Members of Valley soccer league speak at

Members of the Coachella Valley Desert Soccer League attended Wednesday’s Coachella city council meeting to try and work out the issue.

One coach said that two years ago the old league was late filing paperwork to practice at city parks, so the city of Coachella decided to punish the league by not allowing them to practice in those parks for seven years.

City officials said at Wednesday’s meeting that the old league was not transparent with their money and did not identify themselves as a league.

According to City Councilmember Betty Sanchez, the league was not pushed out for 7 years as they profess. Sanchez said it was a misunderstanding and that the former league did not play by the rules that sports leagues in the city must adhere to.

“Unfortunately, the old league failed their audit twice two years in a row so they were given a whole year extension to pass it again and they failed again,” Sanchez said.

The new league now has to comply over a 3-year period to prove that they are financially in accordance with city rules They will be able to practice by renting out fields and will regain full privileges a little over a year from now once they establish themselves as a league.

“They can use the field, just not as part of the league, unfortunately in the past we can’t distinguish between the old league and the new league,” Sanchez said.

The league and council members are expected to meet to clarify all the details and reach an agreement.