Well, it looks like the NuRock v TOA saga is continuing, but only a little bit, while the USL-1 meetings are being held in Beaverton, OR this week. With the following teams certainly there - Rochester, Portland, Tampa Bay, Puerto Rico, FC New York, Cleveland and Austin. The TOA clubs, may or may not be Vancouver, [. Click to continue reading...

Having a full day off I thought I would share the links that are out there of interest to Sounders fans and those that read the site, as well as a recap of the Sounders FC weekly radio show on 710 ESPN. First TOA v NuRock is getting to a boiling point. Yep, hints of [...] Click to continue reading...

Just getting this out there, no time for extensive thoughts. 24thMinute and CBC on Vancouver and Montreal pulling out of USL. Inside MN Soccer on the fuller situation. The TOA is clearly now the 2nd tier of the sport. Not just due to market size, but also due to the quality of the organizations involved. Click to continue reading...

Recently Steve Clare over at Prost Amerika interviewed Jeremy St Louis of Fox Soccer. It is a far ranging interview covering national teams (particularly the issues facing Canada), MLS, Sounders, the EPL and the upcoming World Cup. There were a few semi-precious stones in there, that you might just miss. Click to continue reading...

While I have been focusing on the issues that are facing the lower tiers of the American soccer system recently, please let's all remember that our issues here are not as bad as in other places. In Scotland the Old Firm are constantly making noise about leaving the SPL and SFA for the supposedly greener patches [. Click to continue reading...

While I have been focusing on the issues that are facing the lower tiers of the American soccer system recently, please let's all remember that our issues here are not as bad as in other places. In Scotland the Old Firm are constantly making noise about leaving the SPL and SFA for the supposedly greener patches [. Click to continue reading...

Man U is no stranger to hearing those words, but this competition takes place on the balance sheet and not on the pitch.
That's right, Forbes has just released their annual list of the world's most valuable sports franchises and at the top of the list is a proper football club, Manchester United. Click to continue reading...

In what I see as a move with more financial impact than on-field impact, AC Milan are courting another superstar whose best days are behind him, but who is still capable of packing a commercial punch. The latest move is to be a loan deal for LA Galaxy star David Beckham. Beckham's season is over [... Click to continue reading...

Check out Martin Rogers' October 20th piece on yahoo.com called, "The price for keeping soccer recession-proof."
In his article, Martin contends that the economic downturn may prove to be perfect tonic for many of the leagues as they enter negotiations for television deals. Many big TV sponsors are closing their checkbooks so the networks are looking at sure bets. Click to continue reading...

As the global financial crises mounts, UEFA is suggesting that they will use their considerable clout - in the form of UEFA tournaments - to force responsibility on to clubs in each of the participating organizations.
Currently, the only financial requirements for clubs entering UEFA competitions is that they do not owe money to other clubs and that they pay their staff. Click to continue reading...

What started out as my personal joke - putting the letters "USA" over the "AIG" which adorns Manchester United's shirts - has now turned in to a newly piqued interest in the business of soccer.
Fresh on the heals of the AIG collapse last month (among others), financial markets the world over have been losing enormous volumes of value and the impact of the global credit crunch is starting to show itself in the FA. Click to continue reading...

Before last night's exciting finale of an otherwise hot and cold 2008 SuperLiga tournament, officials had been talking up the "one million dollar purse" quite a bit.
Of course in most American professional sports, one million dollars is a drop in the bucket, but (sadly) to the average MLS team, that's no small chunk of change. Click to continue reading...

If you're like me, then you not only love sports, but the business of sports. As we head toward the Beijing Olympics, this weeks' Economist has a fascinating section on sports business.
I'll be plucking bits and pieces from this section over the next week or so but to start, I'll share the latest chart to make you all wish you'd taken up golf as a kid - but aside from that, it also lists the other 10 highest earners in sport. Click to continue reading...