From time to time as you all know we like to post interviews done by former MLSer Jared Montz. If you haven’t gotten into his podcast yet I highly recommend you do so now.
Today he has added a new podcast/video interview with NASL or USSF Div II Carolina Railhawks Brian Plotkin. The two discuss the crazy offseason that surrounded the USL/NASL/USSF Div 2 as well as some other items.
Enjoy.
Some will find this ruling shocking and others like myself will not. The USSF has told both the USL and the newly formed NASL that they will each not be sanctioned in 2010 unless they can work it out within the next week.
According to a press release (see below) sent out by the USSF, both sides failed to meet certain requirements to be sanctioned.
CHICAGO (Dec. 30, 2009) – The U.S. Soccer Board of Directors voted unanimously on Tuesday to not sanction either the USL or the NASL to operate a Division II professional league in 2010.
The decision was made on the recommendation of the Professional League Task Force, which determined that neither organization on its own was able to provide a viable and sustainable operation during the upcoming season. Both organizations were unable to meet U.S. Soccer’s requirement of a minimum of eight viable teams for 2010.
Despite the ruling, the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors has given both organizations seven days to try to work out an interim solution for the 2010 season.
“After carefully reviewing the findings from the Task Force it was clear there are still too many uncertainties for both organizations, which would be extremely difficult to resolve in a timely fashion that would allow them to prepare for the 2010 season,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “In the best interest of soccer in the United States, we decided to not sanction either league at this point. However, we did encourage both leagues to come together in the next week and attempt to develop another plan which would allow a single league to be approved on a provisional basis. We are committed to finding ways to improve the long-term viability of all leagues and teams and continue the growth of soccer in the United States.”
Now things go back to the board room and both sides will have to some how work together to find a resolution. I think in a way it favors the USL side more than anything. Something about this just lets me think that even though the USL won’t be sanctioned for next year it does help them out in possibly getting some clubs back in their corner. The lawsuits obviously had something to do with this ruling as well.
Again, I’m not shocked by this ruling. I won’t say right now whether or not this is the right ruling by the USSF or the wrong ruling but I will say I am just not shocked by it. I think the USSF wants one single division two league here and not two separate leagues.
I know a lot of folks will not like this ruling but its the hand that has been given right now. Just another fun chapter in this story. I do think both sides need to just hug it out and settle their issues here.
I believe it was only really going to be a matter of time before things got real nutty with this whole USL/TOA/NASL/USSF mess. The Kartik Report found out this morning that the USL is suing the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Crystal Palace Baltimore and the Rochester Rhinos for breach of contract.
The three clubs had allegedlycommittedcontractually to play 2010 in USLs First Division but instead opted to play in the yet to be sanctioned North American Soccer League. (Here is a link to the court filing.)
Seeing the league sue these clubs is probably a bit about protecting their best interest and I don’t think we can blame them for doing so since these clubs were slated to be apart of the USL in 2010.
I’m sure this was one thing the meeting with the USSF wanted to avoid here. Going down this road has to be a troubling path for both sides. This whole time I haven’t really been on either side of the fence between the USL and NASL. I like some things both have done but I’ve tried to stay as neutral as I can here with it. I do think though right now the NASL needs to cool their jets a bit though. They are a very ambitious bunch that still has loads of work to do like putting schedules together, getting a front office, doing some PR, etc. All that and more with only a few months time to do it in.
If the NASL wanted a season so bad in 2010, they should have decided to do a shorter season to get their stuff in gear before doing an actual full season in 2011. Sort of a dry opening before the grand opening if you will.
Now as far as the USSF goes, they need to act quickly here to cool the bad press that will come of this news. We know they put together a little “task force” to over see things here with this mess but really that won’t be good enough here. It’s pretty clear the USSF has no real stance on this situation right now, other than being sort of confused I think.
This messy situation just keeps getting messier.
So the news came down today that the TOA league would be dubbed the new North American Soccer League. Yes the return of the NASL is possibly more about the name than the actual league here. The TOA group went for name recognition right away with this choice.
The league has nine clubs now that Tampa and Baltimore have jumped ship and they could look to add a tenth with the possibility of Rochester leaving the USL after 2010.
Currently there are only 5 teams remaining from last years USL-1 season. Austin, Cleveland, Portland, Puerto Rico and Rochester, with the expansion team of New York bringing the league to 6. Some may say what about Charleston? Well, they are headed to the USL-2 in the form of a self-relegation. Some folks are saying Cleveland could easily do the same.
Let’s not forget that after this next season for the USL they will stand to lose Portland. That bring their lovely total down to just four for the 2011 season unless they get some expansion sites up in a hurry before then.
The USL does looked doomed here but will this NASL really work? Vancouver and Montreal are headed MLS’s way in the near future but this little league could be fine if the chips keep falling for the USL. But the thing that worries people like me is how in the world will they get all their crap together before the start of the season next year? At the very least they could have a website up now that they have a name but since http://www.nasl.com is already taken they could be in trouble on that front.
Things do look good for the TOA, or now rather the NASL, which is still a stupid name in my mind to go with.
Some big news is coming out today. The Team Owners Association or TOA is moving forward in their plan to break away from the USL first division and form their own league. TOA just released a press release making their plans public with the decision to move forward with a new division 2 league in North America.
The owners of the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps, along with new club St. Louis Soccer United today announced that they have formed a new professional soccer league to play in the United States and Canada beginning in April 2010.
The TOA has applied for second division status from the USSF and first division status from the Canadian Soccer Association. The league is apparently looking to add at least one more club since their potential team in Tampa went back to the USL last week.
Joey Saputo, President of the 2009 USL-1 champion Montreal Impact, was recently elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the new league.
This is not your typical new league, Saputo said. Most of our teams have existed for years. We have united some of the best owners, teams and markets around a new vision for a professional soccer league in North America.
We look forward to elevating our teams and league in order to give more opportunities to players, coaches, media and sponsors, entertain our fans and play our role in helping soccer truly recognize its potential in the United States and Canada.
Jeff Cooper, the principal owner of St. Louis Soccer United and spokesperson for the new league, said team owners have commenced a search for a league commissioner and are actively finalizing other details, including a name for the league and its sales and marking plans. The league intends to launch an extensive marketing campaign in the coming months, Cooper said.
I think one thing we will need to keep an eye on is Minnesota. Apparently according to Inside Minnesota Soccer (which has covered this situation like no one else) the Thunder are in some serious financial problems right now. All the players have been released from their contracts and from the sound of things the owners have no money left to run things.
Should Minnesota not be able to muster up the cash to play it could put this league down to six clubs, which makes things pretty rough if you ask me for people to take this league serious.
Another interesting item is to see what Vancouver and Montreal are going to do here. Vancouver is expected to go to MLS in 2011 and from the reports its sounds like they will keep a reserve team in this new league (smart move). Montreal on the other hand is still hoping to get into MLS in the coming years and could do a similar thing with this second division.
Lastly, another interesting thing will be to see if this league can get any sort of recognition from CONCACAF to play in the Champions League. I would imagine they will need at least eight clubs in the league to even be considered but more than likely these clubs will still have to go through the US Open Cup to even have a shot at getting in the CCL.
Once I get more details on this new league I will pass it along to you.
Yesterday out at the Nike headquarters in Oregon the USL first division owners got together for a little meeting. It turns out the group does know how to play some hardball with the other group of owners known as the TOA who are planning to start their own league.
The USL called it a new era for the league, especially the first division. From the sound of things they are banking heavily on some expansion in the coming year to make up for the losses of clubs like Miami, Montreal, and Minnesota to name a few. Last night they announced expansion plans in cities like Detroit and Baltimore as well as a couple Canadian cities to make up for the losses of Vancouver and Montreal.
I think the move to get a couple Canadian cities on board was going to happen regardless of the TOA thing. Losing Vancouver to MLS in a couple years and potentially Montreal really put pressure on the USL to get more Canadian clubs back in the league. Adding Ottawa and Edmonton seem like a good idea on the surface, especially when you think Ottawa failed as a MLS expansion bid.
Detroit and Baltimore are big cards in the USL’s hands. Getting Detroit is a big time thing that should make up for losing some small markets like Minnesota and Carolina. What the USL did by bringing in Detroit and Baltimore wasn’t just new cities in the top division it was expanding it’s TV map to bigger markets. You can’t tell me trading Carolina and Minnesota in for Detroit and Baltimore isn’t a big win for the USL in this on-going battle with the TOA.
Others on hand at the meeting were new clubs that will join next year in Tampa and New York. Sure New York is a shared TV market with its MLS brother but it is still a big market to have in the league no matter what. Tampa as we all know carries a big name in the Rowdies, which should help in some ways. Tampa being at these meetings kind of signals that they have made peace with the USL and are possibly done with the TOA. Seeing Tampa make peace with the USL really hurts the TOA right now.
Right now for the TOA it comes down to what Carolina, Miami and Minnesota are going to do. We know Vancouver and Montreal have MLS in their sights as it is so going with the TOA would really be just for a single season or two for Montreal.
People need to not worry how the USL will move forward from this whole TOA issue because with this news they certainly have. Something tells me this mess with the TOA is long from being over but don’t be shocked to see at least Carolina and Minnesota come back to the USL. Miami seems like a wildcard in all of this but at the end of the day if they lose another club in their little party it will pretty much mean the end of things for the TOA.
The time is now for the TOA to make their move but what that move will be is going to be interesting. I think the longer they wait to act the tougher it gets for them.
There isn’t much tonight for the evening links and thoughts. Got some USL-TOA talk and a brief thought about Kevin Payne’s fine from the league earlier today.
But first there we gotta go back into the TOA-USL talk that we’ve been going around and around with for the last few weeks. Reports tonight suggest the TOA and their clubs could very well soon be forming their own league, even as soon as TOMORROW.
Carolina RailHawks president Brian Wellman confirmed in the link above that he along with the rest of the TOA group would be submitting an application to the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to form a new league. They may even be doing it as soon as tomorrow. The new league would consist of Minnesota , Miami FC, Montreal, Vancouver and Carolina from the USL and three other new clubs from Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Atlanta.
Some folks are saying that other owners from the USL could even join them down the road too. I mean if you look at it, if these clubs bolt town tomorrow to form their own league that could or could not be linked to MLS, you have to wonder what those in Rochester and Charleston are thinking.
Wellman also suggests this new league could also play on the favored FIFA calendar, meaning they’d play through the winter. Honestly hearing something like that may just be pandering to fans that want a FIFA style calender here in the states. Sure they have a few markets that would be fine to play in the winter but I don’t see games in Vancouver, Montreal and Minnesota going over well during the cold months.
The USL also came out and said in regards to this news that no talks have actually took place here but they are just being patient with this group.
There is also the talk that Don Garber is in the TOA’s corner for this one. To that news you just have to wonder. I’m still in the court that thinks a MLS-2 won’t happen anytime soon but the possibility of a new league has to have some kind of connections with MLS to succeed I would think. I’m sure more information will come out of this all very soon though.
RSS
