The future of the "second" division of American and Canadian soccer took a dramatic turn today: Alex Papadakis, chairman of NuRock Soccer Holdings, the new owner of USL, told a Canadian radio station that the Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact would not be participating in USL-1 next season.
Papadakis indicated that "the negotiations are finished", and that the league will move forward with those clubs that want to be a part of USL-1. That would indicate that the statuses of the entirety of the Team Owners Association-affiliated clubs (Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, and the new Tampa Bay Rowdies, with a potential St. Louis club and the on-hiatus Atlanta Silverbacks involved as well) are in question.
Papadakis' words didn't jive with those of Impact owner Joey Saputo's who indicated that negotiations are not finished and that the Impact could still play in USL-1 next year. For the Whitecaps part, President Bob Lenarduzzi told John Molinaro of the CBC that the TOA is pursuing a new league option and is on the verge of submitting an application to the USSF (both statements in Molinaro's story at the CBC site); those statements have now been couched by Lenarduzzi, who has since told Molinaro that his club is "in limbo" for 2010.
It appears that Lenaduzzi may have shown too much of the TOA's hand, and was then forced to "retract" (though he didn't fully) his statements. Fleshing out what exactly is happening is extremely difficult; both sides are clearly attempting to influence public opinion, with the high profile Canadian clubs at the forefront of the battle.
Lenarduzzi's comment about submitting an application to the USSF are interesting, in that they indicate that either the TOA or some portion of it is moving ahead with contingency plans should a resolution not be found. Time is of the essence here; if the break away clubs hope to be ready to play outside of USL-1 in 2010, they need to get moving on the process.
Things are messy, that much is sure. I'm still at a loss to explain exactly what it is the TOA clubs might get out of returning to a league that is wholly owned by a third party and that leaves them out of of decision-making process. The backbone of any league, in any sport, is its member clubs; as such, those clubs should helping to make policy, determine direction, etc. USL/NuRock has done nothing to this point to indicate that they get that; instead, they inform players their contracts are voided behind the clubs backs, make proclamations that certain clubs are out of the league despite statements to the contrary by the clubs themselves, and just general look the bully.
I'm solidly on the side of owners who want a say in how the business of their league is conducted. I understand that breaking away would be extremely difficult, risky, and complicated; the new league would have a Herculean task ahead of it to install the proper administrative bodies to make such a thing happen. It all really comes down to how far the TOA member clubs are willing to go to get what they want. It doesn't look to me like NuRock will be backing down.
For an overview of today's events, read friend of MFUSA Andrew Bucholtz's piece on the matter.
What do you make of today's developments?
