El Farolito Soccer Club is a 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. In the 2026 season El Farolito have also returned a team to the San Francisco Soccer Football League. The club is best known for its 1993 U.S. Open Cup championship under its previous name, Club Deportivo (CD) Mexico.
History The club was founded in 1985 by Salvador "Don Chava" Lopez and was named after Taqueria El Farolito, the owner's chain of restaurants. They played at Boxer Stadium and were a new force in the San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL), where they started in the lower divisions. El Faro fielded teams with immigrant players, including former professionals, and employees of the restaurant chain. The team earned successive promotions to the top division of the SFSFL within 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. 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.
When the California Premier Soccer Association (CPSA) 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.
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 three goals in extra time. The team lost in the second round to fellow Bay Area team Oakland Roots SC of the USL Championship.
El Farolito once again qualified for the Open Cup and defeated MLS Next Pro side Portland Timbers 2 in the first round on March 19, 2024. The reserve team was representing their parent team, the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. El Farolito defeated Central Valley Fuego FC, another third-division team, but were eliminated in the third round by the Oakland Roots for the second consecutive year. El Farolito won their first NPSL championship in 2024 by defeating FC Motown, a four-time finalist, 2–1.
El Farolito once again performed well in the 2025 US Open Cup, beating Real Monarchs of MLS Next Pro 3–1 in the first round and Monterey Bay FC of USL Championship 2–1 in the second. After that, their US Open Cup season came to a close, as they were defeated by USL Championship side Sacramento Republic in the third round on April 16th, 1–0. The club won its second NPSL championship in 2026, defeating Bristol Rhythm AFC 3-0.
Year-by-year Year League Regular season Playoffs U.S. Open Cup NotesLimited information available on early seasons in the San Francisco Soccer Football League1991–92SFSFL1st, Major Divisiondid not qualify1992–931st, Major DivisionChampionsDefeated United German-Hungarians, 5–0, in U.S. Open Cup Final1993–94No information available1994–951995–961st, Premier Divisiondid not qualify1997No information available199819991st, Premier Divisiondid not qualify20003rd, Premier A Divisiondid not qualify20011st, Premier Divisiondid not qualify20022nd, Premier Divisiondid not qualify20031st, Premier Divisiondid not qualify20044th, Premier Divisiondid not qualify20053rd, Premier Divisiondid not qualify20063rd, Premier DivisionSemifinaldid not qualifyLost to San Francisco Glens SC in CPSA Semifinal20071st, Premier DivisionChampionsdid not qualifyDefeated San Francisco Glens SC, 4–1, in the CPSA Final20082nd, Premier DivisionSemifinalsdid not qualifyLost to Olympic Club in the CSPA Semifinal20091st, Premier DivisionChampionsdid not qualifyDefeated Rosal FAS, 2–0, in the CSPA Final2010did not qualify20112nd, Premier Divisiondid not qualify20121st, Premier DivisionChampionsdid not qualifyDefeated Olympic Club, 1–0, in Cup Final20132nd, Premier DivisionChampionsdid not qualifyDefeated Olympic Club, 1–0, in Cup Final20143rd, Premier DivisionSemifinalsdid not qualifyLost to Olympic Club in Cup Semifinal20151st, Premier DivisionChampionsdid not qualifyDefeated Olympic Club, 1–0, in Cup Final20162nd, Premier DivisionLeague FinalFirst Qualifying RoundLost to Olympic Club in Cup Final20171st, Premier DivisionChampionsFirst roundDefeated Olympic Club, 3–2, in Cup Final2018NPSL1st, Golden Gate ConferenceRegional semifinalDisqualifiedLost to FC Mulhouse Portland in Regional semifinal20195th, Golden Gate Conferencedid not qualifySecond round 2020Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2021Finalist, Golden Gate Conference PlayoffsGolden Gate Conference did not participate in regular league playNot heldLost to Academica SC in conference playoffs20222nd, Golden Gate ConferenceRegional FinalsDid not qualifyLost to Crossfire Redmond in Regional Finals20231st, Golden Gate ConferenceRegional FinalsSecond roundLost to Crossfire Redmond in Regional Finals20241st, Golden Gate ConferenceChampionsThird roundDefeated FC Motown, 2–1, in NPSL National Championship Game20251st, Golden Gate Conference Finalist Third round Lost to Sacramento Republic FC 0–1
Honors San Francisco Soccer Football League Division 1 Champions (11): 1991–92, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017 Playoff Champions (6): 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017
National Premier Soccer League National Championship (2): 2024, 2026 Golden Gate Conference Champions (6): 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
U.S. Open Cup Champions (1) 1993 Participants (7): 1993, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup Participants (1): 1994
Hank Steinbrecher Cup Champions (1): 2025
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