Bill McLean was an AYSO official, both in Connecticut and at the national level, from the 1970s to the 1980s and played a key role in the establishment of the organization outside its original California base.

McLean was a member of the AYSO Board of Directors as a Vice-President from 1978 to 1981. He earlier had been Commissioner of the region based in Monroe, Conn., that was AYSO's first region east of the Mississippi and Director of the 26-state eastern area that was AYSO's first official area east of the Mississippi.

 Before emigrating to the United States in 1966, McLean had played for several non-league clubs in England. He played for a team of British expatriates while stationed at the British Embassy in Washington by the Royal Air Force in the early 1960s and later played for a semi-pro team in New Jersey after moving permanently to the United States.

In the 1970s, he became a USSF "A" Licensed coach. He served in several coaching positions, including as an assistant men's coach at the University of Bridgeport and conducted clinics in a range of places that included Huntsville, Ala., Johnstown, Pa., Chicago and Brooklyn. He was heavily involved in the forging of ties between AYSO and the USSF in the 1980s and between AYSO and the American Soccer League.