A Special Series by Rob Luker
This is the final installment in Clarkson University business student Rob Luker's "American Soccer Business Plan". You can read Part I, American Soccer Ambitions here, Part II, The Role of MLS here, and Part III, The Role of USSF here.
Part IV: How To Fix It
Up to this point I’ve been doing a lot of jabbering and explaining about the problems with Soccer in America but have fallen short of offering clear cut solutions. While I do believe the ideas I will present would help, I do not know anything for sure because of my position of being on the outside looking in when it comes to MLS and the USSF. But, if everyone thought everything was just fine, then no improvements would ever be made to the system, which is why I’m writing this, and presenting is as a theoretical solution.
To summarize, the past three parts of this series look like this:
1. American Soccer fans want their club and national team soccer to be better.
2. MLS needs the USSF in the short term (for the most part)
3. The USSF needs the MLS in the long term even more.
Obviously, before any of my proposals could happen a new collective bargaining agreement must be reached between the MLS owners and players. A lockout could put the league a decade back financially not to mention any momentum that MLS as a league has right now would be gone. The only interests I have in the CBA regarding player development and this series involves the minimum salary for a player/rookie and the resulting effect it has on the Designated Player rule. The minimum salary must be raised, and that goes without saying. By raising the salary floor more American talent should theoretically stick around and play in MLS rather than hopping over-seas to a Scandinavian league which doesn’t get the media coverage MLS does. The Designated Player rule has its pros and cons, but in the end I think it should stay for now. In a league with a strict salary cap to promote parity and overall financial responsibility, the DP (obviously) allows teams that can afford a star (or two) to get them. This is key to obtaining and, more importantly, retaining the average American sports fan. I would like to think that most Americans know who Thierry Henry is (I have a feeling I’m wrong though), and if Henry ends up in NY you know there will be some chatter about his presence.
Another small tidbit to help MLS and in turn the USSF is better scheduling between the league and USSF/FIFA. Although this idea isn’t revolutionary it should go without saying that MLS should step to the side when the USMNT is playing; as it only hurts MLS for the most part. To the best of my knowledge as a soccer fan, FIFA and CONCACAF makes the dates for international competitions blatantly clear and obvious, and MLS should do all it can to avoid these dates. Soccer is one of few sports where international competition reigns over all others, and Mr. Garber and company needs to just make the extra effort; as it should pay off.
Let us now move to the major proposals I will make regarding the future of Soccer in America. In my opinion, it would be the best business decision for MLS and the USSF to invest what money is available into altering and further organizing the North American soccer youth system and pyramid. By doing this, the USSF and MLS will eventually solve their problems regarding the quality of play within the domestic league and for the USMNT. How should the organization look? Look no further than another North American-born sport that has quite an international flavor to it when it comes to the domestic league here in the USA. I’m talking about the sport I have grown up on, currently play, and plan on coaching: Ice Hockey.
Hockey and Soccer have very similar paths to professional play for most Americans, Canadians, and Europeans. Here in North America, you grow up playing youth (USA) or minor (CAN) hockey. If you’re good enough you play in high school or go straight to what is called Junior hockey, to which there are many varying levels. Following that, you either go to play Major Junior (fast-track to the NHL), or you go to play college hockey in the USA. Finally, if you are lucky enough, you have landed somewhere within the pro-ranks (if not the NHL) via the draft or a try-out, and you have to work your way up. In Europe, though, players are brought into Professional team academies, just like in soccer, and are eventually brought up through the ranks. If they can make it to the NHL, the leagues know they can’t keep him, and they let him go after his contract is up.
As you can see, the youth pattern for Soccer and Hockey here in North America is somewhat similar. This is why I think eliminating the MLS SuperDraft would be a major mistake by MLS and the USSF. Going to college and getting an education is a special part of American culture, and using sports is definitely one way to do that. If anything, MLS and the USSF should be putting more and more importance on the college game in order to raise the quality of play. Completely eliminating a potential source for future American soccer talent makes absolutely no sense to me. Plus, from a business standpoint, MLS clubs do not have to spend a dime (theoretically) on these players before they are drafted, just like in American college football.
By employing a system similar to what Hockey and the NHL has set up, they could create makeshift academies (Junior-hockey level) by establishing agreements between MLS clubs and the Junior teams. In the past, the NHL team that selected a Junior player actually paid the club a small amount of money for the development, but that is no more. Along with this, to enable MLS clubs to expand their rosters and develop players at a slightly lower level but with more affiliation, I propose that the USSF organize the two levels below the MLS to have minor league-like qualities. I am not necessarily proposing full-blown affiliations, but with MLS clubs being franchises there is no other way to allow slower players to develop without some sort of a minor league affiliation between MLS and the lower divisions. Not only does this help MLS and the USSF with additional player development, it also helps the lower divisions financially as they would be an affiliate to MLS and the USSF.
"But Rob, what about players who can’t afford to go play “Junior” Hockey/Soccer?" That’s where the high school and college game comes in (subsequently, the Draft). Well guess what, I was one of those players. See, in Hockey, plenty of young American and Canadian talent go to waste because Division 2 and 3 hockey have become waste-spots for 22 year old Canadian freshmen (who used all their junior years) who are bigger and stronger than an 18 year old American high school graduate (who probably still played good hockey). But, because of the MLS SuperDraft and the Combine, high school and college soccer still matter. If you eliminate the Draft, you eliminate a major portion of potential soccer talent.
The system is not perfect, but neither is the academy one Europe employs either. The fact of the matter is that the European system of academy football and hockey have just been around much longer and is ingrained into their culture. US Soccer, meanwhile, is in a transitional period to the point where a higher quality of play is needed within the domestic league and on the national team scene (if they want to take the next step). To force an academy system, which might not make much sense to a potential soccer parent, would be a mistake in the long run. What I think MLS and the USSF need to realize is that they are sitting on a mountain of potential soccer talent for the world to enjoy. In order to solve their one of their biggest current issues, (quality of play) they need to invest into their Research & Development department as much as possible. Outsourcing (buying talent), will prove to be too difficult over time as the market is too big and far too expensive for some MLS clubs. So as the CBA expires and we head into another decade of the 21st century, I plead MLS and the USSF to keep an eye on the future. As I’ve alluded to before, we American soccer fans only want a good league and success for the US teams, and as the NASL proved before, you can’t just spend money to make a league good.
