History of the 1985

Western Alliance Challenge Series Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

. This series of games which included

F.C. Seattle FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

, the Victoria Riptide,

F.C. Portland FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

and the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

led to the creation of the Western Soccer Alliance which later merged with the American Soccer League to form the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

, the forerunner of the USL First Division.

History

In 1984, the independent

hosted the F.C. Seattle Challenge which included several

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

teams. The success of the tournament led league officials to offer an NASL franchise to the F.C. Seattle ownership. The team declined the offer and instead decided to build on the success of the tournament by creating an ad hoc league with several other independent soccer teams in the Pacific Northwest.Western Alliance Founded
/ref> Three teams joined F.C. Seattle, the Victoria Riptide,

and the

which had played in the NASL before its demise in the spring of 1985. These four teams played each other and the non-league Edmonton Brick Men and Canada national soccer team. The games against the Brick Men and Canadian national team were included in the final league standings. The series proved financially successful and led to the formal establishment of the Western Soccer Alliance.

League standings

References

External links

The Year in American Soccer - 1985
{{Western Soccer Alliance seasons Western Soccer Alliance seasons 3