Are the conflicts of interest amongst these organizations and the individuals within them and on various boards and being paid by various organizations affecting the management and performance of your United States Men's National Team? The argument at it's inception was that what was good for one of these entities was good for the others. If that was ever the case, is it still? https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/11/01/nasl-us-soccer-hearing-court-ruling-kessler-sum-mls SOME LIGHT FINALLY IS CAST ON SUM Very little is known about Soccer United Marketing, the company owned and financed by MLS owners that markets TV rights and sponsorships for league properties, U.S. national team games, CONCACAF competitions and other events. For Kessler and the NASL, SUM's very existence is evidence of conspiracy. By tying its financial gain to SUM and therefore, MLS, U.S. Soccer’s neutrality must be compromised. Even if the likes of MLS commissioner Don Garber and USSF president Sunil Gulati recuse themselves from votes in which they have a potential conflict of interest, their influence remains. In addition, the NASL argued that any member of the USSF board, even if they represent amateur or youth factions, would be incentivized to favor MLS because of SUM’s impact on the federation’s bottom line. SUM markets the USSF’s TV rights and sponsorships, but it’s been unclear whether the federation receives full value for those properties since they’re pooled with SUM’s other ventures. What’s become apparent this week is that both MLS and USSF receive a guaranteed amount of annual revenue from SUM and that anything earned above and beyond that minimum is split, with 70% of the additional money going to MLS and the remaining 30% to the USSF. The SUM agreement was entered into evidence under seal. The nature of that agreement is unknown, but Kessler implied it’s not a permanent written contract. “The fact that [USSF’s] single largest source of income is now first in an oral contract and it is only in the term sheet that says under negotiation for three years is further evidence of the fact that these organizations are so joined together,” he said. Kessler repeatedly hammered at the economic ties between MLS and the USSF. “They have this unique relationship, again, unlike any other federation in the world, where they view MLS's interest as being the same as their interest …. [and] in order for the USSF to make more money, MLS must make more money. They have tied themselves economically together,” he said. Kessler continued, “When we finally got their agreement, despite what their economist says, the way the agreement works, for them to get their 70/30 split, a certain amount of revenues have to first be hit. There's a target above the minimum. The only way that can be hit is if MLS is popular enough to draw in enough money so they hit their target, and then, above that, they get that split. If MLS is weaker, if they are not as attractive to TV, if they are not as attractive to sponsors, that number is very, very hard to hit.”
MLS essentially governs itself given some of its members' positions within SUM and the USSF. And it came out a couple days ago that Sunil/USSF have financial incentive and receive kickbacks off the success of MLS. Incredibly corrupt. And it's why the USSF seems to go to war with anything not MLS in this country. It's why you see things like SUM trying to buyout and crush the Cosmos which is essentially MLS trying to buyout and crush non-MLS competition with the backing of our Fed and with SUM's money. But the ties go very deep. It was Bob Kraft who placed Garber in his position(direct him from the NFL to MLS commissioner) and Bob Kraft who was Sunil's boss as he hired Sunil as president of Kraft Soccer LLC. That's just one example of how deep this mess goes but when the USSF president and the CEO of SUM and head of MLS have worked under and for an MLS founding father, that ain't good. It's a whole "if you scratch my back I'll scratch yours" situation.
Never understand this from Day 1 of SUM. Conflict of interest. Put up with it because of the desire to have a pro league in the US, but I'm starting to lose my interest...
"There is a reason US Soccer sucks, its the same reason it will never ever, ever be fixed. It's never gonna get any better, don't look for it, be happy with what ya got! Because the Owners of MLS and SUM don't want that." Sounds like something Carlin would've said...
Of course it is corrupt. Of course it hurts US soccer. I just hope NASL can prove it enough to break the stranglehold. That should be the #1 priority for USSF president and anyone who cares about the long term health of US Soccer.
I will say this: the amount of soccer specific stadiums that have gone up in the past 5 years is striking(two more coming next year? Another in 2019?). You don't get that infrastructure without this cabal, I believe.
The cabal is due its reward for having weathered the lean years. They made the initial investment. However, the cabal is not the reason for new stadiums. The real cause is that modern communication has erased borders and introduced a new generation to the sport. The cabal didn't create the demand. They would like you to think they did. I think the most surprising thing about the billionaires who own MLS is the extent to which they will engage in petty non competitive behavior that harms individual employees and the public for a few imagined pennies added to the bottom line. I say 'imagined" because I think a lot of paranoid behavior has to do with how they see soccer affecting their other properties like MLB/NFL/NBA. It's like a guy buys a goose for less than $10m and it starts laying golden eggs til the guy has $200m worth of eggs and his business plan is to yank the goose out of the state fair and reduce the quality of the gooses diet because it is laying too many 24 karat eggs. Or, maybe soccer has a Cinderella problem. I guess Kapernick would be the ugly step sister.
THIS is a scandal of the first order. And a disgrace to the USMNT program IT has to be abolished and the USMNT and USSoccer become a free standing entity again apart from MLS. As long as this is in place, there will be tremendous pressure for the USMNT to be nothing more than a marketing arm for MLS. We have already seen how that works out.
Kraft is at the heart of a lot of trouble in pro sports in this country. He has totally corrupted the NFL and now he is ruining USSoccer all for his own benefit. That is why they attacked Klinsmann. Cause he was a huge fly in the MLS ointment and had to be gotten rid of. He helped them along, but it was a coup run by Kraft and his MLS cronies including Garber.
So many implications...but one that pops immediately to mind here is that this makes Arena look like a puppet of SUM....with his all-MLS rosters that sucked. I'm starting to understand why Bradley was never benched and perhaps why Klinsmann seemed batsh#t crazy by calling up NASL and college players and third and 4th division euros....he was probably pissed about being told who to call up by MLS/SUM marketing gurus.
jurgen wouldve been attacked if there was no corruption. he actually wouldve been fired waaay sooner, imo.
I don't disagree, but I would still say the real scandal of the first order, was when the President of US Soccer was "too busy" to attend an actual congressional hearing, kicked off by his best friend Chuck Blazer, because he didn't want to incriminate himself: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/16/...er-is-absent-but-draws-ire-from-congress.html Asked repeatedly why he had been sent to testify rather than Mr. Gulati, who sits on FIFA’s governing executive committee and has long associations with several of the indicted officials, Mr. Flynn said it was at the advice of an outside lawyer, and because he had greater familiarity with U.S. Soccer’s daily operations than Mr. Gulati does. So he sent his $650,000 a year CEO flunky and MLS veteran Dan Flynn in his stead, that went well: http://worldsoccertalk.com/2015/07/...volution-to-oust-sunil-gulati-from-us-soccer/ “There’s got to be a revolution in US soccer against the leadership of US Soccer, recalling Mr. Gulati and sending him back to Columbia University to teach Economics, sending Mr Flynn into retirement and getting a whole new organization,” said Jennings. “Let’s get Flynn and the current directors out because they’re doing nothing for the reputation of America and the management of American [soccer].” “I’m going to guess why Sunil Gulati wasn’t there [at the US Senate panel hearing] because he doesn’t want to answer any questions about the wonderful lifestyle he has and his dreams that he has any power at FIFA by staying with the Sepp Blatter way of doing things. “I think it’s an absolute disgrace that when a reputable Senate sub-committee decides to have a hearing on how US Soccer is relating to the corrupt FIFA, he doesn’t turn up. Instead, he sends his bag carrier Dan Flynn, [and was asked] does American soccer recognize what a bunch of criminals there are running FIFA? And he didn’t know. “When [Dan Flynn] started saying that ‘we knew nothing about corruption at CONCACAF,’ everybody else did,” said Jennings during today’s interview. “I was writing stories about Jack Warner, then president of CONCACAF, back in 2002 about his ticket rackets at that World Cup. Then again in 2006, then again in 2010. There was every kind of corruption going on then, and a lot of it was discovered and made public. And for Mr. Flynn to say that he didn’t know and never heard anything until the FBI investigation made their arrests in Zurich [is a disgrace]. “It’s just not acceptable for a man to be earning $650,000 a year and know nothing. It’s quite disgraceful.” How did these rats stay on board the ship after that, long enough to sink it in 2018? Let alone be staying on now with a straight face? Oh that's right, our domestic soccer journalists are house broken lap dogs.
Clearly they had the right corporate sponsors help some Congresspersons in their reelection campaigns.
I've heard rumors before there was pressure from SUM/USSF to call certain players but I dismissed them. I would hate to think it was 1998 again and Arena has gone full circle.
Considering how closely tied together SUM/MLS/USSF are....all the people that say it isnt MLS' job to worry about the national team seem clueless to me. I've repeatedly stated over the last several years that MLS is failing the USMNT and player pool at the moment and have mostly been met with disagreement. Now, after reading proof of how closely connected all of these seemingly separate entities are, I'm even more convinced that MLS should be doing way more to help the USMNT than they have been. If US soccer must suffer at the hands of this cabal...then at least let that suffering happen in a way that produces the best possible USMNT.
The other angle that I find laughable is that the defense for all of this is "oh, we don't allow these board members riddled with conflicts of interest to vote on all of these issues in which they are clearly compromised". So essentially it's all cool because they never actually do their jobs? We should keep all these people on for 30+ years though because you know they are heros doing it out of the kindness of their hearts and we would never have soccer in this country if it were not for their altruistic sacrifices.
Just while I am thinking about how ridiculous it is that Sunil did not attend the hearings on corruption and his best friend Chuck Blazer. While flunky Dan Flynn went and pretended he barely knew Blazer, I need to share some snippets from the hilarious and super prestigious presentation of the 2006 "Commissioner's Award": https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2010/01/23/blazer-given-commissioners-award "Chuck is one of the most important people in the history of soccer in this country. Those in the soccer business know how important he is to the development of this sport and management of this sport throughout North America," Garber said. "Not every American knows that the man behind the scenes pushing this sport is Chuck and for that he is very worthy of being recognized by MLS and by our ownership." #clownshow
I don't like the appearance of conflicts of interest, and so it might be a good idea for the USSF to have a policy of not selling their rights to SUM, but what improvements do people expect from this?
Isn't Mexico's national federation essentially the same group as the owners of Liga MX? So intertwining it not unprecedented.
Bump. Garber instituted international "Youth transfer Fund" and FC Dallas home developed american prospects can t just walk for free if they want to schalke and gain over 1,000 minutes. Gulati will just take the fall for Garber and Flynn.
Does that mean they are going to make solidarity payments to youth programs? There really isn't shit MLS can do if the kids are not under contract. ******** MLS SUM and USSF