Not exactly anything new about LAFC, but it gives a bit more insight into FCB's efforts and, in particular, how much they want to keep their identity: https://www.angelsonparade.com/2018...p-with-barcelona-for-nwsl-team-or-go-it-alone
LAFC should get their own team in LA and Barcelona, if still interested, should get a seperate team in either San Diego or San Jose.
It is interesting that Barcelona FC is not interested in having a men's team in the MLS, but it may take getting one to get an NWSL team. Maybe they should get heavily involved and pursue getting an MLS team in San Diego? Maybe with the success of the Atlanta United team and the crowds they are drawing, they may now be having second thoughts about the MLS?
No way MLS lets another version of Chivas USA happen. And I doubt the branding issue would be resolved easier with MLS than it apparently is with NWSL. (At least with NYCFC, ownership is shared between the foreign soccer superclub and a local organization.)
So based on Duffy's comments during the draft, do we assume LAFC & Barcelona get teams for 2020? Just a matter of where Barcelona puts their team. San Diego? San Francisco? Elsewhere?
Guess toad455 is referring to this: Amanda Duffy spoke to #NWSL media during 3rd round of the draft. 2020 is still the targeted year for league expansion, she wants to at least get back to 10 teams, they've been talking to Barcelona for over a year at this point.— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) January 10, 2019
Get LAFC & Barcelona(Bay Area) in for 2020 and hopefully NYCFC buys Sky Blue. Add in Cincinnati, Nashville & Minnesota in 2021 or 2022. That's 14 teams by 2022.
Growing by 5 teams in just 3 years (9 in '19 to 14 in '22) is in absolutely no way a good idea. Averaging 1 expansion per year is sustainable, as MLS has shown over the past 15 or so years. Averaging nearly 2 expansions per year is far too unsettling and diluting, the latter especially when there are less than 250 players in the league. Besides, Barca isn't gonna happen, and none of FCC, NSH, or MIN have shown anything more than ancient lip service to the idea of NWSL. Heck, Miami has been the most recent MLS team (outside of LAFC) to voice interest in NWSL.
Probably targeting 12 teams by 2023 is more reasonable. But I wouldn't be surprised if we get 14 by 2023. Let's see how the league does this year during a World Cup year.
I think many of the MLS expansion teams, and a fair number of the usual MLS suspects (FCD, SKC...) are interested. But... you almost certainly won't see an NWSL team with those organizations while certain other things are going on. Namely: Rebrand New Stadium MLS Expansion in-market USL affiliate establishment Take Kansas City as an example. One of SKC's owners and another team executive regularly lurked in the back of the old WPS drafts, and I've heard off the record that the main hold up in FCKC being bought by SKC was that FCKC was trying to get SKC to cover the debt racked up by FCKC. In the end the other NWSL owners covered the debt, but the team operating rights were sold to Hanson instead of the team itself being sold to OnGoal. Minnesota is still establishing itself, and it's just now opening its stadium this year. It will almost certainly want a few years to establish itself and its sponsors and season ticket holders at Allianz Stadium before expanding the brand. Nashville, Cincinnati, and Miami are all still in the expansion phase and 2-3 years out from their own stadiums. Eventually, they could come online, but I wouldn't expect anything for a few years. And let's be honest, until the "federation player" thing is dealt with, I don't really see any wave of expansion coming. The MLS organizations will want control over their rosters and players under contract directly or through the NWSL - they don't want players out of their control and under contract to a third party (CSA or USSF). But some of the teams do rely on the Federation picking up part of the player wages, so it's not a totally simple matter. This would all be easier if running an NWSL team was a break-even proposition. I'm guessing that only Portland isn't losing money, and even then I doubt it's as profitable as one would hope.
Pulled this from FB w/ credit to @Lechus7 for finding it: https://www.facebook.com/PuertoRicoSol/photos/a.1834200466863069/2475215982761511/?type=3&theater I mean, PR is technically in the USA already after all!
Yeah, Shek is all about ideas but not very good at producing results (at least in an organizational sense; he's usually been pretty good about on-field results, first with FCI & HaitiWNT and now with PRSol and PRWNT). I mean, he was a big force behind WLS and the WPSL Elite, and those are both going so strong right now.... (As is FCI, RIP) = = = In other news, seems like Duffy was forced to address the Whitecaps issue again: https://equalizersoccer.com/2019/01/30/amanda-duffy-nwsl-expansion-canada-roster-rule-changes/ I previously wasn't sure about how NWSL was having trouble getting around labor laws when MLS has made it work so well with their Canadian teams, but now I can see that the whole "NT" issue might be the real driver here... The CanWNT is Top5 in the world, while the CanMNT is... not even Top50. X-D
Emphasis added. What planet have you been living on. It most certainly hasn't been working well in MLS - at all. It's been a 12 year cluster********,
haha Okay, so "well" wasn't a good word to use. My point was they managed to come to an agreement - even if the details have changed constantly - that's let the Canadian teams have Canadain-heavy (or at least -heavier) rosters in a way that somehow juggles both US labor laws and MLS roster rules. (Lots for Toronto early on, a big dip around the time VAN and MTL entered, and at the moment, lots again through the homegrown rule.)
Would certainly be an interesting litmus test! Certainly for the Sol, and (some would say) for the Pride as well. X-D ...man, it feels so weird typing "the Sol" as an active team and not as the LA tragedy...
Travel wise would be a financial nightmare for Puerto Rico. We shall see if this gets anymore traction down the road.
Eh, I still trust what Arnim W. said years ago: travel honestly isn't that big of a drag on club budgets. And for what it's worth, PR clubs have played in US leagues fairly often since 2000. But they aren't looking to officially join for at least 2-3 years anyway, so yeah it's a bit down the road no matter how you look at it.
Well, it's not gonna happen until 2021 or 2022 at the earliest, but it's *finally* looking like President Duffy's previous life is sowing the seeds for NWSL expansion to Louisville: https://insiderlouisville.com/econo...tertainment-companies-could-host-womens-team/
In a dream world: 2020: Adds Los Angeles, SkyBlue are bought by Red Bulls[10 teams] 2021: Adds Louisville & Bay Area(Barcelona)[12 teams] 2022: Adds Minnesota & Nashville[14 teams]
Well, if we're talking "dream world", then you need to have Atlanta, Philly, KC (or STL), and Boston - I wouldn't put any real stock in Minny or Nashville yet. Heck, I'd put more stock in Miami (or maybe Cincy) than either of those two - and maybe even PRSol above those two too, just by the amount of ambition publicly broadcast thus far). Minny and Nash have been throw-away references that weren't even easy to find in the first place. And even then, five expansions in three years is NOT dream world material. That's a logistics nightmare.
If people needed any more convincing, Barca to NWSL is NOT happening: https://www.angelsonparade.com/2019...c-barcelona-cools-pursuit-to-launch-nwsl-team