
| 2024 | 1st, Golden Gate Conference | Champions | Third round | Defeated FC Motown, 2-1, in NPSL National Championship Game | |
San Francisco Soccer Football League
National Premier Soccer League