HISTORY

An ever-adapting constant in San Francisco soccer, the Glens are The City’s definitive community club.

Before emerging as San Francisco’s largest club and a non-profit with over 100 youth, academy, and amateur teams and a facility on Treasure Island, the Glens began 65 years ago in the Sunset District.

The Glens were founded by Dr. Michael McFadden in 1961, and under the leadership of Neal Hagan quickly distinguished themselves from other Irish American clubs playing in the SFSFL.

After almost immediately earning promotion to the top division of the league, Hagan’s Glens advanced to the 1979 National Amateur Cup Final and appeared three times in the US Open Cup from 1978-1982.

Following Hagan’s untimely passing in 1981, Sean Shannon took over and guided the Glens to the 1984 SFSFL title (the first by an Irish side), the 1990 National Amateur Cup final, and a second top finish in the SFSFL in 1993.

In 2015, the Glens returned to SFSFL following a brief hiatus with a Premier Division and reserve team, eventually reaching the 2018 California Soccer Association North State Cup Final under coach Bill Chu.

That same year, the club joined the Premier Development League (PDL) for their men’s first team under head coach Javier Ayala-Hil, eventually having four players selected in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. The PDL was rebranded as USL League Two, and the Glens have competed in USL2 ever since.

The women’s USL W League first team kicked off in 2023, and went undefeated in the regular season and won the NorCal Division and Western Conference Championship before falling in the National Semifinal.  Forward Nádia Gomes was named USL W National Player of the Year and USL W NorCal Division Player of the Year, with general manager Ryan Maquiñana receiving USL W National Executive of the Year honors.  

The Glens broke ground on the first soccer-specific facility in city history in 2022 and opened the new home for the first teams on Treasure Island in Oct. 2024. A high-quality training and match facility for all the club’s teams, San Francisco Glens Stadium stands out as a premier venue for San Francisco’s community club.