http://www.americasoccerleague.com/index.html 1) No teams set yet 2) 25k for a franchise 3) Hotmail account for the head office? League Statement: "The America Soccer League is dedicated to bringing Pro Soccer to the USA and Canada. Every other country in the world has many divisions of soccer in their respective country-The ASL hopes to bring a level of Pro Soccer to the US and Canada that is really missing-Division 3 level pro soccer (Division 2 in Canada)! If your team or club is of elite quality and thinks they can make the jump to Division 3 pro soccer we want to hear from you. At present we are looking for teams in Ontario or Quebec in Canada and for teams in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania,Mass,too! If your team resides elsewhere contact us anyway and we will talk to see if joining the A.S.L is possible......Contact us at the email below. Tourfairway@hotmail.com" If I wanted to waste money... I think I'd rather buy Enron stock.
I'm sure glad to see they think that Division 3 level pro soccer is missing in America. Maybe it might help if they consulted the USL. http://proselect.uslsoccer.com/ Formerly known as the D3 Pro League...... Time for a pair of e-mails.
The big difference here, gentlemen: money. Frank Marcos, owner of USL (and to be sure, while he is called "Commissioner", email the league sometime and ask who chose him and when the next elections are. Fact is, I know several guys he tried to sell the whole damn thing to a few years back), currently charges $75,000 for a D3 franchise. A franchise which, rest assured, is guaranteed to lose money. No question about it. In fact, last I knew he was getting $45,000 for a PDL franchise, (plus a large performance bond or LOC - seems to me it was $25,000) and it isn't even pro. (Which, in practical point of fact means you can't sell player contracts because all you have is 90 day amateur agreements) So while I agree that this guy probably doesn't have any more of a prayer than the poor schmuck who was trying to start a Pro Futsal league (no, I am NOT making that up) there are a couple things here which are appealing: - It is the only league between USYSA U18 and MLS that Marcos does not own lock, stock and barrel. Is it really a good idea for one private individual, answerable to no one, to control every single aspect of soccer in the US short of the top level? - If you really have an eye for talent, or the ability to develop talent, you might actually make enough money to make it interesting. At the very least, it might be fun - It sure beats laying out 45k for a PDL deal and the chance to provide workout opportunities to college kids.
The USL (which has been named about 10 different things actually began as a lower division indoor league in the Southwest in the late eighties. Kind of like Andy's MPSL. Of course it's a money-loser. But unlike Enron stock (or even stock that's actually worth something) owning a team makes you feel good. Hiring coaches, picking up players, hitting the road. It's an ego trip, and if you can afford an expensive hobby, why not? Someone who had a history of having written checks to Frank Marcos once told me that Marcos sells "dreams" to people who ought to know better. He said this right after he tallied up $100,000 in losses for a season and his wife told him it was her or the team. So if you're going to lose money, why not lose $25,000 instead of $50,000? Just makes sense to me.
I agree with you Bill. And perhaps having an e-mail address other than hotmail would make things look a bit more on the up-and-up. But I just don't see how this league is even gonna get started.
Marcos is another one of the long list of American Soccer Crooks, along with: Chuck Blazer Sunil Gulati Alan Rothenberg Dan Flynn Jay Berhalter, etc. The average fan has no idea how much these people hold back the game. Not to mention our adopted Jack Warner, yuck.