Pali Blues Special Letter to the fans   -  www.bluessoccerclub.com

Monday, February 8, 2010

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - The Pali Blues Soccer Club, back-to-back national champions of women’s soccer in the USL W-League and an organization dedicated to the growth of the women’s game, was greatly saddened by the news that the Los Angeles Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer had been forced to discontinue operations.

The news also reaffirms our resolve to do whatever it takes to keep our own team, the Pali Blues, playing, winning, and inspiring young players right here in Los Angeles, for years to come.

It is no secret that the Pali Blues – an amateur organization dedicated to nurturing top collegiate and international talent – shared a special bond with the Sol.

Blues co-founder Ali Mansouri was one of the Sol’s original owners, along with Blues coach Charlie Naimo the Sol’s General Manager. LA Sol players, including FIFA Player of the Year Marta, were on hand for the Pali Blues thrilling 2009 playoff victory over the Colorado Force at the Pacific Palisades Stadium-by-the-Sea. They even signed halftime autographs.

However the bond between the organizations ran much deeper. Both the Blues and the Sol were founded with the goal of inspiring a generation of girls and young women who are growing up playing soccer in record numbers. Nearly forty years removed from the passage of Title IX, this new generation enjoys unprecedented acceptance and celebration of the female athlete. Yet, if the shuttering of the Sol proves anything, perhaps it is that there is still much work to be done.

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