Image credit: Ft. Lauderdale Strikers

Multiple sources have confirmed to Soc Takes that the sale of the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers trademark is imminent. The buyer of the trademark is entrepreneur Mario Noriega, who has, per U.S. Soccer expert and Florida resident Kartik Krishnaiyer, previously attempted to purchase the brand.

A source close to the bid suggests that the deal has “been agreed in principle,” adding that the legal paperwork should be completed in the next few days. Once completed, the deal would result in Noriega acquiring the trademark, domain and franchise marks of the Strikers. Under the agreement, the team would be able to launch in any league that new ownership targets.

Soc Takes reached out to Bill Edwards for comment on the story.

History

The Strikers are a storied brand of American soccer. Founded in 1977, in the original NASL, the franchise has been home to some great names in American and world soccer, including the incomparable George Best, the magisterial Ray Hudson and “Der Bomber” Gerd Muller.

One of the original members of the NASL 2.0, the then-Miami FC club rebranded as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and played in the league from 2010-16.

The Strikers experienced a tumultuous 2016 season marred by financial difficulties. Earlier this year, Tampa Bay Rowdies owner Bill Edwards filed a lawsuit against the Strikers’ corporate entity to recoup unpaid loans. In June, Edwards purchased the Strikers trademarks and rights.

As Krishnaiyer’s sourcing suggested, two different ownership groups had previously attempted to acquire the Strikers trademarks in December, but were unsuccessful in doing so.

Photo credit: Ft. Lauderdale Strikers

The Miami-area men’s soccer scene

There are major changes underway in the Miami-area soccer scene. Boca Raton FC has signed a letter of intent to play in the NASL in 2018. Meanwhile, per the NISA website, a Miami team is poised to join the NISA league. That team is widely believed to be Miami United. Miami Fusion FC also plays in the NPSL.

Whether the NISA will launch in 2018 remains unclear.

Himmarshee FC, a supporter-owned club, has declared its intention to play in the Gold Coast Soccer Premier League in 2018. Meanwhile, Miami FC continues to dominate the NASL. Yet, the future of the NASL hangs in the balance.

The goal for the new ownership is to have the Strikers “on the pitch” in 2018, according to sources. Soc Takes understands that influential NASL owners do not want to affiliate with the Strikers brand currently, and the USL does not seem to be an option. Therefore, the most likely outlets appear to be the NPSL or local APSL, and the NPSL would be open to a good market application through the end of the year.

The takeaway

So, there seems to be at least one possible home for this team. Will this historic American club play anywhere in 2018? Will this famous American club play professional soccer in 2019?

In the world of lower-division American soccer, change is aplenty, but the future is mired in uncertainty.

Follow Nipun on Twitter: @NipunChopra7.

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Soc Takes was thrilled to interview Puerto Rico FC president Tom Payne this week. This is a largely unedited transcript of our interview, except for a small portion that was excised for an upcoming article about player signings. Make sure you read Bob Williams’ excellent earlier interview with Thomas Payne, too.

Consider this part one of a three-part PRFC special. Today, we’ll talk to Tom Payne about the upcoming CFU Championships and discuss his thoughts on the current status and the future plans of the NASL. In Part two and three, we’ll get head coach Adrian Whitbread’s thoughts as well as those of young forward, Sidney Rivera.

Nipun Chopra: Thank you for taking the time, Tom.

Tom Payne: My pleasure.

NC: Tell me about the process by which you got back into the CFU Championship.

TP: It was definitely a process. We saw something, sort of a leaked draw and our team wasn’t in it. This was back in December. We reached out to the federation and asked what was going on. They said “don’t worry about it.” The next thing you know, CONCACAF sends out the actual draw – a month or so go – it came out without us being in it. We were upset to say the least. If you look at the event, it’s an important one. It’s not like we’ll have 10 thousand people at these games, but for the passionate fans here and for the people who get behind Puerto Rican football, it’s really important. Not only were we upset, our fans were too. So we felt the need to do whatever we needed to do to get back into the tournament. I’m not going to get into too many of the specifics of it, but we had to have some negotiations to ensure our entry; things other teams didn’t have to do.

Photo credit: PRFC

NC: Without getting into specifics, are you able to pinpoint the mistake in the chain of command?

TP: Obviously, there was a breakdown between the federation here and CONCACAF. What we’ve been told is the paperwork wasn’t filed on time. Sounds like the federation said they filed it, but it went down the wrong avenue. Some of it might be because this was a CFU event, and CONCACAF only recently took it over. But that doesn’t change the fact that those things should have been doubled and triple-checked. The thing for me is it goes back to this time last year – we were already asking questions about what the qualification process was to get into the tournament. There’s actually a history here of teams qualifying and not going because they couldn’t afford it or other reasons.

For us, we did everything asked of us to qualify and then come to see that we weren’t in it, didn’t feel very good.

NC: The group (group D) you ended up in meant the winners were given a bye to the next round. Was there a reason you were drawn into that group, or was it purely chance and/or negotiation?

TP: We needed to figure out how we could get in when you already have five groups of 4 drawn up. One option according to CONCACAF was to push last year’s winner out to the next round. So group D didn’t change except for that one team.

NC: What about the other teams, were they receptive to PRFC coming into tournament, or was there push-back?

TP: I don’t think there was push-back. There was some concerns about added costs, because it’s more expensive with visas to come to PR, i.e. the USA, than it is to go to Trinidad. That’s one issue, i don’t think the travel itself is more expensive than it is to go to, say, Trinidad, with the exception of the team from Suriname.

PRFC president Thomas Payne. Photo credit: PRFC

NC: You’ve been in the game a while, you were at LA Galaxy, was this one of the more difficult logistical administrative things you’ve had to do?

TP: Yeah, I mean, I don’t want to get myself in trouble, but filing paperwork isn’t difficult. I just think a mistake was made, and we ended up paying a price. We were a bit annoyed, because we risked player injury and played in that tournament because we wanted to qualify for this. And then to find out that we’re not in it, that didn’t feel very good. We feel like we are fantastic soccer and community partners here in PR, but sometimes we feel like we are on a  bit of an island. For the people of Puerto Rico and all of us, this is exciting and we’ll make sure it’s a success.

NC: Did the uncertainty from the off-season affect sponsorship deals for PRFC?

TP: Yeah, of course. I didn’t feel comfortable going to new sponsors; what am I talking to them about. Sitting in front of our biggest sponsor, Claro, they are the best, they do so much to us. I go to meet them, and their two executive separately asked me – “will you be playing next year? Are you going to be in a league? Which league?” It makes you a bit shy to go to new business if you don’t know which league you’ll be playing in. or how many games you’ll have? Or if the games will be on national TV. So it slows that part of it, and ticket sales. 

But, we are back it, and we won’t use it as an excuse. We’ll tweak some things, maybe tweak our goal for sponsorships. On top of it, for us, that makes it a little more cumbersome; we are still a brand new team. We only got fully staffed last summer. So this is the first real off season for everyone here, and it was pretty crazy. We had the NASL thing, and then the CFU thing. It made for a bit of a daunting off-season. We’re glad everything worked out, we’re glad to be in NASL, we’re glad to be adding Deltas.

NC: Since we last spoke, the NASL schedule was released. Your reaction to the expected travel and costs?

TP: We knew we’d be going to SF twice and Edmonton twice. They have it worse than us (SF). Every trip for them except Edmonton is far away. People don’t realize that beyond the travel, it means that you’re going to a market 3 days instead of 2 days. It has a huge effect on your budget. On top of that, it isn’t easy on the players either.

We already knew what the deal was. It didn’t change anything from the budgetary standpoint. Is it ideal that we have to travel twice to Edmonton/Deltas? Obviously not. You’d like to have enough teams to have more local travel. But, we knew what we were up against after the way things shook out with NASL.

But, we’re going to play Cosmos 6 times, and we’ll rise to that challenge. To be the best, you have to beat the best, so we’re excited about that. We play Carolina six times, too. They had good results against us.

NC: Speaking of the budget, the way things played out with Strikers/Cosmos/Jacksonville/Rayo, word out of NASL camp is that they want to ensure those situations don’t repeat. One way is vetting, but for existing teams, it may mean some financial oversight. Have any of those conversations taken place?

TP: I think Deltas has the toughest of any of us. They live in the most expensive city, their travel is going to be outrageous, they probably have to pay a player more than you would here or any other markets just to live. They’re based downtown, which is great for the league, but makes it tough on a budget.

PRFC squares off against Rayo OKC during the 2016 season. Photo credit – NASL

More of that is incumbent on the team and the market. It’s incumbent on the league to know when the team is overspending. And taking risks that aren’t good for them and the rest of the league. If there’s one team out there, paying huge transfer fees and staying in five-star hotels, it’s not smart because it’s not sustainable.

The way I look at these things that certain people do things out of frivolity and maybe it’s cool to own a soccer team. But, eventually they look at it and say “why would I lose this kind of money every year.” I do believe that that’s what happened with Cosmos  a little bit. I can basically predict these things some time – that you’re going to see a team in a position where they’re going to fold up because of their own arrogance and feeling of immortality. I think that’s what they’re talking about – trying to put some financial realities in place.

NC: But will you be required to provide any financial documentation over the year, like budgets or spending to the league?

TP: I don’t know if there’s going to be any of that. Because first of all, I don’t know if any of the people in the league have worked at the club level and wouldn’t understand the totality of it. For a team like ours, our team operations’ budget is by far the biggest of all. Guess what, there isn’t much room there. We probably have the lowest  budget along with Jacksonville in the league, but still, it’s far and away the biggest portion of our budget. There’s no room to maneuver when you have to fly to San Fran and Edmonton. We have to travel, we have to stay in hotels, we have to eat. There isn’t much wiggle room in those sorts of situations.

The other thing is our team is putting the emphasis in the proper place.  We won’t be handing out a thousand free tickets, because that’s not meaningful business. It will put you out of business. I can give you examples of that. We’ve had to deal with it a little bit here, too, because the team that was here prior to us did that and went out of business. I think that’s what NASL means – put real business plans in place.

They should spend the entirety of the year building their team, their business and be ready to go 100% next March instead of rushing it in the middle of the season.

One of the things I said to them is – I don’t want the league to come out and do this the wrong way. I know there are some good owners interested, but I don’t want them to start in the summer just b/c it looks good or feels good to people. It’s not smart. They should spend the entirety of the year building their team, their business and be ready to go 100% next March instead of rushing it in the middle of the season. I think that’s the sort of thing Rishi (Sehgal) is talking about; making sure teams are put in a position where they can succeed.

NC: That’s what I’m curious about. We’re in February, 3 months ago, we weren’t sure there would be a league. And as a fan, I’m curious if you’re convinced that NASL 2017 will be any different than NASL 2016.

Photo credit – NASL

TP: Hmmmm. Well, I think two of the problematic teams aren’t with us anymore; at this point last year, we already knew they were having issues. That’s Fort Lauderdale and Rayo. I think right now, for the most part, strong core ownership. The teams that remain are bullish on the NASL have strong ownership with significant markets. Those two markets – not taking a shot at them – they went into last season with significant ownership questions.

It’s not perfect. There are only 8 teams in a league. But, if it takes us a year to get things right with business planning and all that, then i’m all for it.

I’d rather do 3-4 things incredibly well, than do 6-things with mediocrity.

NC: People have speculated that this NASL season exists b/c of the fear of exit fee. In  a phone conversation last month, Rishi Sehgal told me what you hinted at – that there is a central vision for the remaining owners. What is this vision that the 7 current owners have?

TP: I can’t get too much into the details. That’s probably more for Rishi. When all this was going on, you and I spoke, and you know I thought the other league (USL) was a decent option. There are some things that make NASL stand out; a national TV partner, the markets, some owners.

There is a real vision to build slowly. It’s easy to react to market forces and what people are saying and to perception. But, it’s not about the startup money; that’s pennies in the big picture. But, it’s looking at owners and saying, does he/she have the money, vision, fortitude to stick with it?

You need to want to do it for the right reasons. For example, being a part of your community. And to understand that you’re probably going to have several hard years initially – just like any business, really – you’re going to lose money in your first few years, without question.

Some owners want to cut people and people are your best asset. Especially front office people. When owners take shortcuts in those areas, you only have 1-2 ticket-sales people – you can’t expect to have a successful business.

NC: What about Cosmos, your thoughts on them rising from the ashes?

TP: I’ve really liked what I’ve heard from the new owner. His humble way of saying that we need to get players on the pitch and saying that he isn’t going to make statements he can’t back up. That was a problem last year — Which was “we’re this huge brand and we need to have offices on Park Avenue” and none of that was stooped in reality. At this level, you shouldn’t be losing the level of money reported with Cosmos. Sure, you’re going to lose some money initially, but that was absurd.

NC: Thoughts on Indy XI and North Carolina openly coveting an exit from the league?

TP: Yeah, well, I wouldn’t position it that way, I’d say they’re coveting an entry to the other league, as opposed to an exit from this one.

NC: What’s the difference?

TP: Look, I was very impressed with Indy; big crowd, neat little stadium set up, it’s one of those markets where you wonder if they have a shot. Because they have a couple of high-level teams, but not too many. So that might work. I don’t look at it that they’re pining to get out of the league. There are 12 teams who want MLS.

I think what’s good for MLS is good for us and good for soccer. If at the end of the day, there are many teams growing soccer around the country, that has a  knock-on effect. It means a better, bigger sport environment for all of us. We all want to be in position where we have 9k/10k fans all the time. I certainly wouldn’t begrudge them their move to MLS, but sounds like there’s a long way to go for both those groups right now.

NC: Would you and Carmelo want to see PRFC in MLS someday?

Heritage night at PRFC. Photo credit – NASL

TP: I don’t ever say things that are pie in the sky.  Sometimes i’ll read about markets that have nobody coming to USL games, want MLS teams. For me, personally, it’s a goal. For Carmelo, I think it’s a goal. Carmelo is bullish on the sport, and bullish on Puerto Rico. He really wants to do something special here. Someday if we got to the point where we have 9k/10k fans/game, and the economy turned around, it’s an interesting place and market. Because one thing we already do better than many is TV – we have 40k/50k fans watching each game in both English and Spanish. We have a more direct line to Champions League as things stand. But, anyone who is in it, has that a goal for something we want to do, but, we also know where we are as a franchise. We’ve tried to put a professional product on the pitch, but also off the pitch in how we do things.

Because, I think that becomes confidence in a consumer locally and for sponsors. If all things lineup and the economy comes around – which might takes some time – then who knows. I’d love that. I’d love to come to MLS with a team that I started.

NC: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Tom.

TP: Thank you.

Follow Nipun on Twitter: @NipunChopra7.

Related

Photo credit: Andy Marlin/USA TODAY Sports

Preseason match No. 2 is in the books. The Indy Eleven played the USL’s Swope Park Rangers to a 1-1 scoreline, but I still don’t care about the score. The fact is that I only care about form and there is a lot to dissect here.

People will try to get caught up in formations with this one. Don’t let anyone pin it down because it wasn’t that clear. If 2017 is at all like 2016, you can expect a different look in attack when compared to defense. The players don’t stand still. How they line up at kickoff is not how the entire match plays out.

How did the team look on D? They looked organized and fairly comfortable. There were only a couple miscues and newcomer Kwame Watson-SPELLING is fitting right in. His was dispossessed once when Lovel Palmer told him he had time on the ball. In point of fact he did not.

There was zero width from players in the midfield minus a cross or two from Ben Speas. The familiar Nemanja Vukovic and Marco Franco were sent frequently up the flanks. Brad Ring, Gerardo Torrado and Sinisa Ubiparipovic remained fairly central and within supporting contact of each other. Now introducing the midfield triangle.

While Ring was held farther back, he was not locked in place. He did come to play, however. Ring’s physicality and intensity were on display and he appears ready for his fourth season in Indianapolis.

The first half featured a very starter-ish squad. While nothing is set in stone, the first 11 were roughly the best available 11 and I imagine that might be the squad Indy Eleven head coach Tim Hankinson favors to go with at this point.

Again, there is no challenger to the Eamon Zayed-Justin Braun show. The two shared a golden corn dog last year in a heartfelt moment at the Brickyard Battalion awards, and that camaraderie is still in effect. There was space up the middle today and Zayed was able to capitalize on a number of instances with the ball at his feet and heading toward goal. It is not his strength but he did well and coolly put away his first chance in the early minutes of the match.

Don’t read too much into the goal. While the finish was exactly what was needed, the opportunity came from a poor pass when Ring failed to connect with Ubiparipovic. The goal counts in the end but it is important to note that the offense isn’t yet firing on all cylinders. While that is to be expected in preseason, nine of the 11 starters are from last year’s team. They are all “played in” to use an expression from Coach.

GOAL! @EamonZayed puts @IndyEleven on the scoreboard. IND 1-0 @SwopeRangers. pic.twitter.com/uUx7KrsBp6

— James Higdon (@TreyHigdon) March 2, 2017

One preseason goal has come from a free kick in the early minutes, and another has come from a happy accident in the early minutes. That is not to say the team didn’t play well. I just don’t care about the score.

Speas is earning his place. He showed some grit when tracking back and some skill at making defenders miss. Franco had some tremendous efforts defensively. Indy goalkeeper Jon Busch was rarely called on.

A Swope Park free kick did smash the bar and head straight down, but it was ruled not to have crossed the line. It would have beaten Busch, but the rest of his afternoon was fairly quiet — although he could be heard corralling Vukovic and dragging him back on set pieces for a short option.

The greatest laugh of the day came when Busch hassled a young Rangers player and reminded him that it was only preseason. It was quiet inside Grand Park’s new sports facility; everyone heard it.

We know, Jon, but that poor kid. You are old enough to be his father.

The most notable roster switch between these two early training camp fixtures was Ubiparipovic for Don Smart. It worked fine in this game, but it is curious considering the speed difference and the width that Smart offers on the offensive side of the ball. Smart appeared to be in great health today as he played a solid 45 in central midfield with Keith Cardona, Daniel Keller and the available trialists in the second half.

There were good individual performances from the second half squad. The play in the final third actually looked better, but I think that may have been a product of a more open game. While the A-Team wasn’t tearing up the nets, they were controlling large portions of the match and there were size and strength mismatches for Swope Park to contend with (see Ring, Brad). And, as stated before, Busch wasn’t really tested.

Nevertheless, youthful exuberance made for some more dynamic play. Most of the trialists that appeared made positive cases for their potential employment. There is room on the roster for more bodies and certainly room for some new blood.

List of @IndyEleven trialists confirmed: @viniesta10, @DaveGoldsmith_, @Sir_McClure, @VinnyyChase, Phil Fives, Anthony Manning (will update)

— Soc Takes (@SocTakes) March 2, 2017

While this is not the complete list, so far we can confirm — with each player’s most recent team in parentheses — the following trialists: Vincent Mitchell (Indy Eleven NPSL), David Goldsmith (Butler University), Jeff McClure (Indy Eleven NPSL), Vince Cicciarelli (Saint Louis FC), Phil Fives (Indiana University) and Anthony Manning (Portland Timbers II).

My guess is that you will see at least three of these players get shirts with their names on the back.

You can follow me on Twitter @AGunyon.

Related

Credit: Scott A. Miller

This is part two of our NPSL story. Make sure you check out part one here.

Thoughts on D3

The NPSL is preparing for a strong year. The league just kicked off their season with 96 teams, and that number is expected to rise significantly this year, based on a strong set of expansion teams.

As we reported, Club 9 sports is working aiming to launch a D3 league primarily comprising of NPSL clubs. While refusing to comment on the status of those conversations, Barone clarified that, as a league, they were not speaking with Club 9 directly.

“We are not working or communicating with Peter Wilt or his group,” Barone clarified adding some skepticism of the plan, “Do you think US Soccer will want to start another league from scratch?”

Barone is proud of what the NPSL is building. He constantly points out the league’s desire to help US Soccer grow, and is openly frustrated at what he perceives as other leagues and individuals not sharing that vision.“For us, we are about growing the game. We pay 150k for team that make it to playoffs, we help teams and players meet their potential and don’t have an agenda. We’re giving back to those teams.”

NPSL chairman Joe Barone. Credit: NPSL

NPSL Success Stories

Going back to our initial analogy from Part 1, if NPSL is AS Monaco FC, Kingston Stockade FC is most certainly its Kylian Mbappe. Young and full of bravado and unmet potential, a team like Stockade is exactly the sort of team NPSL is proud of. Teams like Chattanooga FC and Detroit City FC boast strong attendance numbers, rivaling many D2 teams.

While teams like Stockade are recent, the NPSL showcases clubs that have successfully traversed the tribulations of time together with the league. Teams such as Brooklyn Italians, FC Buffalo, Erie Commodores FC, Georgia Revolution, Knoxville Force, and Sacramento Gold have been league participants for five years or more.

Meanwhile, Minnesota TwinStars FC, Tulsa Athletic, Atlanta Silverbacks, and New York Athletic Club have been in the league around ten years.

Therefore, for much of the discussion of lower league instability – and there certainly is much of that – there is longevity within the NPSL as well.

Retention

Credit: NPSL

As opposed to the laissez faire approach of the NPSL, competitor PDL requires its teams to effectively sign over their names for two years after the expiration of their contracts. PDL franchise contracts are currently 3 years long, and teams can renew for another 3 years.

What this means is – as things stand – an imaginary  club named Soccer Wars FC playing in NPSL could fairly easily switch to the PDL. Meanwhile, Soccer Wars FC playing in the PDL would have to jump through some legal hoops to switch to NPSL. One of which would be foregoing the name Soccer Wars FC. An example of this was the Kitsap story from earlier this year.

Barone accepts that it is currently easy for NPSL teams to join PDL, but stated that “Today they can take our teams. By the time we get to the next AGM, they won’t be able to.” When asked what these measures would be, Barone declined to answer. Similarly, Thiffault told us “All new teams will be joining NPSL under the terms of a new member agreement.” Whether said agreement includes existing teams remains unclear as well.

“Today they can take our teams. By the time we get to the next AGM, they won’t be able to.”

A source tells Soc Takes that NPSL may institute a non-compete for 2-3 years; similar to PDL’s. Soc Takes was unable to independently corroborate this  information.

Reaching ‘The Summit’ of US football

Ultimately, Barone wants to reunite the soccer pyramid. For him, the first step would be to get all the powers that be under one roof – USSF, MLS, NASL, USL, NPSL, PDL, etc – to discuss the current status and the future direction of the game. To promote collaboration instead of aggression. The Summit.

“Part of the summit I’m asking for is to get everyone in the same room. To talk about these issues to prevent scavenging at amateur/professional level. I’m curious where the game is going to go. We need that summit, to put people in the same room and start communicating on how we make US Soccer at all levels very very powerful.”

NPSL Expansion

NPSL will continue to support amateur soccer. NPSL personnel cited strong attendances in their first week of play, and along with the possibility of a year-round league, NPSL is expected to announce “quite a few” new NPSL franchises.

While looking at a map of NPSL clubs, it’s clear to see that NPSL teams tend to be punctuated along both coasts diffusing in population inland. In fact, there is a dearth of teams in a central strip of the country. Barone recognizes that and expects some team announcements in those areas:

“I think you’ll see teams in the immediate future in Colorado and Utah. New Mexico is another hot-spot that is a high priority” Barone said.

Oklahoma, currently home to Tulsa Athletic is another key market. Soc Takes understands that a group from Norman, Oklahoma is poised to submit a bid for NPSL expansion imminently. 

Indiana

Another state currently without a team (Edit: As was pointed out to me, by ‘USSoccerboard’ and Andrew Retz, FC Indiana is still an active NPSL team) is Indiana. With the shuttering of Indy Eleven NPSL last year, many Indy XI supporters were left disappointed, having supported their other team during an exciting run to the semi-final of the NPSL championship. While refusing to confirm the certainty of the scenario – citing unpredictability of lower-league soccer, Barone had some potentially good news for Indiana fans:

“Indiana is a hotbed for soccer; just look at what Indiana University has produced. Indiana is an urgent market for us, and we are talking to multiple owners.”

NPSL Annual Meeting at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando in Orlando, Florida on Dec. 2, 2016.
Credit: Scott A. Miller

Asked if Indy XI owner Ersal Ozdemir was one of those owners, Barone was careful in his answer, “We spoke to Ersal and asked him to make an investment, but, he’s not the only person we’re speaking with.”

The takeaway

Whomever these ownership groups are, their time has come. Thiffault told Soc Takes, “We (NPSL) are accepting expansion applications next week, which is earlier than ever before.”

NPSL is still in flux. It is trying to assume a new identity to help protect itself against external forces. While those external forces – PDL and the potential new D3 league – continue to hover around it.

Ultimately, Barone and his fellow underdogs are bullish about NPSL’s future. 

For American soccer to thrive, growth needs to occur, in parallel, at all strata of the league. An expanding, successful NPSL is a sign of the upward trajectory of the beautiful game in this country.

The NPSL is preparing for a strong year.

Related

Yes, that’s what I’m telling you. Credit: YouTube

On February 22nd, a website promoting professional soccer in Atlanta went live prompting questions about the need/likely success of a putative team in the city. Specifically, concerns were raised about the history of Atlanta Silverbacks, the emergence of Atlanta United and which league the team would be playing in. Soc Takes was to be able to speak with two people close to the club about these issues. What emerged was a vision to make this club work – against the odds – via a focus on youth soccer, investments in a holistic fan experience and proper financial planning.

Mr. Robert Watts – team spokesperson as well as an anonymous source close to the bid provided the information herein.

Which league?

First things first – while it is widely speculated that the team will be an NASL franchise, Watts declined to comment on this. But Soc Takes has learned that we should have confirmation of Atlanta as an NASL team by April 3rd (Update: The following week, we spoke with CEO Trey Brantley, and he informed us that the announcement would be delayed). Certainly, the economic impact study published earlier identifies “a 15 home game season in the (men’s) North American Soccer League (NASL).”  Soc Takes contacted the NASL and they chose not to comment on this story. The women’s team is expected to play in the National women’s soccer league (NWSL) starting in 2019. According to their press release, the men’s team is expected to play in the spring of 2018.

While earlier reports (See: Medium post and Midfield Press) discussed concerns over bringing back the “Chiefs” name, apparently the name has not been decided yet.

The stadium

Atlanta 2018. Credit: Press kit.

The stadium looks quite magnificent in its illustrations and there is a storied history behind this plan which goes back half a decade. For a while, it was just a piece of land – about 10 miles (25 min drive) east of Atlanta – that did not seem to meet its potential. “This is a perfect area for a sports complex,” Watts said. Watts and his employers have a specific plan for the success of this facility and, by extension, the team.

The stadium will be the centerpiece of ~25 full-sized soccer fields (the exact number is still being worked out according to Watts). Watts reveals that the facility will be the site of a number of local and national youth soccer tournaments each weekend. The tournaments will be organized by the Georgia Soccer.  “On every game day, we’ll expect 13,000 soccer parents and kids playing around the stadium,” Watts said.

“On every game day, we’ll expect 13,000 soccer parents and kids playing around the stadium”

The group believes in the grassroots development of the game, and believe that focusing on youth soccer will pay dividends in the long run; in terms of attendance, building soccer community as well as developing local talent. Additionally, plans to host other sports such as lacrosse and cricket (Author’s note: A way better sport than lacrosse) will also generate income for the stadium.

Soc takes spoke with Greg Griffith, executive director of Georgia soccer. “That number (13,000) is reasonable given the number of fields and the tournaments we plan on setting up,” Griffith explained, “We’re very excited about this plan. We want to see youth tournaments played in good facilities, and that’s what we’ll have based on their plan.” Griffith predicted “between 20-40” tournament weekends for next year. “We’re bidding on many tournaments, including the US Youth Soccer III Regional Cup as well as the US Youth Soccer Region III President’s Cup”

With nominal ticket prices, starting in the $12-$15 range, the group believes they will be able to regularly attract a ready pool – each weekend – from the estimated ~13,000 soccer aficionados in close proximity to the stadium.

While this idea deserves skepticism in how successful it will be, it is worth noting that unlike many other NASL bids (past/present), the Atlanta bid at least as a tangible plan to make the team succeed. Certainly, even with a conservative estimate, attracting a mass of soccer-invested families to a location where a professional soccer team is playing – is likely to sell tickets and generate revenue.

Silverbacks

The other source of skepticism has to be the folding of NASL’s Atlanta Silverbacks. Yet, the team remains convinced that the new Atlanta team will not have similar issues. A source close to the bid pointed out that Silverbacks Park was a problematic location. Located at the intersection of interstates 285 and 85, it has been called the “No. 1 in the nation last year for traffic congestion”. The source suggested the traffic issues kept some patrons away. Another reason attendances dropped, reportedly, was there was little to do around the stadium; fans couldn’t tailgate and there were only a handful of restaurants close by.

Location of Atlanta Silverbacks Park. From google maps.While refusing to speak about the Silverbacks, citing his respect for the franchise, Watts focused on the advantage of the new plan – “the soccer game doesn’t have to carry the entire entertainment experience. You can go to the game, go shopping, get dinner right on the property. Go have a beer with your friends before/after the game. There will be a dedicated tailgate spot.”

Another small, but not insignificant (Double-negatives are not uncool) distinction: The new team will play on grass. Silverbacks played on turf.

Atlanta United

Another potential hurdle is Atlanta United. Obviously with Atlanta United kicking off their premier season in MLS in 2017, another professional soccer franchise may be considered a doomed project. And, it would be pointless to pretend that Atlanta hasn’t captured the imagination of a chunk of the community. By December of 2015, the team had reportedly sold 29,000 season tickets. Yet, Watts and the team thinks there is a simple solution here – recognition that Atlanta United and this project are not in competition with each other.

Atlanta United’s stadium and the new Atlanta soccer complex is separated by 21 miles. (Note: This is an approximation of the location of the new soccer complex based on the exits provided by the website). Credit: Google maps

Asked how they would compete with Arthur Blank, owner of Atlanta United. “You don’t,” Watts replied, “Everything that guy does is top-notch and by the book. We’re going to have to do things in a different, smarter, unique way; playing in a traditional soccer venue, with a more authentic fan experience. We think we’ll tap into a different market altogether.”

“We think we’ll tap into a different market altogether.”

Citing a vibrant international community – approximately 13% of Atlanta’s 6 million residents are foreign-born – Atlanta is confident that a sizable soccer market exists to support both Atlanta United and their own (probably NASL) bid. Their press kit states, “According to our research, there are almost 750,000 soccer fans currently living within our 20 minute target area.” 

These numbers are encouraging. But, how many of them are going to be regularly excited by a DII team remains to be seen.

Finances

Finally, the big question is, who is going to foot the bill of a reported 200 million dollar project?

As it stands now, a private group – Atlanta Sports Connection – has raised 40m (20% of the budget). The other 160 million will be supplied by bonds backed by the economic development boards of Gwinnett, Rockdale and DeKalb counties. Source explains, “The bonds are revenue based – the company must repay/buy back a certain amount of securities going forward, and the revenue on the complex is pledged to repay the bonds.” The understanding is that insurance and “underwriting arrangements” would help prevent any unforeseen problems with recouping money and/or the bid falling apart. The bonds were approved by the joint economic development boards of those three counties on February 9th.

“We are currently finalizing a very long term lease on the stadium,” the source explained.

“It (the stadium) will be our home for a very long time,” Watts added.

According to the study, the team would lease the stadium at $3500/game and recoup tickets sold. They estimate the facility will generate income for DeKalb county by bringing in outside patrons on a regular basis (an assumption made by all proposals. A skeptical eye on reading promotional studies can be found midway through this article).

An additional wrinkle will be attracting sponsors. Will a DII team be able to attract sponsors in a city which already has an established MLS team? Certainly, this is not an insurmountable consideration, but, one to consider nonetheless, especially given the importance sponsors have to the long-term success and stability of teams.

Discussion

There is understandable skepticism about the Atlanta story. It feels like we’ve been here before – Trying to establish a team in a city that failed to support the last one (Update: reader Tomi suggested looking at this link for average attendances), trying to compete against a team in another league, lofty goals (Why a 15k stadium, why not go with half of that and build from there?) and general concerns about the NASL. But, I do give credit to the team for being approachable and having a mechanism to achieve their vision.

Will it happen? Only time will tell, but having secured financing for the project already, having outlined a novel vision which ushers bodies into close proximity of the stadium, by targeting an atmosphere that goes beyond just soccer, and by targeting a niche rather than competing with MLS, #ATL2018 has more of a chance than we are all giving it credit for.

I’m looking forward to more answers on April 3rd. Soc Takes expects to speak with CEO Trey Brantley over the next few days.

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Image credit: BIG EAST

INDIANAPOLIS — Expectations were modest just about everywhere but the Butler training grounds. After all, this team was only picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST before the season. So much for predictions.

A brace from Paige Monaghan, the second of which was a jaw-dropping golden goal in overtime, paced Butler to a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Villanova. The result earned Butler the No. 2 seed — and more importantly, a first-round bye — in the conference tournament.

The Bulldogs found themselves down early from an Emily Kuefler tally. The Villanova defender put away a set-piece service from Kristin Barbour to open the scoring in the 21st minute. And before that, the Wildcats flubbed a sitter that could’ve put them up even sooner.

Butler ramped up the attack, but multiple ventures in the box struggled to generate quality chances. Eventually the pressure got to the visitors, and the Bulldogs were awarded a penalty in the 80th minute. Paige Monaghan cooly stepped to the spot and converted in the upper 90 to level matters 1-1.

Here’s a look at the Paige Monaghan goal to tie up the game! pic.twitter.com/6nItzAckLo

— Butler Womens Soccer (@ButlerWSoccer) October 27, 2017

It wasn’t the only time Monaghan went top shelf.

The visiting side almost ended it in regulation, but Bulldogs goalkeeper Leonie Doege stonewalled a point-blank Villanova shot. In fact, the Wildcats found pockets of space inside Butler’s box multiple times throughout. An uncharacteristically lapse-prone Bulldogs defense wasn’t marking as tightly as the unit that’s produced 14 clean sheets this season normally does.

But the 20th-ranked hosts knew what was at stake: a chance for extra rest and an automatic berth into the semifinals.

Just 25 seconds into overtime, Monaghan jumped on a poor Wildcats clearance and arced a left-footed effort from distance up and over the outstretched arms of opposing goalkeeper Emily Harris. Game, set, match. Monaghan’s dagger happened so quickly that it left a gutted Villanova squad in utter disbelief.

GOOOOAL! Monaghan with the game-winner for the Dawgs! pic.twitter.com/0pI3zj5XrF

— Butler Womens Soccer (@ButlerWSoccer) October 27, 2017

Monaghan’s performance was demonstratively worthy of woman of the match, which should come as no surprise at this point. The junior from New Jersey has taken her game to uncharted heights this season on both sides of the ball.

It’s now onto the BIG EAST tournament for the Bulldogs. Next Thursday they’ll face the winner of Sunday’s DePaul vs. Providence first-round matchup.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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Brian Andres Helmick, CEO of San Francisco Deltas, is passionate, humble and aware. Passionate about the beautiful game and the platform for social progress it provides. Humble about what he’s already achieved by bringing professional soccer to the Bay area. Aware of what he’s up against – specifically the challenges of the recent history of the league and seducing a thus far hesitant SF fan base. Throughout our interview, Helmick remained bullish about the team and the league itself. This is part one of a two-part interview with Helmick. 

SF Deltas CEO Brian Helmick. Credit: Twitter

Nipun Chopra – Wanted to start with asking you how the USSF delay has affected sponsorship and player signings for Deltas

Brian Helmick – I think the reality is, as a start-up guy, you can only control what you can control. When things change with market forces, you need to adapt. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Would we have liked more time? Sure. But, do we feel like we can’t do anything about it? No. Fortunately, we are in the situation where a strong relationship between myself, the executive team as well as the investors. We are in an accelerated path to have the conversation about “here’s the schedule, this is where we’re going to be and these are the opponent.”

From the player signing perspective, the feedback we got was that they were really impressed with how we were treating them (the players), and the transparency we extended. It also helps to have someone like Marc Dos Santos whose reputation precedes him; he wouldn’t go somewhere he didn’t believe in. We have to be creative. There are challenges to any market, but some are specific to San Francisco. As an entrepreneur, I’m an eternal optimist – I understand things go wrong that are out of our control. 

We had a Deltas family happy hour where we got all the players, technical staff and their families together. We’re releasing this video (Update: This video is now available, and is a must-watch) about not who we are but WHY we are. The name of the video is “Only Together”. The players were like – “Holy crap, I got goosebumps watching it, when can we release it?”

NC – Here’s a question from John at American Pyramid Blog (@APyramid_Blog on twitter): In your recent AMA, you mentioned that you wished you had had more time to set up the team. Ideally, how much time would you have liked to have, and what would have you done with it?

BH – You can always benefit from more time. I believe the right amount of time is 18 months. If you have 24, that’s even better. In our situation, I spent a lot of time dealing with league stuff last year, so that slowed us down. If I had 3 more months, I would spend more time getting to the right people who are the ‘influencers’. They are the supporters and promoters. The fans who know us, adore us. They think we are going about it the right way. Things for our community – making it affordable – a 3rd of our stadium are discounted tickets. Making sure we’re giving back; all the VIP area is going to be done by La Cocina – a nonprofit which helps women become food entrepreneurs. Street cleaning after the game will be done by a nonprofit called “Taking it to the street” which houses and employs homeless youth. Concessions are being sold by homeless youth by a nonprofit called Juno Ventures.

NC – From everything I’m hearing, Deltas haven’t sold as many season tickets as you’d like. What plans do you have in place to help make the team a success from a season ticket/PR perspective?

BH – This is a business where if the public does not embrace this club as their own club, it’s not going to work. I don’t care how much  money you have or how many league championships you’ve won – we’ve seen that in our league. The fan needs to say – ‘I want this club’ – If the fans decide that they’re going to tell their neighbor, the Uber or Lyft driver, the coffee shop person next to them, then this can be successful. I can’t force anyone to come buy a ticket.

I think it’s going to be interesting to see what happens now that the league stuff is behind us. We have a schedule now, we can focus on marketing and other things to spread the word. On March 17th, on the anniversary of when the stadium was approved, we’re going to be doing an event on the steps of City Hall. We’re doing this with one of our nonprofit partners – America Scores – who encourage literacy using soccer. So, we are trying to get out there, but, honestly, at some point, we want fans to say, ‘this is our club, and we want it to be successful by getting our neighbors and colleagues out to the stadium.

“This is a business where if the public does not embrace this club as their own club, it’s not going to work. I don’t care how much  money you have or how many league championships you’ve won – we’ve seen that in our league. “

NC – Back in March 2016, the idea for Kezar Stadium was to spend around $500,000 on infrastructural upgrades. A year later, what’s the status on that?

BH – Great question. We ended up spending about twice as much – just under million dollars. One reason is related to the seats in the stadium – we have capacity for 10, 000 people. The stadium itself was 9000 bleachers and 1000 candlestick park seats. They were 49ers red, now they’re Deltas red. We looked at it and wondered why aren’t there 10,000 seats? We found the company that bought those 1000 seats and they told us that they had around 4000 candlesticks seats.

So that was a moment, where we had budgeted less, but, we felt it was the right thing to do from a perspective of the history of the community. We believe it looks beautiful. Kezar has so much history in it’s own right – I found fliers of national teams like Scotland and Germany playing there, Pele played there, Jesse Owens ran track there, Led Zeppelin concerts, Vietnam protests happened. There’s so much history that we have a certain responsibility to take care of it as well as highlight that history to some in San Francisco that might not know about it.

“Kezar has so much history in it’s own right – I found fliers of national teams like Scotland and Germany playing there, Pele played there, Jesse Owens ran track there, Led Zeppelin concerts, Vietnam protests happened.”

NC – About the 18 or so Investors. How is the partnership broken up? Is it equitable? Or are there some more heavily invested than others?

BH – It’s not even, we don’t spend so much time talking about that. We don’t differentiate how we treat one investor or another. We don’t like the word “owner”, because we believe the fans are the owners. For purposes of the way USSF is set up. This started with my friend Fabio Igel reached out to me and said – “Hey Brian, we should do professional soccer in the US.” My initial reaction was negative because soccer in Colombia and around the world isn’t a very transparent business. And then, when I think of sports in the US, most of these people are sons of billionaires. And, I don’t come from money. So, I just didn’t fit the profile.

Fabio was very insistent and eventually I came around to the idea of working this as an outsider. Coming from transparency, humility, and working bottom-up rather than top-down would be successful in a market like San Francisco. Fabio is very kind, generous and thoughtful and has a level of human sensibility. That’s important to me – it’s why Fabio and I have known the 18-19 investors for over 10 years. So, we’re treating this in a different way than people usually treat investors.

NC – So does Fabio count as the principal owner, as required by USSF?

BH – Yes.

NC – With 18 owners, how are decisions made? Are there veto votes for an even number? Or is it ultimately your decision

BH – Yeah so, this is why knowing people for over 10 years helps. The environment in valley is – you have a group of investors who hire a CEO and say, “Go, I trust you, if you need me, you can talk to me.” For really big decisions you need to consult the board. Such as fundraising or taking bank debt. But, it’s not the way other clubs are run. This is run like a professional business/startup model.

Join us for part two of our interview with Helmick which will be released on Sunday (March 12th). You can follow Nipun on twitter @NipunChopra7.

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Photo credit: FC Cincinnati

CINCINNATI — A potent striker returned to the FC Cincinnati lineup Wednesday night and immediately provided his club a huge boost. If you’re looking for a corny pop culture reference, you could say FC Cincy was “Gettin’ Djiby Wit It.”

With a spot in the next round of the U.S. Open Cup against Columbus Crew SC on the line, FC Cincinnati downed Louisville City FC 1-0 on Djiby Fall’s lone tally in a game that was as skillful as it was physical. And with guys incessantly dropping to the turf all evening, that’s saying a lot about the skill level.

“For me, goals are my job,” Djiby said after the match.

Both clubs featured lineups closely resembling their best XIs, with a few exceptions. Mark-Anthony Kaye, whom was recently called up to the Canada national team, got a rest from the Louisville City starting XI. A few other regulars for both teams were also absent from the starting lineups.

Lou City came out in its usual 4-2-3-1 formation, only with a tactical wrinkle thrown in. Left back Oscar Jimenez essentially played as a left midfielder, often getting up the flank in order to exploit FC Cincy’s thinly spread midfield in a 4-3-3. The move worked for the most part, which forced FC Cincy coach Alan Koch to pay a little extra defensive attention to that side of the pitch.

Jimmy McLaughlin nearly helped the home side strike first halfway through the opening stanza, but his effort from right in front of the goal was deflected by a Lou City defender then saved by goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh. Niall McCabe returned the favor in first-half stoppage time, almost scoring on a low, well-placed shot destined for the side netting, but FC Cincy ‘keeper Mitch Hildebrandt parried it away.

Here are your halftime stats for #CINvLOU in #USOC2017… pic.twitter.com/epu6fHg4pg

— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) May 31, 2017

After the break, FC Cincy quickly opened the scoring in the 48th minute when Djiby buried a rebound on a set piece after Ranjitsingh made a diving stop on the initial shot. Djiby, still amidst a multi-game USL suspension for biting an opponent, was eligible to play since the contest was a non-league match. He turned in a solid performance in his return and was a sporadic threat in and around the box.

Rather than panic and force long balls up field, Lou City used quick one and two-touch passes in the midfield to try to equalize. In the end though, its sharp passing couldn’t produce a goal, and the home side held on for the 1-nil win.

“It’s a Cup game,” said FC Cincy coach Alan Koch. “We’re playing at home. We’re obviously playing a local rival. They went all in too.”

The postgame handshake between the Koch and Lou City coach James O’Connor wasn’t exactly an exchange of pleasantries. Here it is courtesy of Twitter user @UCBearcats:

Fireworks 💥 tonight from start to….finish #FCCincy pic.twitter.com/whrlvHui6L

— UCBearcats (@UCBearcats) June 1, 2017

FC Cincinnati now gets to host another U.S. Open Cup match at Nippert Stadium with Crew SC coming to town on June 14.

“It’s exciting for us as a club and as a city to get to host Columbus Crew next round,” Koch added.

With the win, #FCCincy advance to the @opencup fourth round and earn the right to host our first Ohio Derby with @ColumbusCrewSC on 6/14! pic.twitter.com/omGi4gmX46

— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) June 1, 2017

You can follow Kevin on Twitter @KJboxing.

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Bahrain made it back-to-back titles on the men’s side. Photo credit: Kevin Johnston/Soc Takes

INDIANAPOLIS — After three days of intense futsal action in the heart of the Circle City, the Bahrain men’s team and Chile women’s squad emerged victorious in the Mayor’s International Futsal Cup.

Bahrain took down Mexico in the men’s final, while Chile edged Mexico to win the women’s title.

In the men’s semifinals, Mexico topped Iran and Bahrain defeated Honduras to set up a date in the final.

Mexico finished second on the men’s side. Photo credit: Kevin Johnston/SocTakes

Mexico got past Serbia and Chile beat Puerto Rico in the two women’s semifinals.

Congratulations to Bahrain and Chile, winners of the 2017 Mayor’s International Futsal Cup, and to the Mexico men’s and women’s teams for their runner-up finishes.

For the full list of tournament results, click here.

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