Norh American Priemership?

[DANNO49]

The Los Angeles Spanish newspaper,La Opinion, has an article about a proposed North American Priemership. From my poor translation skills I have gatherd that it will have teams from both the MLS and FMF. It was thought up by Concacaf. You can propbaly find the article at www.laopinion.com. Click on Goalazo or the article is entitled "Quieren reducir la frontera" you could search for it there. If anyone can translate it into English I and others would be apriciative. ;)

[beachesl]

Well, here's roughly what is said (that the head of the top Mexican league wants to set up a tournament or similiar competition, not a Premier League as such, with the MLS):

The United States and Mexico are studying the possibility of creating a "Dual Premier League" with clubs from both countries, the President of the First Division of Mexican football, Víctor Garcés, states.

The proposal has been presented by the Mexican Federation and its counterpart in the United States to the CONCACAFcongress happening in Grenada, the director said.

"It would be an extraordinary display to take Mexican clubs to the United States and vice versa; we could make a Premier League, which would be very attractive ",commented Garcés.

One of the suggested objectives would be to strengthen the top football league of the United States (MLS), assured Garcés.

The President indicated that the proposal will have to be analyzed carefully because, in addition to the sporting aspects, it will also be necessary to consider the "economic and commercial aspect".

Directors of the football federations of the United States and Mexico will meet during the next congress of the FIFA {at the end of next week} to continue studying this proposal.

"We have approached the MLS and have the intention of expand the development of it’s football, so we won’t spend a long time before we take serious steps, such as organizing a tournament involving top league teams from both countries ", added Garcés.

"We are soon going to do something a little more serious towards organizing this tournament, that will display a quality and commitment to the United States and Mexico, exclusively through the avenue of this “league”, that will soon unfold", the director added.

"We will see if we can strengthen the MLS through sport cooperation, and, as well, they will also strengthen our league. There is a great affinity for Mexican football in the United States in general, and in particular for the large population of Latinos in the US, particularly of Mexican, Honduran and Salvadoran background", he concluded.

Hugo Says No

The ex-Mexican striker and presently technical director of the UNAM Pumas club, Hugo Sanchez, yesterday rejected the possibility of creating a Premier League for teams of his country and the United States, pointing to the fact that it was supposed "to strengthen" the football of our neighbor to the north.

"Who would want to strengthen American football with our talent, our quality and the many years of experience of we Mexicans, so that in just a short time they would be equal to us?" Sanchez asked, in rejecting before the press the possibility of creating a bi-national league.

The former striker of the Spanish club Real Madrid and the Mexican national team added that: "Mexico continues to be the giant of the CONCACAF and we should not feel obligated to strengthen US football so they are up to our level.”

[Shaydee]

Hugo Says No

The ex-Mexican striker and presently technical director of the UNAM Pumas club, Hugo Sanchez, yesterday rejected the possibility of creating a Premier League for teams of his country and the United States, pointing to the fact that it was supposed "to strengthen" the football of our neighbor to the north.

"Who would want to strengthen American football with our talent, our quality and the many years of experience of we Mexicans, so that in just a short time they would be equal to us?" Sanchez asked, in rejecting before the press the possibility of creating a bi-national league.

The former striker of the Spanish club Real Madrid and the Mexican national team added that: "Mexico continues to be the giant of the CONCACAF and we should not feel obligated to strengthen US football so they are up to our level.”

am i wrong or hasn't mexico been our bitch for the last 8 years?

[AMEPUNKANIST]

A Priemership with he argie league or la liga du brasil. Thats what the mexican leagues needs.;)

[Mel Brennan]

This whole proposal is reflective of the lack of insight at CONCACAF, the failure to make anything out of their Champions Cup, which, if developed correctly (and this is not hard, it just - primarily - requires that the money made FROM the tournament go BACK INTO the tournament in terms of rize money and development) would - and damn well SHOULD serve the same purpose.

But because CONCACAF's think tanks cannot or will not (or both!) figure out a way to develop the tournament without their requisite levels of graft making it unviable, because there is NO LEADERSHIP, the region is left with these competitive band-aids.

Everyday, EVERYDAY, this region's governance becomes more and more definitive of the term "disgrace."

Wow; I cannot believe, after working there seemingly so long ago, how fresh my anger still is; when I worked there, I wanted to physically hurt certain people for their raping of the Confederation; now, its all welling up again, b/c I KNOW what, given the ample resources at the region's disposal, the COnfed should be looking like after 42 years.

That we are so far from that hope, that possibility, is the main source of my odium. All must be exposed; truth must be told, truth spoken to power revealed, and tyrants overthrown, but not for any Aristotlean cyclic dynamis of "same old, same old"; its time, in the best DuBois-ian sense to reach for a "New Thing."

We need a great vision for the region.

[riverplate]

I would have nothing against a kind of Super Bowl match-up (preferably a two-match aggregate series with one match held in each country) involving the champions of Liga Mexicana and Major League Soccer. But a Premiere-type league seems to be going a step too far. Both leagues should remain seperate and distinct.

I don't buy the line about how this would be a way to improve the MLS product. MLS will really begin to improve when they go out of their way to lure some of the world stars over to their league. I hope someday soon for them to follow the European models in their spending activities and aggressiveness in obtaining quality foreign stars.

The American league can certainly challenge the Europeans dollar for dollar (euro for euro?) down the line and getting tied up with the Mexican league will only retrict them in the future from doing that.

And how about getting into the Libertadores. First things first.

MLS should attempt to eventually be a world-class league, not just a North American-class league. (Although some of the natives seem not to mind it being their own little personal entertainment, and don't want it to grow beyond provincialism.)

[astabooty]

am i wrong or hasn't mexico been our bitch for the last 8 years?

ever think he was thinking in terms of clubs and not the national team?

[SankaCofie]

i'm with mel... why go out of your way to make the champions cup even MORE worthless... all it needs is a good sponsor or two for some $ $ $ incentive but instead they pick an idea whose sole purpose is to screw everyone but Mexico and the US.

i hope this gets axed violently.

[Shaydee]

ever think he was thinking in terms of clubs and not the national team?

yea i know but he should have worded it different if he meant that

[MoRado]

another stupid idea......

[denver_mugwamp]

another stupid idea......

Not really. Finding a way for MFL teams to play MLS teams in meaningful games would generate a lot of interest and revenue. Granted, MLS has a lot more to gain currently but the potential income to Mexican clubs could be rather large. I think it has a better chance of success than having imitation-MFL clubs playing in MLS.

[MoRado]

........ I think it has a better chance of success than having imitation-MFL clubs playing in MLS.

having an imitation mfl clubs playing in mls is another stupid idea ...

[Various Styles]

am i wrong or hasn't mexico been our bitch for the last 8 years?


8 years !!! really...

97 Copa America, Mex/Bra gets Vote for best match of the tourney
98 WC 98 Mex is the only TFC team to advance past the first round
98 Mex Gold Cup champs beating the US in the final 1-0
99 Mex Confed Cup Champs :)
00 US wins Gold Cup
01 WCQ HEX split with one win each
02 US Eliminates Mex WC :(
03 One friendly match 0-0/Mex Gold Cup Champs
04 US U-23 eliminated from Olympics/Mex loses friendly 0-1 in extra time

Bitches you say ? The most significant win came in the World Cup other than that you have a host of wins from "friendlies" all played in the U.S.. funny how US fans will brag about dominance in friendlys when they have yet to truly dominate the confed and by this i mean having the Most Gold Cups and being first in the HEX.. When was the last time the US finished in first place of WCQ ???

[Mel Brennan]

Desparate obfuscation...


Hey, listen...I understand. It's difficult to deal with.
But the reality is this: the, historically, greatest soccer power in the region shold not have to call upon a joke tournament like the Confed Cup, or (lol) its positioning in WCQ to celebrate its glory.

The absolute 100% mortal lock bottom line is that in the most competitive match to date, on the biggest sporting stage on Earth, you got beat. Beaten by the United States. Period.

You really have to wait until you either beat the US in a World Cup match, or go further than them in a World Cup to say anything. Ever.

You know this. You KNOW that if the result had been the other way around, you would not want to hear from US fans about a damn thing until they beat Mexico at that level, or surpassed Mexico's acheivement at that level.

So let's end the hypocrisy right now, and get back on topic.

[Mel Brennan]

Not really. Finding a way for MFL teams to play MLS teams in meaningful games would generate a lot of interest and revenue...

Read this bit you've written again, and tell me how that's not an absolute, undeniable failure of CONCACAF, particularly since 1990, to make the Champions' Cup what it ought to be.

In addition, this dual league will have less significance than the Champions' Cup; at least the Champions' Cup offers (currently) the title of regional champion, and will (seemingly) offer a route to the FIFA WCC.

This "dual Premiership" can offer nothing, b/c it suffers from the same flaw that the NASL suffered from; a dual nationality. The league can never produce a champion that can go anywhere, b/c the league, by being in more than one nation, violates the FIFA rules for tournament qualification. That's why, in part, NASL was an "outlaw league," and that's why this will be an outlaw concept.

This is a desparate grab by the two powers of the region to get around the failure of CONCACAF to develop the Champions' Cup, and an admittance by them that they cannot influence the rest of the region to do what's clear and right and moral and just in terms of moving past this leadership structure to a viable future.

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I thought this kind of sounded like a good idea. I think it would be better if MLS played on the same schedule as Mexican Futbol plays right now, and one of the two seasons is used for "dual league" play. Its not a great idea, but it may have some potential.

...and for all those US trolls, this isnt world rivalries, so shut the ******** up.

[Shaydee]

Bitches you say ? The most significant win came in the World Cup other than that you have a host of wins from "friendlies" all played in the U.S.. funny how US fans will brag about dominance in friendlys when they have yet to truly dominate the confed and by this i mean having the Most Gold Cups and being first in the HEX.. When was the last time the US finished in first place of WCQ ???

calm down it was a joke, in my opinion we are pretty much level on the national team side of things and obviously MFL is better than MLS

[SJJ]

Read this bit you've written again, and tell me how that's not an absolute, undeniable failure of CONCACAF, particularly since 1990, to make the Champions' Cup what it ought to be.

In addition, this dual league will have less significance than the Champions' Cup; at least the Champions' Cup offers (currently) the title of regional champion, and will (seemingly) offer a route to the FIFA WCC.


Mostly correct on these points. Concacaf (now that they decided on another new flag) can look to putting some "oomph" into the Champions Cup. (First, make it 16 teams again. Second, reschedule it so that most teams aren't gone by February.) Later on, you can get to the group-play concept; keep the knockout format for now.

Can't SUM (the MLS marketing arm), or whatever the Concacaf marketing arm is called, do something with this tournament?

Maybe we have to get Canadian teams into this tournament somehow, to at least open up the interest in the Great White North. (Get your act together, Canada. Can you at least start an Open Cup tournament to get your champion into the CCC?)

Barring that, create a true Pan-American club tournament. My idea was to have 40 South American teams (4 per country), and 24 North American teams. Play in your region for two rounds, to get 10 SA and 6 NA teams, when you can start crossing continents.

But anyway, I would hope for strong domestic leagues leading to a strong regional tournament.

[beachesl]

I fully agree with your sentiments about strenghenting the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The problem in Canada is the Canadian Soccer Association, a do-nothing bucnh of bureaucrats, does nothing. There has been plenty of talk amongst supporters groups, but no action by those with power. There is no real Canadian Open Cup yet, but there is a "Voyageurs Cup' between the 5 A-League teams in Canda that could serve as a Canadian qualifiers NOW until a real Cup for all interested teams is developed here.
But, even if CONCACAF is interested, we can't send a team until the CSA applies, and they have refused to discuss it for some reason.

[DANNO49]

The onlly way that the Chamions cup will become what it should be is if the Good Lord calls Jack (Ass) Warner home and we get a decent President. Prefably an American or Canadian.