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[quote=Anonymous][quote=RantingSoccerDad][quote=Anonymous][quote=RantingSoccerDad][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] in Brazil they have a couple of layers of Professional Academy which are for the most part fully funded.

After that you have soccer schools which parents pay for that are run by former professional players where they teach the game and have coaches who are paid for it.

After that layer, it's volunteer coaches but it's Brazil so they probably still know what they're doing just as much as the soccer schools

The only track towards the professionals is within an academy. If you are below that and you are aspiring to become a pro, you need a reality check if you can't even break into the bottom level of Academy with a smaller club[/quote]

Brazil also has a much deeper club system because it doesn't have the federation-supported MLS monopoly we have here, so clubs can both earn money from player development and earn promotion to the top level. So there are smaller pro clubs with academies that kids can try out for. Sometimes the clubs even make it to the top level (Chapecoense) because there are no artificial barriers to entry.[/quote]

Right -- because before MLS came along and ruined everything, we had a thriving set of professional leagues with full-fledged academies. [/quote]

OK, I'll admit MLS advanced the cause of soccer in the US. Now please give us your expert opinion: What's the statute of limitations on how long the US soccer universe has to revolve around the league and the profits of its owners?
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We don't really know whether they're profiting. They claim they're not and that everything they're getting is reinvested into the league. Not entirely sure that's true, but I'd imagine many of the clubs have not yet paid off their stadium construction costs or expansion fees. (Or, for older clubs, the capital calls they needed to get through the 2001-03 period.)

Some clubs outside MLS have professional teams and academies (one is just down I-95 from us). But so far, the people willing to invest in soccer have sought the cost-containment strategies that MLS and USL use. There were opportunities to have a more open system with some sort of NASL-NPSL cooperation, and Peter Wilt was hoping NISA would be the bridge, but it didn't happen.

At this point, it's more likely that USL will continue to solidify and then run more academies as well.

In the current climate, though, it's unlikely that clubs are going to pour a lot of money into youth academies if they're threatened with relegation -- which is true in England to an extent as well.[/quote]

The obvious #1 culprit here is USSF: They have money they aren't spending and certification authority they're not using to expand the soccer universe in the US. The obvious first solution is to divorce them from MLS, because the league's interests are widely divergent from the interests of US soccer in general.

But I'm not gonna cry for MLS. Their "cost-containment" strategies include expansion at the expense of other leagues (aided by the USSF), which is basically a giant Ponzi scheme for new owners. And let's not forget that they are the reason (also aided by the USSF) why clubs that do develop players don't get any money from contracts and transfer fees if they turn out to be valuable pros.

Bottom line: The system is broken. And the smart thing is to look at what's working elsewhere and copy it. USSF should create a pro/rel system and MLS can choose to participate or not. I don't care. My son has been playing soccer since he was 5 and he has zero interest in MLS. And neither do I.

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