Sorry if this should be in the USMNT section - but given USSF/SUM relationship - thought it made sense to put in the most trafficked news folder. ESPN's Jeff Carlisle writes: "A recent report by the USSF that was made public at its most recent Annual General Meeting revealed that the organization made $46 million in profit from hosting the tournament." http://www.espnfc.com/copa-america/...america-beyond-preliminary-victor-montagliani This raises the intriguing question of what is the USSF planning to do with the $46m windfall? If the USSF is serious about putting a dent in pay-to-play they could now offer USDA stipends of $3,500 for each non-MLS DA club U15, U16/17, and U18/19 player. Alternatively - they could subsidize the salaries of the non-MLS DA coaches - and help reduce player costs that way. If the coaching fees for a kid are zero - that is most of the cost a parent pays for their kid to play - and clubs could work on reducing field rental fees, and fundraise for travel etc.
I'm surprised the USSF doesn't do something like this right now to be honest. That money would go a long way in youth soccer, you could vet the non-MLS teams to make sure they don't misuse the money but I think they should do definitely subsidize them.
I'm curious why Nike doesn't have a hand in this or maybe the USSF could get commercial partners that would go on the youth team jerseys that are subsidized by the USSF? As long as its not something like a brewer or hard liquor why not?
So, is this thread going to be about the Copa America profits and the actual content of the linked article, or is it going to be a speculative, You-Be-The-Sunil thread about how USSF should prop up youth soccer clubs? Just checking, because if it's the latter, I'll know to steer clear since it will be a waste of a thread.
There is enough money to support 4 years of funding. Roughly 60 of 80 U15-U19 DA clubs are volunteer run - the rest are for profit MLS/USL etc. 60 non-profit clubs x 3 DA teams each x 20 player team rosters = 3,600 kids x $3,500 stipend = ~$12.5m annual subsidy.
Maybe. But it seems to me that the OP found an interesting article about the success of the Copa America, and rather than discussing what the article actually says (they are working on having it in the USA again in the future), used it as a springboard for a completely unrelated topic - that of how youth soccer is run in this country and what USSF should or shouldn't do about it. If y'all want to talk about that, fine, but (1) it wouldn't belong in MLS N&A, and (2) it definitely doesn't belong in a thread ostensibly about the success of the Copa America, its potential related profits to MLS/SUM, and news of future tournaments in this country. So y'all take your straw men, diversionary tactics, and bait-and-switch offers to the NASL thread where they belong.
I think it can make even more money if a similar tournament is played again. People forget that this tournament was almost not even played and had to be organized at the last second due to all the scandals surrounding it. A better organized tournament in the future will get better buzz and more attention. Also, attendance would have been even better if teams like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras would have made it instead of teams like Haiti, Panama and Jamaica. Spanish Television ratings would have been a little better with those three teams too so advertising prices could increase a bit for the Networks that get the rights to the new hypothetical tournament.
I'll translate this into "Hey folks, great to see this newsworthy post/discussion underway - but for the sake of maintaining the vitality and continuity of these targeted boards - once the focus tangents one step off the path - it's really a different discussion that might be better suited in a different forum."
I'm more interested in total amount made rather than how much USSF got. But yea I agree they should definitely have better attendance, higher ratings and probably much better TV contracts. Basically they will have hard numbers next go around as a bargaining chip.
I challenge you to name a single DA club that is "volunteer run" These are big, well financed outfits that pay their coaches handsomely. Many of them are full time. The issue is NOT that the non-MLS development Academy teams are poor shoestring operations running bake sales and car washes so that little boys can get some coaching from volunteer dad's. Rather, the issue is that these clubs are usually VERY expensive to be a part of and the coaches often clear $50,000 a year PER TEAM and coach multiple teams. The coaches themselves are professionals and many if not most of them are excellent, licensed experienced former professionals. Volunteer run my ass.