State soccer is coming to California high school competition.

For years, when the state’s high school players finished the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal and SoCal regional tournaments, they were done. There would be no additional game, no chance to test themselves against the best from the other part of the state.

But that is changing in 2026.

After a years-long effort to institute state championship soccer games, the CIF will sponsor state soccer title matches beginning next winter.

The decision to add the championship games was approved unanimously at a recent CIF federated council meeting, according to spokesperson Rebecca Brutlag.

The news — seemingly unknown to many high school coaches contacted by the Bay Area News Group since the vote — elicited joyful responses, particularly among those who would have played in a state title game this past season.

“This topic was brought up during our postseason run,” said Everett Alvarez coach Gabriel Campos, who led the Salinas school to the NorCal Division I boys championship. “This news status was something we were not aware of. Although we would have loved the opportunity to play that CIF state championship this year, we look forward to the challenge and will use this as motivation to reach for a higher achievement.

“This is a great thing for NorCal soccer. For far too long, NorCal regions have been overlooked as powerhouse sections in soccer. This could give us the platform to show that we deserve to be on that stage.”

St. Francis coach Carlos Barboza, whose team won the NorCal Division I girls title, spoke after the Lancers’ win about the desire to face off against Southern California’s best team. He’s happy that day has now arrived.

“We’re really excited about the possibility of a CIF state championship for soccer,” Barboza said. “It’s something we’ve been talking about at St. Francis for the past few seasons, and we feel it would be a great step forward for the sport. Most other high school sports already have the opportunity to compete at the state level, and we think soccer should be no different. “

Archbishop Mitty coach JT Hanley, whose team lost to St. Francis in the girls NorCal Division I final, has been a proponent of state soccer for years. In his three decades of coaching at the high school level, he wasn’t always sure he’d see the day it came to fruition.

“You couldn’t find one person that would take a bet that it was going to happen, ever,” Hanley said.

Not every coach was unconditionally elated. Mountain View coach Jim McGuirk, whose team won the NorCal Division II boys title — its first-ever regional crown — didn’t “have strong feelings one way or the other.”

“It’s cool we finally have it, as it would be fun to see how we stack up against the SoCal teams,” McGuirk said. “However, I am also aware of how long the season already is and how tough it is when it comes to the overlaps with club teams returning to action. Another week just makes it that much harder.”

The new state championship games will begin a week after the regionals conclude, which in 2026 will take place March 13-14. There will be five divisions for each gender, mirroring the current divisional setup in each region.

Locations for the finals have not yet been determined. There are a number of factors to weigh – proximity, facilities availability and durability, just to name a few.

If 10 state title games were all to take place in the same location, much as many other state championships do, they would likely have to be on turf fields.

CIF could opt for a central location like Fresno State, which has both natural grass and artificial turf fields available. Other options within either half of the state include Stanford, Cal, San Jose State, UCLA and USC.