Explainer: Dual Rostering vs. Guest Play

Are players allowed to play for both their school team and their club team?
Officially, No. But there is a difference between registering for two teams and playing for two teams. So in actuality, it depends.

What you may NOT do
Players may NOT register for more than one soccer team in any league. Players must determine a primary team of registration. Teams are considered valid for field allocations if their minimum rosters of players are unique, so that access to the limited number of San Francisco fields are as fairly allocated as possible. Per the SFRPD Player commitment form: 

“I commit that my child is joining the team/club listed below for the 2024 Fall season and has not committed to any other San Francisco team or club.  In order to use San Francisco fields, I understand and agree that my child may not switch to another team without written approval of the team [I am registering for].”

What you MAY do
If, for example, a player chooses to officially register with their school team, but also wants to play with a club team in tournaments, State Cup or Play Dates with their club, that's always allowed (as fields for those events are not considered for eligibility in league field allocations). Also, if your school team and your club team are both participating in SFYS leagues (example, Rec and Upper House), players registered on the Recreational team may guest up to the Upper House team throughout the regular season. 

Who is responsible for enforcement? 
The answer is SF Rec & Park, as the rule is in place so as to fairly distribute field allocations to youth of San Francisco. SF Youth Soccer has no visibility into NorCal rosters and so do not know about dual rostering until it's called to our attention. And if it's just one player and the team would be viable without that player, we don't take action. When the dual rostering happens *in* SFYS leagues (ie, a player attempting to register both for their school Rec team as well as a competitive Upper House team), that we *do* enforce - as do all the clubs and leagues - since none of our registration systems allow for a player to register on more than one team. 

But … I know kids playing for both their club and their school teams in seasonal league play!
Players who are not registered for example on the club team as part of the minimum roster requirement which has been validated, but are added later in the summer in advance of preseason tourney, etc., are historically not considered dual-rostered. However, if a player has opted into those supplemental options with the club, they must also register in said club’s US Club or CalNorth registration system. Should a player do that, they would then be available within their club team in regular non-SFYS league play as well. And to repeat, if your school team and your club team are both participating in SFYS leagues (example, school team in Rec and club team in Upper House), players registered on the Recreational team may guest up to the Upper House team throughout the regular season.