Profile
The Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League, Inc., now in its 52nd year, was founded in 1967 in conjunction with the creation of the Atlanta Chiefs, Atlanta’s first professional soccer team. The coaches and players of the Chiefs helped to establish this league to generate interest in soccer. The ADASL was the first league created locally and also became the first, and now oldest, member of the Georgia State Soccer Association. One of our founders, player-coach Phil Woosnam went on to become the North American Soccer League chairman and an inductee into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. Today, the league is recognized as the most competitive organized affiliated adult league in metro Atlanta.
The League started with 9 teams in 1967. In that first year, the league played two seasons, split between the fall and spring. The final was played before an Atlanta Chiefs home game in the old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. The Lockheed Tornado overcame the UGA club team by a score of 1-0 to win the inaugural league championship!
Current membership averages between 25 to 30 teams for the Major Season in two divisions. The Major Season is the main competitive season starting the third Sunday in September and running through late spring.
In 1979, a newly formed team called Datagraphic won the National Amateur Cup by beating the San Francisco Glens in front of a home crowd at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium. Datagraphic went on to win 12 League titles under the Datagraphic name and two more as an Over 30 side. In the spring of 2000 the over-30 team made it to the finals of the Over 30 National Amateur Cup, losing out to a team from Eastern Pennsylvania. In all, those Datagraphic teams were in 5 National Cup finals, won 11 Regional Cup finals, and 19 State Cup finals, all over a span of 22 years.
All new teams must start in the bottom division and earn promotion to Division 1. Division 1 teams are made up of former D1 college players and
Many players from the pro ranks have played for teams in the ADASL. Among them are Angus McAlpine, Danny Payton, Nick Papadakis, Henry Largie, Alan Hamlyn, David Chadwick, Graham Tutt, and Macoumba Kandji to name a few. In addition to professional players, the ADASL boasts many former members among leadership positions in the State, Regional, and National governing bodies of the sport.
