OK. I was wrong. The club pays for schooling, medical care, college, and stipend to the parents then it is different than I thought. (or what was implied in your post). If not it has nothing to do with stealing because they have the same rights, its about adding to the usage of public services without paying into the system. If the club pays said fees and taxes then I was wrong.
There is something I don't get. If my kid is a US citizen, does that mean he *can't* go on trial with a European Union club or enter their academy, or does it mean that we would have to pay or something? I know of more than a few internationals at MLS academies, and none of them had issues with not being US citizens. This affects our situation, as we have European links outside the European Union, but they do not have as strong a soccer presence. Also, I have heard of other US players going to academies in Europe, but is it implied they must have had a familial connection?
FIFA limits the ability of players under the age of 18 from moving international "just" for soccer purposes. To go to a European academy, the player must hold a passport from that country or must be accompanied by a parent who doesn't relocate strictly for "soccer purposes" ... meaning the adult must generally have gainful employment within the country. Good example -- Russell Canouse is 17 and a part of the Hoffenheim academy. His father has worked for a German software company for a long time and took a transfer (which came first, not sure). It helps that Hoffenheim is owned by one of the founders of the company he works for, but it's not particularly suspicious. I believe that players between 16 - 18 can move within the EU without restriction (meaning they hold a passport for an EU/EEA country), but under that, even passport holders of another EU country must be accompanied by parents. There are always ways around these things, especially if education is used as the "main" reason for moving. MLS teams are responsible for generating talent for their teams and aren't just looking for talent that is eligible for the USMNT. If the players were brought into the US simply for soccer reasons, then that would be against the rules, but, face it, we don't have people coming into the US for our soccer training. Unless USSF requires it to receive support, teams (MLS & non) will be free to add players to their academy teams who aren't US citizens. Since they aren't employees, there is little need to inquire about citizenship and the kids don't need work visas (or even be here legally, I suppose). The same would be true if you took a job in Germany and your son made the local academy team. For the purposes of the academy, everything is legit and your son can move up through the system. Eventually, the MLS academies (and perhaps others) will want to develop more talent than they can use and sell that talent internationally. Finding top local talent, even if it's not eligible to play for the US or Canada, is what will help to fund the training operation and the team itself.
Now I'm confused. How can there be a big thread on these forums about a ten year old being spotted and recruited to attend La Masia (let alone a boatload of others mentioned)? There is no indication that his parents did anything but agree to move to Spain so that their son could attend. There is no indication of any European heritage being used. http://blog.3four3.com/2011/04/17/american-invited-to-join-la-masia/ And as for education, I don't think it would be too difficult to prove to any European that the soccer education opportunities in the US are basically zero. My son has tried out at two local DA programs, and both times stopped the process after being invited back multiple times because the training was beyond bad. Run laps, then scrimmage for 90 minutes. That isn't soccer training, it's earning money to babysit.
I'm no expert on this, but FIFA appears to really focus their efforts on kids from poor countries who get taken advantage of. If a kid from the US gets into an academy and the parents move over, no one is really paying any attention to that.
Ben's family moved to Spain and that's all that needed to happen. Here is how it it went down: http://blog.3four3.com/2011/04/17/american-invited-to-join-la-masia/ He is also eligible for an Israeli passport. Here's another thread on him in the Yanks Abroad forum. Ben's dad is also on Bigsoccer and gives a little bit of info in the thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/ben-lederman-at-barcelona-youth-academy.1712095/
No, you are wrong. Canadian Jonathan de Guzman moved without parents to Rotterdam to enter the Feyenoord Soccer Academy at the age of 11/12 and before him Brasilian Leonardo at the age of 11. They were placed in a home with foster parents. There is nothing FIFA can do about it and there is no reason to do so at all, as the kids not only enter the academy, but also the normal school system of the Netherlands.
Sorry, but the rules changed in 2009. A lot has changed since de Guzman moved to the Netherlands in 1998. See article 19 in the linked document: http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/01/06/30/78/statusinhalt_en_122007.pdf Yes, there are ways around them, but these are the basic rules. Player trafficking and abuse is an issue that is on FIFA's radar.
There is no need for a way around these rules, as they are meaningless. The FIFA cannot stop someone from getting an education abroad. The main weakness in the FIFA rules is that they only apply to transferring and contracting players by professional clubs. If a kid goes to the Netherlands and lives there, they are entitled to education and free to join any club they like. The Academy of the Dutch clubs are all amateur clubs, apart from the professional section. It would be an infringement of the kids Human rights if their freedom to do what they like should be curbed by an association they never were member of as the rules of the FIFA declare.
It's not an infringement of human rights to if FIFA were to fine or punish a club for breaking rules that FIFA enforces on its members.
Chivas USA Academy @ChivasUSAYouth Good luck to @ChivasUSAYouth U16 academy player Josh Perez who is currently in residency with the U17's on trial in Florida.
Hmm, training or trial? USAprospects @USAprospects '98 #usynt Joshua Perez trialing with AC Milan is a huge step for the youngster. Perez one of the top players in the US youth pool...
Is that just Italy? How did we have so many youth players move to Germany, England, Croatia and other European teams without EU passports.
We don't really have that many, and this pertains to players under 18. Junior Flores for example can't officially join Dortmund until he turns 18. Ben Spencer can't sign with Molde until he's 18 at the end of the month.
A minute number due to the exact reason stated by ieleg. Some like Lletget, Pelosi, Hyndman, etc. have Euro passports. The rest like Gyau & friends had to be 18. Remember when Gyau and Renken hung out in Vancouver training with the Whitecaps until they turned 18? Lederman is an outlier. I was simply saying that any training stint for a kid this age is actually a trial in the sense that I'm sure scouts are watching. They may not be able to sign him now, but if he impresses them..................the club will start working on it.