I fail to see the potential benefit to a Mexican team (already have a well-established league in their country) or to MLS (would always be considered inferior by Mexican fans). The only south of the border possibility I see is Puerto Rico, but even that one is highly unlikely for a multitude of reasons.
And they could make a hell of a lot more tapping into the superpower sitting up above them. Why do they think the Mexican national team and FMF clubs play do many exhibitions here? Why do the Xolos badly want into San Diego? Vergara even wanted to put a Mexican team in Los Angeles before being stopped by the USSF. Which is how Chivas USA was born as explained up above. It is not happening, but if you don't think there is major money to be made for Mexican teams, than you are not paying attention.
is it really beyond stupid? this is a forum right? stop being arrogant soccer guy, the topic is fun to think about even if it's not very realistic.
that would be cool, ccl play is already challenging logistically for mls clubs to manage, cant imagine double or triple the travel time.
Well, they would make more money if they played up here while still members of the Mex League. So yes, I agree under that circumstance. That's why Vergara wanted a SoCal Mex League team. It is unfortunate that the galaxy and dynamo aren't in the Mex League. It would be epic if they were. Imagine the passionate crowds and new-formed rivalries.
Perhaps we could just combine the two leagues, create 2 tiers with pro/rel, move to a FIFA calendar schedule, and everything else that would make Europosers happy
Mexico already had multi-tear, plus you have to get rid of playoffs to make it like Europe top leagues
FIFA / CONCACAF would never allow it. If you go against them, they'll ban your players from playing in their tournaments (Gold Cup, CONCACAF CL, the WORLD CUP). If playing in this new league would get you banned from the biggest tournament in the World, do you really think players would choose to stay here?
Here's the part most of you seem to fail to consider, "the future" Things are not static. They are ever changing. If you read into it, the European clubs are trying to pry power away from UEFA every single day. If an American league becomes top 3 in the world, and decides to tell FIFA to go F#$% themselves, will FIFA dare ban so much of their potential income? Will players choose making boatloads of cash or the World Cup? If MLS could pay players to the point where they'd rather have the money than participate in the WC, what's FIFA going to do? FIFA will suck it. That's what. WC 94 is still the king of them all, nearly two decades later, and before America even had a league. Imagine an America which is truly soccer passionate? What will FIFA do then?
FIFA can either go F#$! themselves without a dime or go F#$^ themselves with boatloads of cash. Which do you think they'd choose?
Well you are telling them to make the FIFA World cup like the Baseball Classic, meaning a joke. I am thinking they would chose power over money. Now the FAs they want the money, so if what you say plays out, and it I see a very good chance of it playing out, then the World cup will fall to a level of say the Basketball World championship. If I were to bet on, I would bet on the Federations against FIFA, I do think that the balance will turn in Europe and International Soccer will be no more that International Baseball or Basketball (National teams). I think FIFAs greatest fear is an European League set up as a NFL type structure, FIFA will do everything they can to stop that. Just my opinion.
And when it does happen the "**** FIFA" crowd here will get to find out what it's like being the Swedish hockey league and hardly getting any money for your best players when the NHL comes knocking. Be careful what you wish for...
Matt, Think about what it would mean to Mexico's division structure. You're suggesting that MLS skim the choice teams off the top of their pro/rel system. Federations do not just arrange to jettison members from time to time. Clubs do not leap from nation to nation on their own prerogative. You wanna do that it will be outside the FIFA system.
I'm not so sure about that. FIFA and UEFA have long opposed a European Super League, but Platini has been far more receptive to "joint leagues", that is, two adjoining countries that form a single top division. There were serious discussions about combining Belgium and the Netherlands into a "Beneliga", which Platini supported, as well as an "All-Ireland" league which also was rumored to have UEFA support. There has also been talk about a Balkan league. http://netherlands.worldcupblog.org/1/michel-platini-ajax-will-never-win-the-cl-anymore.html http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/secret-allireland-league-talks-at-advanced-stage-1243934.html The idea is simple really -- teams from England, Germany, Italy, Spain and even France enjoy a huge advantage in TV revenue which isn't easy to replicate in leagues where the population (and hence TV market) is much smaller. But if two countries form a single common league that unites a bigger TV market, it might help to bring about a more level the playing field. It hasn't happened yet, although, as I said, I think there have been serious discussions in the past ten years in Europe. Often, it is the FAs that object more then UEFA has. I think there has also been some concern from clubs in the "weaker" league that many of them would be relegated out of the new, combined league because they couldn't compete in a stronger competition. If you apply some of the "joint league" reasoning here, an MLS/Primera combined league would be formed as a single first division with a common TV rights package. All other leagues wouldn't be combined, so each country would have its own second division and below. To keep the number of teams from each country constant, the new league might have two conferences, a MFL conference and an MLS conference, each with 10 teams. The lowest point team in each conference would be relegated back to its domestic second division, and the highest team from that domestic second division promoted in its place -- in other words, there would always be 10 MLS clubs and 10 MFL clubs. Top teams in each conference make the playoffs with a championship game. On paper, all of that makes a huge amount of sense IMO. The Mexican Clubs and MLS teams already share -- and divide -- a huge TV market in the United States. If they grew it together, both might really benefit. Which means it's unlikely to happen. Still, I think once Blatter leaves the stage, we'll see a joint league somewhere in Europe. If it works, it will spread to other combinations in other confederations.
blatter has nothing to do with it. continental confederations decide this. but it's not even uefa. the reason you don't have multinational leagues is that there is no demand for them. not from fans, not from clubs nor from federations. there has been no case in which federations and clubs from two or more countries had a deal in place only for it to be blocked by uefa. there were some talks but never concrete enough and there were never enough clubs that were seriously committed to it. most fans want to keep their national leagues. you don't see fans in belgium and netherlands putting up "beneliga now" or "down with uefa dictatorship" banners. multi-national leagues are an idea that has very little popular support, and even the support at the managment level is lacking.
Actually it HAS happened - in Women's soccer. Just now a few weeks ago the Netherlands and Belgium combined their women leagues and UEFA approved it on a trial basis. The Czech Republic and Slovakia also applied for a merged Men's league but that was rejected for now. Where you run into problems is the "international" spots given for CL and EL. But yes, Platini is open to the idea. As for MLS and the Primera, I don't know if MLS would be willing to change its business model.
I think Mexican teams playing in cities with a predominantly strong group of Mexican fans, I.E, San Jose, LA, Houston , Chicago , Colorado and possibly NY would draw great crowds and would be money makers. I'm sure MLS would welcome the revenues (sponsors, T-Shirts, TV money etc) the Mexican clubs would bring but thing is, it brings us back to the days of Mexico playing the USA in the Rose Bowl where 90,000 fans are rooting against the "home" team. Is this the route MLS owners really want to take? Not sure. It would add an international flavor to the league though and that may be kind of cool......
I don't think it would be a bad idea to merge leagues in the smaller european countries. I think it would be cool to see the top portuguese teams compete in la liga, or the belgian-netherlands league, or a denmark-sweeden-finland league. It would give the top teams there a higher level of competition and relegate the smaller teams to 2nd division where they belong. Now having American teams merge with fmf or mexican teams play in mls is just pointless. USA and Mexico are both huge countries compared to belgium and denmark. There'd be no advantage to try that. Mexican clubs already make plenty of $usd from friendlies and ccl, not to mention the high tv ratings they get in the US. And a ccl champ vs. copa libertadores champ wouldn't work either because Mexico plays in both tourneys. There'd be a possibility of an all Mexican final. Wait, that might kinda cool now that I think about it...
Again, the motivation for these combinations has been to create bigger TV markets which, in turn, can generate more money for the TV rights. This is from 2005, but it explains the rationale: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/Servettes_demise_is_tip_of_iceberg.html?cid=64430 Subsequent to this, Platini embraced the idea. This website collected many of the articles from a few years ago: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http://www.beneleague.eu/&anno=2 The idea wasn't popular with many of the clubs and the f/as though. But TV -- that is, a common league for a common TV market -- is the key. There's little motivation for a combined league otherwise. Which begs the question, how much more are TV rights worth in the United States alone if the Mexican and MLS clubs were part of a joint league?
so in your imaginary future, MLS is "flourishing" making bucket loads of money, and has more population dense urban areas to place teams than the number of teams it will ever have, but it wants to accept more foreign teams why exactly? forget the USSF, forget the mexican FA. if MLS markets are getting mature, and the league is doing more revenue than mexican teams, why in the world do you imagine they would want to add more teams that would have no impact on US ratings? what benefit do you see for MLS exactly?