Soccer League Organizers See Sports as Way to Fight Drugs

Organizers of a new Orange County league are inviting players to get their kicks from soccer instead of drugs.

The United Latin Soccer League is looking for players 17 and older to play a four-month season of recreational soccer, league spokesman Gil Garcia announced at a press conference in Santa Ana Monday.

The league plans to encourage young athletes to say no to drugs and register to vote, Garcia said.

“We know what the crisis is right now--drugs,” he said.

Ricardo Villanueva, who is organizing the league along with Gabriel Sanchez, was one of the founders of the successful Orange County Soccer League, which began in 1978 and now has 90 teams in five divisions in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

“We want strongly to focus on ‘no drugs’ because I think our kids need a lot of help,” Villanueva said. He also wants to get more soccer leagues affiliated with the California State Soccer Assn.

The league will be affiliated with the California State Soccer Assn. South and the United States Soccer Federation, which is a member of the Federation of International Futbol Assn., the international governing body of soccer.

The league will stage a qualifying tournament at Santa Ana Stadium during the second week of October to divide teams into divisions based on skill.

Competition will begin the second week in November at various locations in Orange County and Pomona. The 18-man teams will play a 30-game schedule. Games will be played on weekends.

Registration fees have not been set, but organizers hope to raise enough sponsorship money to make participation free, Garcia said.

“Anybody who truly likes soccer and is going to go all out and give up their Sundays is welcome,” Garcia said.

Players and teams can call Villanueva or Sanchez at 554-8778.