Monday 9 December 2024

Club Atletico Atlanta, they play in Buenos Aires on the second division of Argentina.

 

MLS Cup final showcased the league’s potential. Now, MLS must decide what’s next
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5977943/2024/12/09/mls-cup-final-showcase-whats-next/

This is an excellent article. Thanks to our host for sharing it.

I'm unsure if it's paywall-protected, I have a Times subscription but I do not have the Athletic add-on, but I was able to read this article by selecting Reader view.

 

The what's next for MLS article is a good read because it ask fair questions while at the same time recognizing what the league is at this moment. You have Will Kuntz, a front office person with diverse experience coming from the New York Yankees and LAFC believing that fans of the team don't need a big name but the ability to win a championship. Unlike so many fans of soccer in America who are really European soccer fans, Kuntz believed in the fans of the LA Galaxy showing up for a winning team, instead of a team with just stars that Americans recognize.
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MLS is an American/Canadian league and although not the top league in the world like every other league here, they've set up the league with the same system of no pro/rel and playoffs, while parity being the core of competition. With infrastructure built, maybe it's time to please the fans of MLS teams and stop looking to please the fans of folks who just like soccer.
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Three straight MLS Cup champions coming from missing the playoffs the year before to top of the league is a good advertisement for why you don't need Pro/Rel. The argument owners won't have a reason to compete without it is proven wrong again for the third year in a row. Can you make the league better is probably the same answer that Kuntz followed by just improving the team itself.
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The two identities for teams the last three years that show up in the Cup is a team that spends on young talent and one that develops through the academy. The Red Bulls, Columbus and Philadelphia all had homegrown players making big contributions. Although Columbus also spent on young talent. Maybe the next step is to just unleash the restraints on these two mechanisms.
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I'm not sure if they even need to negotiate with MLSPA to make the two simple changes but I would like to see MLS stop counting transfer fees as part of salary and get rid of homegrown territory rights. Let teams that are willing to spend on transfer fees spend freely and let teams that want to invest in their academy recruit from anywhere in the world, not just a predetermined geographic location.

 

Well stated.

 

Some possible changes coming to MLS, internal cash based transfer market?

Sources: There have been serious discussions about adding a cash-based internal MLS trade market & it could come to a vote this week when the MLS Board of Governors meets.

If passed, teams would be able to offer transfer fees to acquire in-league players https://t.co/TsA0JGfLam

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) December 10, 2024

MLS in discussions to potentially add cash trade market: Sources

https://www.givemesport.com/mls-discussions-to-potentially-add-cash-trade-market-sources/

 

Not a whole lot of context in this. I wonder how it will work?

 

Interesting choice of words from the MLS press release in the Colorado/Cincy trade that went down today:

"They also retain a sell-on fee if either player is transferred abroad or traded within MLS."​

Has a press release ever phrased the sell-on fee like that?