PBP: Other Leagues/Tournaments Catch-All Thread

Australia's NRL has been steadily growing the past few years:

Peter V’landys says the NRL is entering a financial golden age — record revenue, record surplus and a broadcast war that could change player salaries forever.

• Revenue rising from $744m to north of $800m
• Surplus climbing from $62.3m to around $65m
• Net assets above $390m…

— NRLCentral (@centralNRL) February 14, 2026

 

The A League on the other hand........... WPIOOTBGR!

No way this happened in Australia, someone please cancel football in that country 🇦🇺😭😭

pic.twitter.com/rctR7YpZel https://t.co/hcljqvbaL8

— MP𖤐 (@MagicalPep) February 14, 2026

 

That’s a huge projected tv deal for a country/continent with only 27 million people. How’s that possible?

 

That was going to be the keeper's only ever goal and new guy stole it.

 

Maybe it includes global rights and they intend to parcel it out?

 

Aussie Rules seven year deal is worth US$450 million a year and it has less global appeal than NRL.

 

I know this is a week old but it drives me nuts when people say this is the worst VAR ever. You can't just ignore the rules because it makes for a better narrative. I mean you can, and I see refs do it, but that's one of the reasons prem reffing is in the state it is.

The goal is only scored because Haarland clearly fouls Dom. Clear and obvious and all that. The fact that it's in the 100th minute or the 1st doesn't matter. The league could come to goal difference so if you have VAR the goal can't stand. And if the goal doesn't stand then I guess you have to go back to the Dom Red Card.

If there isn't VAR then it is what is, which is actually really poor reffing. If you are arguing to get rid of VAR, fine, but this weekend's FA Cup has reminded us what it was like in a pre VAR days with blatant Red Cards missed and goals being both incorrectly allowed and denied. Finally if you are arguing to dump VAR, something I am sympathetic to, this seems a weird one to hang your hat on. The reality is VAR made the right call, and made up for S*** reffing. There are plenty of better examples.

 

Ok it wasn't one of the worst decisions, it was one of the most annoying. They could have just gone with the decision on the pitch. Both teams would have been happy.

This FA Cup weekend was VAR free. I watched part of the Villa game. The Villa goal was offside, the Newcastle free-kick that led to their first goal should have been a penalty and no-one seemed to complain. Meanwhile in Italy there was an 8 minute review for offside which led to a goal being scratched.

There has to be a meeting point here. I think there should be a time limit for VAR reviews but that's a slippery slope, as we'll end up with countdown clocks on corners, free-kicks and throw-ins.

There has you

 

Anyone following the great curling controversy?

Canad-y-a
Always cheating!

 

Too funny. I am sad that I don’t feel like I can make fun of Canada at the moment though.

 

Bodø 1-0 up on their pre-season Champions League playoff first-leg against Internazionale.

They had to remove 80 metric tons of snow from their artificial turf prior to the game.

 

3-1 final. Wow!

 

Jozy Altidore joins nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook on the cap table for the Oklahoma City USL soccer team. The former U.S. Soccer star is investing in an Oklahoma City United Soccer League (USL) team set to re-launch in 2028 with a new stadium as part of a $1 billion… pic.twitter.com/Ku2i4cemzd

— Sportico (@Sportico) February 19, 2026

Might we be seeing the seeds for the first attempt at a USL superteam?

 

Have you seen a list of Phoenix Rising owners?

 

They did sign Drogba in the beginning... So ok - second attempt

 

He's still an owner along with a baseball player, a dj and some musician. They bring these guys on board for PR purposes.

 

Like Beckham for Miami and... like 100 people for LAFC?

 

Adventures in goalkeeping punished down under:

OH MY WORD! JUAN MATA SCORES A SCREAMER FROM LONG RANGE 🚀🤯

The Spaniard chips the goalkeeper from miles out in the Melbourne Derby. Unbelievable 👑

📺 Watch #MCYvMVC live now on 10 Drama, Paramount+ or stream free on 10. pic.twitter.com/AZ6iiM9CTv

— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) February 21, 2026

WE PROMISE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN A GOAL QUITE LIKE THIS 🤯pic.twitter.com/tKM4wdp8a1

— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) February 21, 2026

LigaMX also had a goalkeeper on walkabout punished

🤯🤯 LE BUT DE L’ANNÉE POUR KENEDY !

😱 But EXCEPTIONNEL de l’ailier brésilien : dribble entre deux joueurs puis lob du milieu de terrain sur Nahuel Guzmán !!

🔵⚪️ Il a offert la victoire à Pachuca sur la pelouse des Tigres (2-1).pic.twitter.com/a3tdIZnfob

— Fútbol mexicano FR 🇲🇽 (@ligamx_fr) February 21, 2026

 

USL League 1 starts in 14 days............

With 14 days until the new USL League One season, South Georgia Tormenta has shut down, sources tell @USLTactics.

Days ago, Tormenta owner Darin Van Tassell told staff to “stay focused and stay positive."

Now another USL team has ceased operations ⤵️https://t.co/7Tz0CHEPB1

— Backheeled (@Backheeled) February 21, 2026

 

You think Beckham was brought on for PR purposes?

He is literally the one who secured the franchise and put together the ownership group.

 

But USL is getting ready to do P/R in a couple of seasons...

 

US Soccer can now remove associations that do not field a league:

The US Soccer 2026 AGM is in Atlanta this weekend. The Board of Directors passed Bylaw 241, adding a mechanism to automatically remove a professional league from membership.

Meaning;
* North American Soccer League - Gone
* National Independent Soccer Association - Gone in 2027 pic.twitter.com/qNiLsTJ9AH

— Michael Battista (@MichaelBattista) February 21, 2026

 

Lawsuit!

 

It's funny that they have the political will to put in an automatic mechanism to do what they don't have the political will to just vote to do.

 

Evidently things are dicey enough in certain areas of Mexico right now after a military operation to remove a leader of a cartel that the women's Clasico Nacional has been postponed.