In some ways, you could look at the launch of the National Premier Soccer League’s Founders Cup in August 2019 as a second chance at a first impression for California United Strikers FC.  The club was announced in 2017 as an expansion team in the Orange County, California market for the North American Soccer League. It came to be known as California United FC soon after, but played its first competitive matches in the United Premier Soccer League that Fall under the name OC Invicta.  They dominated the competition. They were ready to go for the NASL in 2018, but the United States Soccer Federation had other ideas. The NASL was not sanctioned for the 2018 season, leaving Cal United and other clubs in a tough position. Cal United kept operating its second team, now called California United FC II, in the UPSL while finding a solution for its first team.

The theme of second chances is built into the very heart of the club.  California United Strikers FC use the hashtag “Home of the Dream” because they aspire to be the go-to club for talented players in California who have slipped through the cracks of the US soccer system.  This is a personal passion for the folks running the club.

California United Strikers FC president Michael Collins played the game professionally for 17 years, earning 2 caps for the United States Men’s National Team in 1988. Collins’ prime took place in the time between end of the classic North American Soccer League and the start of Major League Soccer.  Players of Collins era lacked the opportunity of those that came immediately before and of those who followed. This is part of what motivates him in making California United Strikers FC a home for players in the Golden State who have slipped through the cracks of the current US soccer system. This passion is shared by VP of Soccer Operations Ron Gilmore, who started his career in soccer management as a marketing intern with the original San Jose Earthquakes back in 1979 and stayed with the club until 1985.  The collapse of the classic NASL led Gilmore to take his career outside of professional soccer until 2014, when he had the opportunity to help build Arizona United SC, which later become Phoenix Rising. For Collins and Gilmore, the idea of second chances is very personal.

Southern California is one of the most talent rich regions in the country.  The way US soccer currently processes talent is centered around the needs of teams in Major League Soccer.  With just two MLS teams in SoCal for most of the last decade, there are some extremely talented players who just get missed. The best example is of course Christian Ramirez, the talented striker whose consistent goal scoring record earned his way up from the lower divisions into MLS.  Collins and Gilmore believe that there are many more players like Ramirez who never get found because the mainstream system is not designed to serve them.

I was able to speak with Michael Collins and Ron Gilmore about California United Strikers FC, and how the project has evolved since it was first announced a year and a half ago.

Continue reading this artcile by Chris Kivlehan on Midfield Press