US Soccer Press Conference Reveals More Details Concerning Resolution of NASL and USL
The last minute press conference on Thursday called by US Soccer revealed a very upbeat Sunil Gulati, Dan Flynn, Jeff Cooper and Alec Papadakis. However, those in contact with the parties involved painted a very different and tense picture as the parties met in New York the last several days to hammer out their differences. “That’s part of any deal,” said Gulati. “Everyone was willing to compromise in the end to make sure that they met the standards we were looking for, to make sure that we had a viable and stable Division 2 setup. So you have to put some of those differences behind you and get on with it, and that’s essentially what happened. I can site thousands of situations in the past where people have these sorts of disputes and they get on with it.”
League Structure
Gulati spelled out a Division II league with 2-divisions. He made sure everyone understood that this was not interleague play but that that all teams played each other in “intraplay”. He said the schedule would be worked out in the days to come but the teams would play 28 or 32 games. Gulati said the teams are probably looking at late March to mid-April for a start date. “I can’t specify an exact date because we’re still trying to work out a schedule, with a championship game that would follow similar patterns we’ve had in the past, so you’re looking into October or November,” stated the USSF president. “There are some unanswered questions about Open Cup dates, so we can’t specify all of that. Until yesterday, we weren’t quite sure how many teams we were going to have. At this time, I don’t see a complete break during the World Cup, but I think there’s a possibility that the schedule will be lighter during the World Cup, in the way that MLS has done. There’s certainly not going to be a five-week break during the World Cup, or a 31-day break, but I think especially in the first round of the tournament, when there are 48 games in South Africa, the schedule might be a little lighter but frankly that’s not something we’ve had a chance to discuss with the 12 teams and the board.”
Team Requirements
He also explained that US Soccer would run the league and that it would most likely be called USSF 2nd Division unless they could find a sponsor for the league. He stated that US Soccer has no interest in running the league long term but does plan on making new standards for both Division II and Division III soccer. One of the suggestion that they hope to impose is a requirement of at least four U-23 players on a roster. “There are a number of countries around the world where teams agree to an association mandate that they are going to have X amount of young players on their rosters,” said Gulati. “And without us needing to say that we are going to mandate that, we’ve had a great reaction from the leadership of the two leagues. So we think we will have a bit of that, especially in our developmental model. So in a Division 2 or Division 3 we may have a rule that says you need to have four Under-23 players on the roster or something to that effect.”
Working with MLS? Not for now but…
Gulati said he didn’t rule out the future possibility of Division II working with MLS. “We’ll see some cooperation that makes a lot of sense and MLS, right now, doesn’t have reserve teams,” said Gulati. “So is there going to be a model where a Division 2 or Division 3 has a direct relationship a la the baseball model? Sure, that’s quite possible. Obviously in the baseball model where the teams are paying the contracts of the AAA or AA players, it’s a bit different. But all of that is possible and it’s all really up to the participants. The most critical part of this will be the investors in these teams. We are happy to play a continual role given our mandate and our charge and we are critically interested in player development.”
Stability of teams going forward
Gulati stressed numerous times throughout the press conference the importance that was placed on stability of teams and the league going forward. “Yes, we’ve got some very specific targets in our regulations and we intend to put in more of those,” said Gulati. “Whether they apply to financial stability, what staffing levels look like, etc. To give you an example, our regulations have minimum standards on size of stadiums, a full-time operation for P.R. Director and CEO and so on and so forth. We think we need to put some more meat behind those in order to make sure that the teams that are part of a Division 2, or Division 1 for that matter, meet a certain standard and most importantly can meet that standard year in and year out and improve. We can’t have this constant issue that bedevils a number of sports, that the offseason is spent primarily to make sure that you can come back the following season. That you’re looking for expansion teams not because it makes long-term sense to build the game and the league, but because you need an expansion fee. We had that issue 25 years ago in our league, and we want to make sure that we’re able to avoid that so that expansion is done in a systematic way. U.S. Soccer is not going to be the one deciding that, but if people coming in the door want to be part of Division 2, they need to understand that this is a long-term play and that there are going to be some significant investments early on and aren’t counting on expansion proceeds in a year or two to reduce capital costs. The philosophy we’ve discussed with the leaders of these teams seems to be in line with that. People understand that for us the most important thing is stability, growth is right after that. But you can’t have growth without stability.”
Not surprised but pleased
Gulati said in his opening comments that he was surprised by the amount of interest in the press conference on such short notice. Over 125 people were connected to the teleconference. I asked Gulati if he was surprised by the interest in 2nd division soccer as this story played out:
“I’m less surprised by the overall interest because we’ve had many teams in important U.S. markets for a number of years. We have lots of players who are currently playing in our national team that have come to play in parts of their careers on teams that we are talking about, which is also the case for the Canadian national team. The interest is not a surprise. But, the fact that it’s continued to build is obviously a plus and it’s partly a reflection of where the sport is and how the sport is getting better. When we get the sort of interest that we do on player transfers for national team players, that interest is higher. The interest we got over the summer for the Confederations Cup was higher. Part of it is the rising tide for the sport. Part of it is that there has been a little bit of negativity and that always seems to pick up some news. I’m pleased we’ve had this level of interest. We joked about it a little before the call, with Jeff and Alec, that we’d prefer not to get the interest level up with this sort of last two weeks every year, and we’re not going to do that. But, frankly, the number of people that we’ve got on the call, which is well over a hundred, in such a short amount of time is a very positive note to us and we’re very pleased about that.”
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Great step forward! I’m not spending even a minute thinking about 2011. I’ve read on other sites, where comments hinted that with Vancouver, Portland, likely Montreal moving to MLS there are no more chances for real D2 here. I think that’s wrong. Firstly, Vancouver already announced that they will maintain the Edmonton Oilers in D2 (NASL) as their reserve team. But even more than that let’s not forget about Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Quebec City. All of these cities have great soccer and I’m sure something will be happening; and that’s only North of the 49th. In the US, there’s even more potential: Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Phoenix, Tucson, San Antonio, Oklahoma, etc.
I was very glad to see that Gulati specifically mentioned “D3″ not only D2. That’s really encouraging.
Sometimes things have to break, in order to put things back together. Now it’s our turn The Fans to support each one of these teams. Go Minnesota!
See you at the games in 2010!
Hey Brian!
I read somewhere that USSF was considering bringing down the allowed amount of foreign players on each D-2 team’s roster, did you hear anything about this?
Hey Steven,
I believe Kartik may have reported that. I was not very happy about that but again, they are trying to develop US and Canadian players. Again, all of this for now is just for 2010. Ultimately it will be up to the sanctioned league in 2011.
I hope we don’t see the phrase “in the way MLS has done” too often going forward, but this is very positive. Good for USSF, they’ve handled it well. Nice work again Brian.
Phew!
I like the idea that all teams will play each other.
I was getting a little bumbed out thinking Montreal would not be playing Rochester this upcoming season.
MLS is not the answer to everything soccer in North America, but they’ve done well in many ways.
This is the most important statement from yesterdays pres conference:
“People understand that for us the most important thing is stability, growth is right after that. But you can’t have growth without stability.”
I also hope this increased interest in the state of D2 actually carries over to interest in the actual product of soccer and not just a bunch of people interested in the drama.
Saw this on one of the tweets. Interesting reading:
http://www.indyweekblogs.com/sports/2010/01/08/wellman-nasl-will-be-sanctioned-new-franchise-to-be-announced-soon-discusses-fifa-calendar-prorel/
Matt, of course people were interested in the drama, and of course some of that will die down, unless MLS does go out on strike. However negative things were, it did shine a light on an aspect of soccer in the US and Canada that shouldn’t be neglected by fans and quite frankly was by far too many people. I know we’re actually on the same page here. But there are now a lot more soccer supporters in this country that know a hell of a lot more about Division II soccer than they did 6 months ago. As you say, thats a good thing and lets hope it continues.
Tom, that is a very good read. I read it early this morning. The author, David Fellerath and I became acquaintances throughout this ordeal and often share information. Davids a good guy and knows his soccer.
Brian – from what you might have heard behind the scenes, do you feel that what Selby Wellman had to say was accurate? He’s always been one of the biggest NASL proponents so I’m not sure if there is a bit of embellishment in his comments.
I just hope this means that the “best soccer blog” actually covers Division 2 soccer in this country rather than just marginal coverage, at best. Let’s face it, Division 2 soccer in this country wasn’t even covered by the soccer media!
Thanks to ims and du nord for providing some much needed coverage!
I hope Ives follows suit and gives us the great coverage he brings to the game at other levels!
If anyone is interested, here is the link to an edited/condensed version of the US Soccer conference call on 1-7-10:
http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-National-Team/2010/01/NASL-USL-Conference-Call-Transcript.aspx
Wellman needs to get his head out of the clouds. Neither pro/rel nor a fall-spring schedule will work in the US, plain and simple.
Dave – You’re right that a fall/spring season is just not workable for our variety of climates across North America, but there’s no reason why pro/rel shouldn’t work. It’ll be hard the first couple of years, but the excitement the fans (and players) will experience is unparalleled. I can’t wait to see pro/rel across 2, 3 or even 4 divisions. It’ll be fantastic. There’s no better feeling that starting a season “without any thought” of being the #1 team in your division, rather “with the thought” of becoming the last team in the next division up.
promotion/relegation might be cool between Division 2 thru 4, as long as there is some kind of TV deal and salaries all along the way.
Wellman will speak positively of promotion/relegation until the Railhawks finish last. Then watch what he says.
There’s one major reason why pro/rel won’t ever work in the US: the owners won’t accept it. I could go into more detail, but just find a pro/rel argument thread on Big Soccer. There are probably a couple dozen of them. You can watch others argue it endlessly over there.
Wellman is also an idiot regarding his stadium complaints. The money and political power of division 2 teams is far below that of MLS teams. And there are a couple MLS teams that still can’t get their own stadiums. Just because he’s in a fortunate situation there with his money and the location he’s in doesn’t mean that everyone else is as fortunate. And, yeah, maybe I’m being a little self-centered on this one. I want the Aztex playing in division 2. But it’s going to be hell finding anything better than what we’re going to play in this season.
On the other hand, Austin could be the ONLY team in USSF Division II without a SSS. Miami will be the other one to figure out where they are gong to play. I also know people from down there that say they will not come to a game as long as it’s played on an American football field. I’m not saying I’m agreeing, but I am telling you what you have to deal with.
I could see the USSF setting that for a standard in the future.
If what Brian says: many Miami fans will not come to games with point ball lines, then the team needs to hear this and find a suitable venue … it just makes sense, when you see their dismal attendance rates, that just maybe it has something to do with the venue (plus assorted other factors).
I was talking about Austin, not Miami and not many but I know some people who won’t come because of football lines and artificial surface.
A Division II w/o pro/rel is only a Division II nominally. Of course, it comes down to owners being afraid of having to improve their teams instead of just pocketing easy TV money. Ironically, in the nation known for its “triumphant” capitalism, we won’t allow for a free market.
CB, I’d somewhat disagree with that statement. It may not be a Division II or as you say “nominally a Division II” by most of the worlds standards. But we’re late comers to this game. While I do believe we will have that someday, now is most likely not the time for the many reasons I’ve stated here time after time. Basically its infrastructure. Oh, by the way, let me and the owners of these teams know where the easy TV money is? Cause there ain’t nobody in this country making a profit or much of a profit yet on TV or anything for that matter in regard to soccer team ownership.