I know Commisso believes conflicts exist. I do not know and will not take Commisso's word on it hence the usage of if. Commisso did a fine job of killing NASL in my estimation, right or wrong that is my opinion.
As was stated, Garber is part of SUM and is open about it. He is the commissioner of MLS; that's also common fact. Both present potential conflicts of interest. But, as the previous poster stated, he recuses himself from decisions that involve either entity. That is how businesses and boards work. Going back to my previous post, because you agree with someone that is calling for a change without understanding how things work currently, you are literally advocating for change simply for the sake of change. The majority of the USSF have conflicts of interest because they are involved with MLS, SUM, or USL. But those are also the people that have built our modern soccer landscape with a highly stable first division, a stable second division in USL, launching a third division, running a high level amateur division in the PDL (the NPSL is run by others, but is also on that level), and have launched an unprecedented academy system to develop even more players outside fo the traditional pay-to-play model that dominates American sports. This is exactly why nothing the moron says about how the USSF operates comes without a huge red flag. Commisso tried to circumvent MLS and sued the USSF in the process. He lost on both counts (for good reason) and is now throwing his tantrum in the court of public opinion. Then why comment at all? It's not like the relationship between MLS, SUM, Garber, and USSF is a state secret. It makes you come across as a troll or, worse, Tinfoil Teddy 2.0.
Just admit that you don't know how membership organizations work, and that you've bought into populist outrage. It is pretty much impossible for USSF to have any commercial partners with soccer expertise or experience that aren't in some other way related to USSF. And the people (Kessler, Silva, Commisso) that keep coming back and yelling the loudest and filing suits are only barely disguising the facts that they're not really against members or stakeholders having a commercial relationship with USSF as long as they get a piece of the pie. Instead of waiting for the SUM contract to come up for renegotiation - and outbidding SUM - they're trying to legal and populist methods to cut in line.
The ultimate irony is that Rocco and Silva are offering to pay for the tv rights while saying that USSF and SUM's partnership is a conflict of interest. Plus, they seem to think all SUM does is sell tv rights and take a gigantic chunk of it.
Commisso probably believes lizard people exist beneath Denver Airport, too. He believes a lot of what the voices in his head tell him.
Outside of swallowing their pride and accepting D3 status, or something radical like Division Zero, stick a fork in any hope for a return in 2019 or 2020. https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2018/06/no-expedited-nasl-lawsuit-fall-2019-trial-date-likely/
I seriously don’t get them.. they absolutely refuse to drop down to D3 and get their crap together, but they are totally cool with playing in the NPSL? That seems.. odd..
Please don't consider this a defense for them, but playing in division three is an admission that they were nowhere as near division one as they viewed themselves. It also doesn't help their lawsuit against the USSF if they have any success as D3. It's far cheaper (and more cynical) to claim their only option is to go amateur.
Que Incredible Hulk sad walking away music as defeated, delusional ex-league refuses to swallow what little of its pride it has left
Is this a fair statement? "And with Rocco Commisso’s offer to bring in $500 million to revive NASL rejected by U.S. Soccer Federation officials, the paths forward for NASL teams are very limited." I was under the impression that they weren't so much rejecting his 'offer' (How could they reject it anyway? It's for his league and/or club) as his proposals wrt divisional sanctioning, while also saying they would need more details on certain items, such as the multi-team ownership aspect.
What they actually rejected were the strings he attached. They declined to move away from the annual sanctioning process. They declined to give him a decade of no-risk, hands-off playtime to try to get Boca Raton FC to a point where they were viable. In short, he wanted the game played on his terms. USSF does not have to set that precedent.
Is Silva on the verge of bailing on NASL to join Beckham United FC of Miami? On a great day for the @united2026 Bid, @_Riccardo_Silva and David Beckham discussed the future of soccer in #Miami. pic.twitter.com/zp3r6ZuOiY— Silva International (@Silva_Intl) June 13, 2018
Silva International posted that from London, England - not Miami, Florida. Sure seems like Silva is trying to unhitch his wagon from the Commisso train(wreck).
And didn't Commisso only get involved in 2017 to bail out the Cosmos, when NASL were already sending out the lifeboats? I can just picture him bursting through the doors now... "I've come to save the day!!!..... Hello?..... Is there anybody here.....?"
That's only a problem if you read it that they discussed the future of soccer....in Miami. As opposed to discussing...the future of soccer in Miami. Here's a transcript of the meeting: Silva: "Hey, David. Good to see you. How's it going?" Beckham: "It's going well, how are you?" Silva: "Hey, is your team ever going to play?" Beckham: "I dunno. Is yours?" There. Future of soccer in Miami discussed.
I always thought Silva and Commisso were an odd pairing. The "enemy of my enemy is my friend" sort of thing. Silva International is the London based holding company - a la AEG and HSG. Media Partners and Silva Limited, which is owned by Silva International is another in a long line of sports (mainly soccer) media rights and promotion companies that has survived on the fringe soccer communities in the United States. Like Traffic, the original GolTV folks, ChampionsWorld, and so forth. Silva has been doing this for quite some time, probably with an eye towards cashing in if soccer ever "makes it" in the United States. Commisso, however, is a relative johnny come lately populist willing to burn it all down to get a slice of the pie. Possibly with some personal grudge or beef with Sunil. I don't really know. I think Silva has been working the long road, and has no interest in wrecking the system in place, just getting a seat at the table. It would make sense for him to "sue for peace" (or "sue for a piece") if the opportunity arose, and leave Commisso holding the NASL bag. Then again, Riccardo could've just been in London to visit the Silva International headquarters and ran into Becks and had the interaction that Kenn described.
I think USL clubs should offer to enter their B teams in NASL. It would be a nice gesture to reach out and try to keep a struggling league to survive.