A not-so-friendly competition between upstart Marion Rochester Youth Soccer and the well-established Mariner Youth Soccer Association has ended with the former being denied a place in the South Coast Soccer League.

Launched last year, the Marion Rochester Youth Soccer club petitioned to join the South Coast Soccer League, where 22 clubs compete against each other in a geographic area that ranges from Nantucket to Fall River.

Fairhaven-based Mariner Youth Soccer is a founding member of the league, which was formed in 1982, and said the move was a power grab.

In Massachusetts, soccer club membership is broken up by territory to limit clubs from stacking teams with exceptional players from different towns.

If approved, the decision would take Marion and Rochester kids out of Mariner’s territory, which also includes Acushnet, Fairhaven and Mattapoisett. Marion and Rochester youth would play for the new club instead of for Mariner, and that possibility upset Mariner’s board of directors.

“We know that to an outsider this all seems a little silly to be arguing over kids soccer,” the board wrote in a release. “But please think of all the time and effort it takes to build something like Mariner Soccer…We don’t understand why the officials of the Town of Marion won’t just leave us alone.”

Marion Recreation Director Jody Dickerson said the move would accommodate the club’s new travel teams that want to compete closer to home.

The resistance from Mariner left him baffled.

“We don’t think Mariner is looking out for the kids, they’re looking out for themselves,” Dickerson said, adding he’s been involved with youth sports since the 1980s. “The last two years, I’ve noticed that some parents are just nuts and aren’t looking out for the best interest of the kids.”

The Marion Rochester club, previously known as Oceaneers Youth Soccer, came under the direction of the Marion Recreation Department when the founders, Jorge and Tiffany Figueiredo, stepped down after 11 years.

The couple started the club to offer a noncompetitive environment to teach soccer. Games were played on Saturdays in Rochester.

Dickerson said coaches and players had expressed interest in creating travel teams to add a competitive element to the club. To do so, it would have to join a league. Officials made their case to South Coast Soccer officials last year.

Dickerson said when the league denied the club permission to become a member in September 2015 it joined the MAPLE League, which serves 850 teams from 100 clubs throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

However, that means games are played in all of those states, which really puts the travel in travel team. Dickerson said being a part of the South Coast Soccer League would allow Marion and Rochester players a chance to compete closer to home.

“We want to stay roughly in Southeastern Massachusetts and the islands,” Dickerson said.

But the Mariner board of directors said that a “yes” vote from league officials would remove the decision of where to play for Marion and Rochester families.

Dickerson said that wasn’t true and that the club provides an unlimited number of waivers as written into its constitution, allowing Marion and Rochester players the opportunity to play for Mariner if they choose.

According to Mariner officials, that unlimited waiver clause wouldn’t be valid under league rules.

“This is the part that Marion Rec doesn’t seem to understand. If Marion Rec becomes a part of South Coast Soccer League, they have to follow the rules of those organizations – no matter what Marion’s Rec constitution says,” according to the Mariner board.

Mariner and South Coast League rules state that there are a limited number of waivers available. Should a team have 25 percent of players from outside of the club’s geographic area, then it can’t compete in Massachusetts.

“Those rules were NOT put in place by Mariner nor were they put into place to thwart Marion Rec,” according to the Mariner board. “They were put in place so all clubs could peacefully co-exist.”

Dickerson said joining the league wasn’t meant to anger Mariner but is an effort to provide a quality program for local travel teams.

“They don’t want us to do this and think it will take away from their program,” Dickerson said. “We’re not taking anything away from them. Let the parents decide what’s in the best interest for their children.”

Mariner officials echoed the sentiment.

“All of our administration, coaching, registration is done by parents and former parents, from all towns, for no money…We are not the bad guys here. We have no other reason to do it, except for the kids.”

Ultimately, Mariner’s request to stop the Marion Rochester club from joining the league succeeded. A vote was taken on Monday that again denied the tri-town club from joining its ranks.

In a letter to parents the same day, Marion Recreation wrote, “At this time, Marion Recreation will not appeal today’s decision at the national level due to the number of alternative options for the participants who wish a more competitive level of soccer.”

It also stated that the league’s decision would not affect the club’s Saturday program.