Why can't the Cosmos get into something better, like USL? they have the name recognition and history and rich owner I believe? It is kind of stupid that they play in this summer break college kids league.
Do you always cry like this? Tell your club to join a different league then. Help pay players to make them compete with the Cosmos. Or, just cry on a message board.
You're suggesting that amateur teams should simply cease to exist? I'll just note how rich that is coming from a Crew fan.
The irony here is that you're whining about a supposedly "amateur" league (which is already wrong, it's semi-pro) that is able to maintain a decent level of quality because they have access to the best 18-22 year old players in this country for free. Especially since your exemplars of amateurism have a larger GD/game than the team you're complaining about. Also, not sure about citing a Charleston newspaper to prove a Connecticut team is amateur: https://www.shubigred.com/sports/m-soccer/2016-17/releases/20170614mvpaer https://chargerbulletin.com/elm-city-express-adds-two-players-as-season-approaches/ Etc. The point here is that it's not an amateur league, teams stay amateur because there's a huge gap between the free players they get thanks to NCAA/NAIA and how much they'd have to spend to get better players than that, that it's not worth it. Even more to the point is that none of these teams will be in the league anymore next year, so you won't have to clutch your pearls past July.
No one ever suggested that nor could it ever be inferred, except for you. Get over it. Crying isn’t a good look for you, or your club.
Since you want to talk technicalities, you are wrong. It is an amateur league. It MUST be considered an amateur league. FIFA only recognizes two types of leagues: pro or amateur. That’s it. “Semi-pro” is a made-up term to try to gain relevancy. Technically speaking, again, if the league was truly labeled “semi-pro,” no college players could be utilized. Anything relating to “professional” will lose eligibility for collegiate athletes. This only is a factor in the US with terminology. The rest of the world has one standard of “amateur” and that’s through FIFA. The US has two: FIFA and college rules. There are distinct differences. But, FIFA’s amateurism does permit teams to pay players. It’s not enough to be considered pro, but the players DO keep amateur status.
This is wrong. It's an adult league that does not discriminate between amateur and professional teams. More specifically, the league is pro/am agnostic (as it should be). College players are allowed to play against pro teams, they just aren't allowed to play with a single paid player. Semi-pro is absolutely the right term for NPSL (and UPSL) given the mix. The only reason it's called "amateur" is to distinguish it from the pro council leagues.
To be clear, I'm only disagreeing on the college eligibility bit: I agree it would be called amateur anywhere else in the world. But it's not "amateur" in the NCAA meaning of the word, just that it might not be your only job.
It is amateur. The league HAS to be designated as amateur. College players cannot play in any league that uses “professional” in its terminology. I never said they couldn’t play against them, but leagues cannot be designated “professional” or the fabricated “semi-pro.” There are other adult leagues around the country that aren’t national. But, they utilize a designation of “professional.” That can jeopardize eligibility — and has. Argue all you want. I’m in it and have been in it for over 15 years. I’ve had to help players gain college eligibility because of these terms. I’ve had to have players go through amateur reinstatement because of their prior experience — domestic or abroad. It’s either “pro” or “amateur.” Simple as that.
All I know is that the Kingston Stockade went undefeated in 2019 against amateur teams and still won't make the playoffs, and therefore the Open Cup, because there's a fully professional team slumming it in their division.
Never forget that the only loss the NY Cosmos have, to date in 2019, was against an expansion USL side who had lost all their league matches at that point.
Yeah, but the Cosmos have so much history. They represent the city of New York and have deep roots. They are the true force in American soccer and deserve to be in MLS because of their legacy and traditions that occurred over a decade before most modern players were born. Something, something pro/rel.