Soccer's U.S. Open Cup Begins in June - Miami Herald Patriots plan exhibition match against Galaxy - El Paso Times MetroStars' Addo proves cut above - Newark Star-Ledger Caniggia on his way out of Rangers - Soccerway Crew's sponsor score - Columbus Business First Adu, 13, Becomes A U.S. Citizen - Washington Post World Cup qualifying: What a long, boring trip it will be - USA Today
From the article: Rangers manager Alex McLeish has not ruled out offering the 36-year-old [Caniggia] a one-year extension but the club´s current financial squeeze means he wants to delay a decision until the summer. But Caniggia insisted that would be too late. "I would like to get my future sorted out by March," he told the Daily Record. "I spoke with the manager and he told me he has to wait until the end of the season but it is very difficult for a player to wait until the end of May. "It would be beautiful to stay with Rangers but I can´t wait and hope that they will give me a contract." Sounds like maybe in a couple of weeks and a month at the latest, if Caniggia gets his way, we'll know if he'll be playing in MLS this season? Should be very interesting... Cheers, William
From the Washington Post: "There is mounting speculation that Adu could be playing in Major League Soccer by the 2004 season." Are there any applicable FIFA regs (or U.S. regs) that would prohibit Freddy playing in MLS at age 14? Also, doesn't FIFA have regs that prohibit Adu from playing in an overseas league until he reaches the age of 16 (or is it 17)?
the crew sponsorship article is a good read... for most of the teams that play as tenants in nfl stadiums, it points out the revenue streams they're missing out on.... article says about 25% of the teams revenue comes from corp. sponsorship....and this is in columbus..... one can only imagine the numbers that would be involved in a new york area sss... or for the galaxy for that matter..... teams lose money or sponsors because corporations often are reluctant to sponsor a team like the metros (not because they've sucked) because a competitor already has a presence in the stadium...one that's much more prominent than a board on the sideline....
No. If his mother wants to sign for him (does he have a living father? I haven't seen any mention of one previously), then he can work at 14 in the US (at least in most states, I think this varies). He can't sign for a league in most countries that he is not a citizen in until he is 18 (even with parental consent). I think that is due to EU and USA work laws though. That's why the Italians wanted a contract stating that he would sign with them when he turned 18. Assuming that he is that good (and he seems to be) and assuming that he doesn't get injured or something (godforbid). Then he should be able to make a good sockload of money by the time he's 18 just playing in the US, not to mention sponsorships (Sports Illustrated for Kids?).
Another big thing that I noted in this article was that they have had a 10% increase in sponsorship over the last 2 years. And this during an Ad decline. Because sponsorship is basically advertising space. I think it's great that they are able to pull in this type of support. But I think that one of the main reason they do so well with corp support is that they are in Columbus. Their maine competion in the summer is a AAA baseball team. You can't say the same for New York and LA. But the MLS does provide an affordable package to reach a desirable market segment.
From Netminder: "...Or DaMarcus Beasley could get lost in a huge clump of poorly maintained grass, forcing him to miss most of the MLS season." Time to place a GPS tracking system on DMB when going through CONCACAF qualifying.
So, Sponsorships account for 25% of team's total revenue. Any guess what that total revenue stream would be? Someone could plug in real numbers, but here's a stab: Let's say the team drew around 275,000 attendees for all Crew matches at $25 a pop (includes parking & concessions) - that's a little less than $7,000,000. I have no idea what other significant revenue streams there are, but here are a couple of guesses: merchandise, camps, other events at Crew Stadium. No clues as to how much they may be. I'll assume 0. But even this conservative figure means the sponsorships are easily above 1.5 million - and probably are enough to cover player salaries. One has to think that stadium naming rights are not far behind, too. I recall a couple of teams bragging they had topped the $1 million mark in sponsorships, so this figure sets the bar a lot higher. Anyone with some real figures to add to this discussion?
FIFA didn't seem to have a problem when American Samoa played two 14-year-olds in World Cup qualifiers (or full internationals, as Jack Edwards would say)...
Revolt-that's just Columbus' numbers. It will vary by team. LA's revenue is probably more than 25% sponsorship, since, IIRC, they have the most sponsorships in the league. Kansas City or Colorado's might be less.
Random thoughts from the Freddy Adu Article... -Adu Family, congrats on your citizenship. We're proud to have you aboard. -His younger brother, Fredua, is a soccer player too? Cap Fredua now!!! -If there is no father in the picture anymore, then I think it is our duty to find his mom Emilia Adu a new man. What better way can we contribute to US Soccer than seeing that she continues to procreate?
Crew will play Panama to open Concacaf Champion's Cup - Columbus Dispatch Moore wants to use Experience - Boston Herald MLS Finalists have Holes to Fill - Boston Herald
On Friday, The Express reported that MLS denied having had any contact with Caniggia (sorry, no link).
No problem, I'll pay that. Seems like a reputable-enough source. So it sounds like Caniggia's using the MLS "angle" as a negotiating ploy to get an immediate contract offer from Rangers. At least that's my take on the matter... Cheers, William