Do MLS clubs really have incentives to do so? To "truly develop their players" no matter the cost, for free? |
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Rumor: US soccer to drop DA completely and recommend that the US stop attempting to compete internationally at all. Rationale is that the culture can’t compete and it’s not worth the effort.
I figure while we are posting the outlandish rumors that are commonplace on this forum that we get this one out as well. |
Yes. They can sell them or put them into their first team. |
That's a nice fairy tale. In reality, many MLS teams, starting with DCU, see their academies as PR-imposed cost centers rather than potentially profitable investment. It is hard to believe that DCU, which until this year is charging his academy players, will all of a sudden decide to shuttle them all over the country and abroad. As all US professional sport leagues, the MLS is a monopolistic money machine, where most teams have only to pretend that they are trying to compete (as any Redskins fan has painfully learnt over the last 20 years). |
| Yes you are right of course, only american sports leagues are trying to make money. |
The emphasis was on “monopolistic”. As you must know, Mr Cosmopolitan, in the wilder world there is something called promotion/relegation that makes sure that teams try to perform. |
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Many international sides do training tours of the USA and the MLS is interested in having more of them visit their academies around the country. Richer teams like the EPL, Serie A, South America, etc come to the USA (largely due to the weather and tourism) to play games with various clubs in the states. Because of the DA restrictions on the number of games, the MLS DA's cannot always accommodate these visiting clubs but they would like to as they feel it would be a better standard.
https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/80950/mls-clubs-consider-leaving-the-development-academy.html |
As previously noted, the most likely outcome to this is US Soccer relaxing that requirement on the MLS clubs so they can play academy games and scrimmage with internationals, not to abandon the DA. Although we fully understand the desire of a few on this forum to have any and all US Soccer organized structures scuttled. |