This is Cosmos Country Blog — January 8, 2015 at 7:10 am

Covering Soccer 104 with Grant Wahl

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In my opinion, MLS has become a soccer monopoly here in the United States. Majority of is aware that MLS is a single-entity league. In my opinion is trying to create a farm system much like MLB in order to control soccer here in the states. Rather than work with the NASL, the league is working with the USL Pro who a few years ago was a Division 2 league until that conflict with the NASL. Knowing that MLS is working with the USL Pro, where does this leave the NASL?

I would say this; I have no problem with competition between leagues. I think it’ll be fascinating to see more NASL make big name signings like Raúl and whoever the Fort Lauderdale strikers may get now that they have Ronaldo as a part-owner. I would love to see how that would work and how MLS would respond.

How can the NASL and MLS be rivals if U.S. Soccer has their pyramid and divisions? It’s been proven that the NASL clubs can hang with MLS’ in both American and Canadian tournament play. Yet, on paper, they’re still a Division 2 league. Why can’t U.S. Soccer make them both first divisions and have them slug it out? Whoever wins stays and whoever loses gets demoted.

What you have to remember is that when it comes to getting new owners to invest in MLS, one of the reasons those investors come here in the first place is that there isn’t promotion and relegation. So it’s very easy if you aren’t the one putting your own money into the game to say, “It should be this way, it should be that way.”

If you’re going to argue that there should be promotion and relegation in American Soccer, then you better argue that there should be for the NFL, MLB and the NBA. I don’t see too many people arguing that. That’s how I view it.

If you’re an MLS owner investing all this money for a lot of startup costs like stadiums, franchise fee, training sites, etc. I believe the league when they’re saying that they’re losing money on the MLS side. Now they’re also coming in with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), that’s a business.

SUM is the league’s cash cow, let’s be honest.

Right. I guess I still see it as some good things are happening. Franchise value has gone up for MLS teams. I would like to see the players get a bigger percentage of the money that does come in. I would like to see some free agency and really hope that we will happen.

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One Comment

  1. Good reading into Grant Wahl’s mind and past.
    ____
    As for 104, it makes me wonder what the pro/rel supporters would have done after the NASL folded in the 80′s.

    If people want pro/rel to happen, they need to support the NASL and USL PRO. Fan support needs to thrive at every level of the pyramid, not just the top, to make it feasible and show that a 2nd or 3rd division team can survive. A team relegating into a league where teams can barely keep themselves alive as is (Silverbacks immediately comes to mind) is not a prospect investors would stomach easily.

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