The Vineyard Football Association (VFA) has hosted an adult summer soccer league since 1991. The VFA league started out of necessity due to the influx of summer workers (college kids) and fair weather soccer enthusiasts. The quality of the casual bi-weekly pick-up games were diminishing as increasing numbers of players competed for limited playing space on the pitch. The relief came in the form of an organized soccer league which separated the vying soccer masses into four teams of equal skill - each sponsored by local businesses. The initial player demographic was widely varied with regards to skill level, age, gender and fitness.

Over the years, the VFA summer soccer league evolved into a highly competitive institution. The ever increasing player skill level, combined with the strength of evenly matched teams made for a successful and entertaining league. Prior to the 2002 season, the VFA elected to grow from four teams to six by adding one expansion team and inviting the Atlantic Football Club (AFC) to the league. The AFC is a youth soccer organization which offers high school aged soccer players the opportunity to advance their exposure to soccer instruction and competition via off-island tournaments. The AFC has filled a much needed gap between the Friend of Vineyard Soccer (FOVS) – which is primarily a youth development program for kids from U6 through U14 and the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) J.V. and Varsity soccer programs.

Evenly balanced teams are created via player draft by managers who represent the club sponsors. The six sponsored clubs competing in the 2008 VFA Summer League are AFC, Coop de Ville, Monto Orthopedics, MV Celtic, Shirley’s Hardware and Sports Haven.