FOUNDATIONS
In the last 10 years the USA
have really started to get to grips with their soccer league, MLS (Major League
Soccer). That I promise is the one
time I shall refer to the beautiful game of football as soccer.
It started when the powers that
be, then men in charge of the MLS decided they needed to expand, invest, and
globalise their brand. One thing
some fans do not understand is that the MLS operates as a single business,
which is of course unlike in England where each teams is operated independently. Basically the league owns all the
clubs; it is then the responsibility of the investors at each club to put the
jigsaw of a football club together.
As the league is run this way it makes it one of the few leagues in the
world that does not have a promotion/relegation system in place. It is expanding its team numbers slowly
but because of this 'closed membership' system it comes down to the fact that
if you have enough money and can create a team beneficial to the MLS both
quality wise and economically wise then you can join the elite.
LEAGUE STRUCTURE
Currently the MLS consists of 19
teams that include 3 from Canada, with the league kicking off in March and
running until October. Each teams
plays a total of 34 matches in this period, which decides the ten best teams
who advance to the play-offs in November and December, finally concluding with
the MLS Cup Final. There are also
other competitions the clubs compete in including the U.S. Cup, the Canadian
Championship, and the CONCACAF Championships and Champions League, where they
are tested against clubs from other countries.
Each club has to adhere to the
rules set in place by MLS, including a salary cap and player restrictions. The main reason for the salary cap
being that clubs are not exceeding what they can afford but it also helps to
keep the league competitive and not turn into a one or two team league. However there is ways around some of
these restrictions, they have a designated player rule which allows the club to
discount a player's salary from their overall cap. David Beckham being a prime example of this.
The league also makes each team
have a youth programme to ensure future stars have a platform to come from,
each club has the opportunity to promote two players from their youth development
every season thus keeping a steady flow of new talent emerging.
It is because of all these
things that they have turned the MLS into a profitable entity and is soon to
become even more so, with a new record TV deal on the horizon as well as more lucrative
sponsors. Not forgetting the new
teams forming like Beckhams' Miami club as well as the Manchester City owners
backed New York club joining the league over the next few seasons. It all points to a strong top tier of
football in America. A long way
from the almost laughable set-up that was in place years ago.
THE NATIONAL TEAM
The USA national side have
benefited from all these changes too of course. After some hard years in the wilderness they are slowly
improving and reaping the rewards.
They have qualified for every World Cup since 1990 and although unable
to perform well enough to escape their group in Italia '90, USA '94 and France
'98, they really stepped up in the 2002 tournament held in Korea/Japan. They reached the quarterfinals after a
fantastic 2-0 win against Mexico in the first knockout stage and that has been
followed up with Last 16 appearances in the 2010 in South Africa and 2014 World
Cup held in Brazil. The
improvement has been very visible with their style of play and ability
improving immensely over the last 20 years.
ROUNDUP
Overall the MLS is a well-run
organisation and a lot of other countries could learn from it. I am not saying their system is
flawless and should be copied the world over but there is definitely some positives
to be taken, and as long as it's working for them that is all they need to
worry about. Football is growing
daily in America and with their schools and colleges operating scholarship
schemes the future looks even brighter.
The potential talent pool of players in the USA is immense with all
different cultures and ethnicities residing and becoming citizens of the
country. If everything continues
as it is currently it is entirely possible that within 20 years the USA have
every chance of winning or at least competing in semi-finals and finals of any
international tournament. REST OF
THE WORLD BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!
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