The first time the World Cup has been played in the United States, In 1994The country has obtained a football league from the first division outside the agreement. And now, with the tournament ready to return in 16 months, plans are launched for a second level one league to start the game from 2027.
“This is something we worked on and talked about,” said Paul McDonough, president and football chief of the United Football Leaguewhich manages more than 180 men's teams at three levels of the American football pyramid, from the second-level USL championship to the Semi-Pro USL 2 League. “It was something that develops in a way while we are talking to current team owners and potential owners.
“The championship is great. But we have a group that wants something a little bigger. »»
A second division 1 league, something that no other country in the world has, would certainly be that. But the USL, whose chief executive officer Alec Papadakis announced plans last month to create a rival for Major League Soccer, faces a number of substantial obstacles trying to do so.
“Notwithstanding the potential for two leagues to exist, it would be a fairly important task to make it function financially,” said Steven A. Bank, business law professor of Paul Hastings at the UCLA and football finance expert. “The national media market for American professional sports is already saturated and ticket sales remain a critical source of income.”
American football rules require that the leagues in division 1 have at least 12 teams covering three time zones, with at least nine of these teams based in metropolitan areas with a population of 1 million or more. And all the stadiums in the League must accommodate at least 15,000 people.
Currently, only four USL teams meet both the criteria of population and stadium. The increase in the capacity of the seats or the construction of new stages would require significant investments, as well as extending the League to new markets. Will papadakis be able to persuade existing teams to pay the construction of construction costs or convince new investors to spend hundreds of millions for a company that has not succeeded anywhere else?
MLS, launched two years after the 1994 World Cup, did not make any benefits for more than two decades. Do the owners of a rival league launched in the middle of another rebound in the World Cup, would they be willing to absorb years of similar financial uncertainty?
“You need capitalization,” said Peter Trevisani, investment director and CEO of New Mexico City, who made the qualifiers for the USL championship five times during his six seasons in the League. “This is a large inflection point for USL as a league. As individual teams, we have done incredible work in constant evolution of our league in this position.
“But to really achieve this, we will need additional capital and probably capital at the institutional level as we see in MLS and all professional leagues. I really believe that in 2027, 2028, we can set up the infrastructure to achieve this aspiration. »»
José Bautista, the six times larger star in the major league which has the Las Vegas Lights, agreed, affirming that the measurement of division 1 would require improved installations and better players, which will both cost a lot.
“I will have to open my wallet. (But) I won't have to do it alone, “he said. “This is an attractive opportunity for many people and I have already received a ton of unsolicited calls with interest.”
One of the reasons why it is an attractive opportunity is that it provides a property lane in a level 1 league in the fastest growth sport in the country, a path that is much cheaper than expansion costs of $ 500 million to reach MLS.
The former major league Jose Bautista is fully invested in the Las Vegas Lights Club in the USL championship division.
(Michael Dwyer / Associated Press)
“I do not necessarily look at this from a purely economic or investment perspective,” said Bautista. “I want, with my platform and our franchise, bring the highest level of football to our community. And I will do everything you need.
The USL has not said which existing USL championship teams, if necessary, will be taken into account for the level 1 League offered. However, despite the enthusiasm of Trevisani and Bautista, the managers of several franchises seem lukewarm on the idea. The Times contacted other teams from the League conference, but none agreed to talk about the proposal to the file.
Many, including Bautista, said they had heard of the idea for the first time a few hours before Papadakis made his announcement and they had questions about finances, the quality of the player that the league could attract and other bases. The league, she said, had few answers.
“You can call it Division 1. But is it really division 1?” said a framework, which asked that his name and the name of his team be not used because he feared the remuneration for expressing himself. “No, this is not the case. This is not quite. It will not have the same level of players. I just don't understand what they are doing.
The history of start-up leagues in the United States is not encouraging. American basketball insurance. lasted less than a decade before four of its teams were absorbed by the NBA and the rest of the league fell. The World Hockey Assn. had an even shorter lifespan before cessation of operations after merging with the NHL established.
WFL, XFL and USFL, rivals NFL, did not last long either.
“Does that mean that we are one day converging with the MLS?” I don't know, ”said Trevisani. “It doesn't really happen now. This probably does not happen over the next two years. »»
MLS and the USL were formerly allies, joining a playing partnership of players who saw the USL clubs AGA as an MLS franchises for eight seasons. This ended in 2022 when MLS Next Pro was created as a division III League to play this development role.
Last month, MLS won an antitrust trial brought by another competitor, the North American disappearance of the North American Soccer League, which requested $ 500 million in damages after accused the American League and the American Football Federation with a conspiracy in order to maintain a monopoly on professional football in the country.
The MLS commissioner, Don Garber, dismissed the concerns that a first division USL would be a threat.
“I have no fear that all the contributions that everyone learn in the end will be good for sport,” he said.
“I think the country will support it in places where it makes sense. And I would be happy for the USL if they could get there. »»
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