The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It was the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tournament, the 1979–80 and 1980–81 NASL Indoor seasons, and won the NASL Championship in 1974. During their eight years of existence, the Aztecs played at four different venues and were controlled by four different ownership groups, European football legends George Best and Johan Cruyff played for the team, and from 1975 to 1977 English singer Elton John was a part-owner.
Bruce Alec Wilson is a former NASL and Canadian international soccer player. He played the second most games of any player in the former league, 299. He also captained the Canadian team at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.
Robert Italo Lenarduzzi, OBC is a former North American Soccer League player, Canadian international, and coach of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer teams. He is currently club liaison for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Carl Howard Valentine is a former professional soccer player and coach who has had a long association with soccer in the Vancouver area.
Richard Dean Davis is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League era and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Robert "Bob" Bolitho is a former Canadian national team, North American Soccer League and Canadian Soccer League player. He is of Cornish descent.
Kevin Mitchell Harmse is a South African-born Canadian soccer player.
Wes McLeod is a retired Canadian soccer player who earned eighteen caps with the Canadian national soccer team.
Glen Johnson is a former Canadian international soccer player and prominent member of the original Vancouver Whitecaps of the NASL. He is an honoured member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.
David McDonald Norman Jr. is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder.
Jan Goossens is a former Dutch soccer player and coach. He played for clubs from the Netherlands and Canada, but spend most of his career in the United States of America. Jan Goossens played 612 official matches and scored a total of 474 goals during his career.
Chris Bennett is a former footballer who played as a forward in the North American Soccer League. Born in England, he represented the Canada national team at international level. He was one of the original Vancouver Whitecaps players from their first season in 1974. Since retiring from playing, he has been a football coach and instructor in the Vancouver area.
Bruce Miller is a Canadian retired soccer player who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned eight caps with the Canada national team and coached the Cleveland Crunch to two National Professional Soccer League titles. He now coaches youth soccer in Northern Ohio.
Jeff Stock is a retired U.S. soccer defender who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League and two in the Western Soccer Alliance. He also played in the Major Indoor Soccer League with the Tacoma Stars.
The original Vancouver Whitecaps were a professional soccer team founded on December 11, 1973. During the 1970s and 1980s they played in the North American Soccer League (NASL).
The 1979 North American Soccer League season was the 67th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer and the 12th with a national first-division league in the United States and Canada.
Drew Ferguson is a Canadian former soccer player. He was born in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada on November 9, 1957.
Katie Thorlakson is a Canadian retired soccer forward, who last played for Melbourne Victory FC. Thorlakson won two medals with the Canadian women's national soccer team at the Pan American Games in 2003 and 2007. She played collegiately soccer for the University of Notre Dame women's soccer team, where she record 73 assists, second most in school history. In 2004, she won the Soccer America Player of the Year Award, awarded to the best player in collegiate soccer for that year.
Chelsea Buckland is a Canadian former soccer forward who played for the Oregon State Beavers and the Canadian women's national team. Born and raised in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, she played at the youth and senior women's level for Vancouver Whitecaps FC, before joining the Beavers in the NCAA ranks in 2008. She joined the national team prior to her junior college year and has been with Canada at the 2011 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
