For Players and Parents:

Alliance is club soccer, with all the benefits of AYSO: dedicated positive coaches, guaranteed playing time, and high quality competition, at less than a fifth of the cost of traditional club soccer.  Alliance keeps costs low by leveraging the efforts of USSF-certified volunteer coaches and harnessing the power of the largest soccer network in the nation.  

Alliance is a step up in competitiveness from EXTRA.  Alliance players should expect a year-long commitment, and this will be their primary obligation after academics.  Much like EXTRA, teams will require travel for club and tournament play.  The Coast Soccer League (CSL) circuit spans across the Los Angeles Metro Area, and AYSO and Open tournaments can require travel as well.  CSL has college showcase features, and Alliance teams are State Cup eligible.

If your son or daughter is ready for the next step, and their AYSO team has reached the pinnacle, consider the Alliance pathway.

For Coaches:

Has your EXTRA or tournament team outshined the competition this year?  Are you having a hard time finding challenging matches?  Have traditional clubs set their sights on poaching your players?  Are your parents hinting they might jump to club?  If you are nodding, then Alliance might be the solution for you.

AYSO wants to harmonize the beautiful game in more ways than just balanced teams.  Teams that win repeatedly need stiffer competition for player development, and it’s no fun for the losing teams to have a lopsided bracket.  Promoting extraordinary teams to Alliance is win-win for all teams in the pathway.

The process for promotion to Alliance involves a lot of work for the coach.  First and foremost, you’ll need to prove your team’s competitiveness.  To kick things off, consider applying for a review by the Section 1 Alliance board to see if your team is eligible.

For Regional Commissioners and Area Directors:

The goal of AYSO is providing the best possible soccer experience for everyone from Playground to adulthood.  We accomplish this with great training, dedicated volunteers, and a player pathway designed to challenge players at all levels of development.  All too often, when a player “goes to club,” they abandon the Region and often take gifted regional volunteers with them.  

Alliance is a way for these players to “go to club” without leaving the region.  If your region has a talented team winning lots of silverware, they could be promoted to Section 1 Alliance.  Similar to EXTRA, the region would provide practice and home field space for their Alliance teams, in exchange for regional volunteering, like Core refereeing or field maintenance.  Unlike EXTRA, there is no Regional referee burden to cover Alliance matches, because Alliance teams pay for club refs.  

There are some technical details for RC’s regarding the Alliance program, so reach out to your Area Director or Section Alliance President Nick Pisca for more information.