Overview of the 1985 WACS Season - From the American Soccer History Archives

On July 3 of 1985, a short time after the demise of the USL, outdoor professional soccer was born again as four independent West Coast teams created the Western Alliance Challenge Series. These included the San Jose Earthquakes, The Riptide from Victoria, British Columbia, and F. C. Portland & F. C. Seattle, two amateur teams. The series was established an a way to provide the regional soccer fans some meaningful competition, after the demise of the NASL and USL, and the cancellation of overseas tours by Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion. Those tours had been cancelled in the wake of FIFA's ban on international competition by English clubs. They played home and away against each other, and also played games against the Edmonton Brickmen and Canadian National Team. Although not part of the Challenge standings, the clubs also played matches against some top touring teams including Santos of Brazil and Sporting Lisbon of Portugal. San Jose won the series. Although Victoria quit the alliance, the event was well received by the fans and the remaining teams voted to establish a full-fledged league and expand for 1986. The opening game had attracted 2,906 fans to Portland's Civic Stadium. From these humble beginnings, was eventually born the A-League which stood in the 21st century as the national 2nd division league for the US, and FIFA-recognized first division league for Canada.