Image credit: USL

Any discussion of the NASL vs. USL “soccerwarz” often sets off mad ideological arguments about the the pro soccer leagues and their “independence.” NASL proponents have long conflated the structures of MLS and the USL as one-in-the-same, when in fact they are very different. MLS employs a single-entity model which, believe it or not, is at least partially individual owner/investor driven. The USL operates a pure franchise model which is highly centralized and top-down in its execution. The NASL, of course, operates a decentralized model which has led to at times virtual chaos within its ranks and frequent club failures.

A common critique of the USL by NASL supporters is that it houses not only MLS reserve teams but independent clubs affiliated with MLS clubs, which some NASL proponents claim is unnatural in world football. This later model is used all over the globe contrary to the narrative — one doesn’t have to look further than this weekend, when Girona upset Real Madrid. Girona is an affiliate of Manchester City whose shares are partially owned by City Football Group. Girona currently has five players on loan from Manchester City, the same number on loan that another affiliate of the Citizens, NAC Breda, has in the Eredivisie. NAC Breda is a completely independent Dutch club where U.S. men’s national team legend Earnie Stewart both played and served as technical director. The NAC Breda-Manchester City relationship is no different than the FC Dallas-OKC Energy relationship currently.

But where the USL’s structure and business model are different than that of any other professional league we know of that is sanctioned by a FIFA-recognized federation, is in the direct franchise model. Here are some highlights based on a 2016 document obtained by Soc Takes (Edit 11/1/17: As such, it would rely on financial information true of the 2015 season):

FINANCES

The USL, as of 2016, has an initial franchise fee of $3 million. We understand this has risen to the $5 million level in 2017. Keep in mind the USL was a sanctioned Division III pro league in 2016, but in 2017 is a provisionally sanctioned DII pro league by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). Annual participation fees of $110,000 were significantly lower than the same fees for NASL play in 2016 — the USL’s critical mass of clubs allowed individual fees to be lower to fund the entire league.

The franchise agreement is fairly restrictive, though it must be noted many of the provisions are logical and make perfect sense from the USL perspective. One of the most interesting restrictions is one on team owners organizing an ownership lobbying group or union. This restriction no doubt harkens back to the formation of the Team Owners Association (TOA) in 2008 among owners in the USL First Division, which was a sanctioned second division by the USSF in spite of its cleverly misleading name. This TOA was the genesis for the eventual formation of the NASL and the soccerwarz that have consumed lower division proceedings since 2009. This precludes any independent effort to create perhaps a better soccer pyramid or system among existing USL owners. The contract allows the USL to terminate a franchise if they are actively trying to organize a group of teams or aid a rival league.

Another interesting aspect of the agreement is that if the principal owner or any person holding more than five percent ownership of the club acquires an MLS franchise, you must pay seven percent of the entry fee — which would be $10.5 million if one paid $150 million to join MLS — to USL. While this seems punitive and a direct refutation of the USL’s openly stated rationale for why prospective MLS owners should join their league over the NASL, it does make some sense in the bigger picture. Since MLS doesn’t pay a “transfer fee” to the USL as you would for a player you buy from another league or division in global football, it can be theorized that the USL is entitled to the spoils of their work in developing clubs and honing markets ready for the jump to MLS.

#USL franchises have a 60 day window where Nike can negotiate exclusively with clubs. pic.twitter.com/QB1bsPGrn9

— Kartik Krishnaiyer (@kkfla737) October 31, 2017

(Edit: This financial info would be true of the 2015 season, given it is a 2016 document).

One of the most surprising aspects of the agreement is that Nike has right of first refusal on apparel deals. The exclusive 60-day window which new franchises have to negotiate with Nike can be viewed as inconvenient by some, but perhaps wise by others — for new soccer brands, linkage with Nike, a leading global name, can only help credibility. Nike sold the league to current owners NuRock Soccer Holdings in 2009.

SALARIES

Whether the NASL and USL have a comparable wage structure has remained an area of discussion amongst supporters of both leagues. Per documentation, the USL expects annual player salaries to be between $200,000 and $400,000. Prima facie, this is troubling. If teams have 20 players, that would mean very low wages for many players. It has to be stated that USL salaries may have increased since being awarded DII status. As a comparison, documentation obtained by Soc Takes shows that Rayo OKC — an NASL team — anticipated spending $530,000 on salaries last season, whereas Brian Helmick of the San Francisco Deltas said the team expected to spend $1.2 million on players. Both Miami FC and the New York Cosmos currently have a player budget higher than the Deltas’.

Photo credit: NASL

So, while the NASL might provide the opportunity for players to be paid more, the model — given the death of Rayo OKC and the potential demise of the Deltas — is more unstable.

RELOCATION/TERMINATION

Any franchise relocation would require the owner(s) to pay 10 percent of the current expansion fee to the league for the ability to relocate. While this provision struck me as odd, I am assured by those who understand the franchise-based U.S. professional sports setup, that it is a common provision. Another common provision I am told is the one related to “protected territory,” though in soccer leagues across the globe part of the attraction of local clubs is the proximity to rivals within driving distance or in the same urban area. In the USL, based on the way the contract is written, this seems an impossibility. For example, would Manchester and Liverpool, which are closer to one another than Fort Worth and Dallas, be considered the same “territory” if a USL-type league were set up in England? It’s worth pondering…

The most troubling aspect of the agreement, from the standpoint of those whose personal preferences match the way the sport is structured in the rest of the world, is when it comes to trademarks and intellectual property. If a franchise is not renewed or terminated, the franchisee is obligated to “not compete in a rival league,” defined as the NASL, NPSL or PASL (and perhaps now amended to include UPSL) for two years. In fact, per the franchise agreement, the league can continue to use those trademarks for two years into the future.

However, if the USL were to fall below the USSF minimum number of teams requirement, teams would be free to move to rival leagues.

The USL’s approach to its clubs and soccer structure is not only different than the NASL’s, but different than MLS and leagues across the globe. Whether or not this matches the personal preference of fans can be debated, but no doubt the Tampa-based league has been able to create a critical mass of teams and at least the perception of stability using these means.

Soc Takes staff writer Nipun Chopra contributed to this story.

Follow Kartik on Twitter: @kkfla737.

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Former Tampa Bay Mutiny and Colorado Rapids manager Tim Hankinson. Photo credit: Aaron Gunyon/Soc Takes

It’s the offseason, which means it’s the perfect time to do some quirky projects and put my Microsoft Excel skills to use.

Below is a link to a sortable Excel spreadsheet with the record of every head coach to ever roam the touchline in MLS history. Toggle between the two sheets at the bottom to filter by an individual coach’s total record, or to see every single coaching spell in MLS history.

Part of this project involved “fixing” the 1996-2003 MLS results. For the first four seasons, matches that were level after 90 minutes went to a shootout, using the same rules found in the original NASL. In 2000, the rules were changed to allow for draws, but only after a 10-minute “golden-goal” extra time was played.

For this project, I decided to eliminate all of that, and render every match that was level at full time a draw, complete with 1 point in the PPG calculations. This gives a much fairer comparison (in my opinion) across different seasons.

Two of the columns, W% and L%, refer to a coach’s winning and losing percentages. Winning percentage here is calculated just as the number of wins divided by number of games played. This is standard in much of the world, although MLS prefers to treat draws as half the value of a win. Losing percentage is calculated the same; losses divided by games played.

The Teams column in the Career tab indicates which teams that particular coach has coached in order from oldest to most recent. The column labeled “I” indicates whether that coach was an interim hire. “I” means the coach only ever coached in an interim capacity, while “(I)” means that only part of a coach’s career was interim. These interim spells can be found with the same column in the Single Team tab.

This will be updated for the new coaching hires and 2019 results as the season progresses.

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnMLTX.

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• Dustin Hooker is no stranger to the Oklahoma City soccer scene, nor to us here at Soc Takes. He sat down for an interview with Nipun Chopra last May to discuss his new team, then known as the Imps. They had been in discussion to join the NPSL, but…

The background

When Soc Takes spoke to NPSL chairman Joe Barone, he recognized that NPSL has a heavier presence on the coasts than it does in the central time zone. Currently, there is no NPSL team in Oklahoma City (a team nearby, Tulsa Athletic, has been active since 2013).

After the collapse of Rayo OKC, OKC Energy has individually controlled the men’s soccer scene in OKC via its USL, PDL and youth teams. Oklahoma City FC played in the NPSL for one year (2013) after switching from the USLPDL to the league. There has been no NPSL team in OKC since that time.

Hooker (center) is a key position in rugby. Credit: All about Rugby 101.

In Rugby, the hooker is one of the four key positions on the team. A position requiring intelligence, experience and the ability to orchestrate the attacking play of the team.

Dustin Hooker aims to use those same attributes to bring a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team to the Oklahoma City/Norman area next year.

The ownership group

“We have been in talks for 4 months and are filing out our application.”

Hooker was previously involved in helping set up OKC Energy’s PDL team. Since leaving his job with Energy, Hooker has continued to work with amateur soccer players in various capacities. Now, he has a plan to allow his players to compete in a more organized structure.

Hooker and two unidentified business partners are ready to take on the financial responsibilities of setting up a D4 team. “I have a business of my own, and along with our partners, we are confident that we will take care of the financial requirements fairly easily,” Hooker said via a phone conversation on Saturday morning.

Hooker said of his two partners – “Both people are in the soccer community whom I’ve known for over 10 years, successful business people and soccer fanatics. We want to make an impact in developing soccer here in Oklahoma.”

While the identity of Hooker’s two partners is unknown, Soc Takes understands that Rayo OKC’s minority owner, Sean Jones, is not one of those two partners.

$$$

Having worked within the PDL structure before, Hooker is cognizant of the financial repercussions of running an amateur team. “We are not trying to make money through this, we are just trying to support the sport and the local soccer players around the area. We’ve committed to a five-year plan, and we recognize that we’ll be signing checks for most of that time; we are not naive about what we are getting into.”

NPSL currently does not have a team in Oklahoma City. Credit: NPSL.

One significant expense for NPSL/PDL teams tends to be travel. As stated earlier, at present, there is a dearth of teams close to Oklahoma City. Hooker believes that travel costs will be mitigated by the next round of expansion teams, stating, “we might see more Texas teams.” Currently, Hooker’s team is playing games against FC Dallas’ academy team, Texas Spurs, Norman North, FC Wichita and four others. “We believe this season will serve as a trial period to show that we can do this.”

Currently the OKC men’s soccer scene has been dominated by OKC Energy, Hooker believes a small niche exists for this NPSL team. “We are focused on developing young, local players. We’re not in competition with Energy. I still have many friends there and there are absolutely no hard feelings. I’m focused on us.”

The Oklahoma City Imps

The team will also have an unique name – The Oklahoma City Imps (@ImpsOKC on twitter). When asked about the unique name, Hooker explained that it came about during a conversation with head coach, Adam Kay. Kay, an UEFA B licensed coach, was telling Hooker about The Lincoln Red Imps; a semi-pro team out of Gibraltar who famously beat Scottish giants Celtic FC in a game last year.

“I wasn’t sure about the name at first, but then, I really liked the idea of our team being the small-guy. The underdogs. And, it started to grow on me. We designed the logo and started running with it,” Hooker explained.

The team expects to divide their games between two stadiums – Norman North and Mid-America Christian University. The former will be used for day games, while the latter, housing floodlights, will be used for evening games. Playing at two stadiums is by design. “We want to include the Southern OKC soccer community as much as the Norman soccer community.”

Hooker (and ostensibly his partners) seem confident of NPSL granting them an expansion team. “It’s obviously not 100%, but based on our conversations, our financial plan and our focus on player opportunity, we think we have a strong bid.” Hooker cites a partnership with Norman Youth Soccer Association as an example of the group’s investment in the game.

Soc Takes reached out to NPSL for comment via email. Their response —

“The NPSL does not publicly comment on the status of conversations with, or the applications from, individuals groups expressing an interest in joining the NPSL.”

The takeaway

As the hooker receives the ball, either he or the scrum-half have to quickly survey the field and decide the course of attack. Their initial pass sets in motion the direction of the attack. So, really, their ability to see into the future is as crucial as the actual execution of their pass.

For Dustin Hooker, his plan is simple —

“Like I said, we are committed to at least five years. My goal isn’t to have the world’s best NPSL team. My goal is to give these kids a chance. Most of them won’t end up being professional footballers, but we want them to stay in Oklahoma, settle down here and pay it forward, maybe some of them will become coaches. That’s our focus. These kids aren’t getting the chance they deserve.”

The mischievous devil.

You can find Nipun and Soc Takes at @NipunChopra7 and @SocTakes on twitter.

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Image credit: OKC 1889 FC

Dustin Hooker is no stranger to the Oklahoma City soccer scene, nor to us here at Soc Takes. He sat down for an interview with Nipun Chopra last May to discuss his new team, then known as the Imps. They had been in discussion to join the NPSL, but will instead make their debut this May as part of the UPSL’s new Central Conference.

The vision began a few years ago when he organized a handful of summer games for the local guys who weren’t playing for any teams within the pyramid, but didn’t want to stop playing — players with experience at the collegiate and semi-pro level who still lived and worked in the community. This led him to start discussing opportunities to join a league and have something to play for.

He wound up turning this team, the Pulse, into the Energy FC U23 team in the PDL. However, after running the PDL team for a season, it just wasn’t the right fit for his vision. The PDL, he said, is really focused on player development and making a pathway to pro soccer. There’s certainly a local community element to it, but as a whole, his goals for soccer didn’t line up with what he experienced.

That was when we last spoke with him. Since then, the club has a new name and a new league, but the same goals as ever.

His mission for OKC 1889 is simple: Provide a serious, professionally run team by the community, for the community. He’s been working with many of these players for years now. The coaching staff are all familiar faces among the local youth soccer scene. The sponsors are familiar local businesses.

And when the UPSL got in touch, he found like-minded individuals with similar motivations. They joined the brand new Central Conference, playing in the North Division. Joining OKC 1889 FC are four teams based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

With the team, the goal is to be relatable. As Hooker put it during our conversation on Monday, “if your friend told you ‘hey, my soccer team is playing a game tonight, and tickets are only five bucks,’ you’d go buy a ticket and watch your friend play.”

That goal drew 750 fans at their final game last year. But they aren’t stopping there. Hooker has big aspirations for the team. Maybe some day they could become one of the signature teams in the UPSL, he thinks. It’s a relatively young and rapidly growing league, and no one as of yet is standing out.

“You don’t need to be a professional team to do things professionally,” he said, and he’s already working hard to do just that. The team has an excellent facility in Norman, Okla., a partnership with the local Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, and a proven head coach in Adam Kay. Kay also coaches for the Oklahoma Celtic youth club as well as for Mid-America Christian University, and holds USSF and UEFA B licenses. “One of the best unknown coaches in the country,” as Hooker put it.

Even before they had a league, these players and coaches made a name for themselves in their community both on and off the field. They’ve held their own against FC Dallas’s top academy teams, won five of seven games played last summer and built a growing fan base. Now that they have a league to call their own, things are looking pretty good.

OKC 1889 FC will begin its 2018 season with a pair of home and away friendlies against the Little Rock Rangers in May, and will kick off its inaugural UPSL campaign at home on May 19 against fellow newcomer Inocentes FC.

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnMLTX.

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• Dustin Hooker is no stranger to the Oklahoma City soccer scene, nor to us here at Soc Takes. He sat down for an interview with Nipun Chopra last May to discuss his new team, then known as the Imps. They had been in discussion to join the NPSL, but…

New York Cosmos chief operating officer Erik Stover joins co-hosts Kevin Johnston and Nipun Chopra to chat about the New York Cosmos, New York Red Bulls, NASL, NPSL, USSF presidential election, Cosmos B and more.

Formerly the president and managing director at RBNY, Stover revisits his tenure with the club and hints to stay tuned for several Cosmos B player announcements this Thursday.

Thumbnail image credit: New York Cosmos

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Photo credit: Steven Christy

While it’s awfully common for clubs to seek out local players to help connect with their fan bases, OKC Energy U23 has taken the personnel strategy to a whole new level. Hey, why go “loco” when you can go local?

On Tuesday, the team announced the addition of 11 players to the roster. All 11 guys — in some way, shape or form — have a connection to the Oklahoma area. Here’s a list of all the additions along with their most recent local ties:

Daryl Dike (Edmond North High School) Munashe Raranje (University of Tulsa) Cooper Clark (University of Tulsa) Dante Brigida (Oral Roberts University) Butch Hampton (University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma) Josh Berney (Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School) Omar Urquiza (Oral Roberts University) Tyler Lacourse (Metro Christian Academy) Garrett McLaughlin (Heritage Hall) Colton Haskin (Oral Roberts University)

Brandon Brus (Oral Roberts University)

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with these promising local players,” Energy FC U23 head coach Jon Pearlman said in a release. “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to build on the excellent development work done by their local Oklahoma club and college coaches. I believe these players will be an integral part of the Energy FC PDL program this summer with an eye on a potential first-team opportunity in the future.”

The PDL affiliate of Energy FC of the USL, the U23s won’t begin league play until May 20. They will have meaningful matches prior to that, however, with their first U.S. Open Cup game set for May 9.

The senior squad, meawhile, has already begun USL play, falling to Orange County SC 1-0 at home Wednesday night to move to 1W-0D-2L (3 points) on the young season.

With a multitude of skilled local products on the roster and a well-supported parent club, OKC Energy U23 has positioned itself as one of the more intriguing sides to follow in 2018 PDL action.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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Photo credit: Victor Araiza

In 2018, the state of American women’s soccer is in an unusual position of stability. The NWSL has survived five seasons, and is entering its sixth in pretty good shape, United Women’s Soccer is growing at a healthy pace, and the WPSL has made a lot of changes to fix some of the biggest problems in recent years. You may have heard about some of that during the podcast we recorded with associate commissioner Matt Homonoff. Contrast this with the chaos we dealt with over the past five or so years, and you’ll see just how remarkable the lack of drama has been.

So, where are we now, and what does 2018 hold for the women’s game in the USA? Whether you’re new to the world of women’s soccer, or just looking to get up to speed with the latest, I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for here.

First things first, let’s talk NWSL. The National Women’s Soccer League, the top division of women’s soccer in America and Canada, is entering its sixth season. This is a new record for professional women’s leagues, as the two previous attempts at professional leagues both folded after their third seasons. The league currently comprises nine teams across the United States — I’ll go into them in more detail later. It’s also the best attended women’s league in the world, and home to a number of full international players.

Three significant things happened over the offseason. Most significantly, the salary rules have changed once again. The total salary cap, excluding American and Canadian international players, has risen to $350,000, with a minimum salary of $15,750 and a maximum of $44,000. It might not seem like much, but compared to just two years ago, when the minimum salary was only $7,200(!), it’s a dramatic improvement and continues the trend set a year ago. It’s not quite at the level where I would like it, but for the players, it’s definitely appreciated.

We also lost two of the 10 teams that contested the previous season. FC Kansas City, the two-time champions, have “folded” in a really unusual way. The team was purchased by a group based in Minneapolis in January 2017, but by the end of the season the team had completely fallen apart. Enter Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen. Rather than a relocation or buyout, a new team was created in the Utah Royals FC, and the existing player contracts were transferred from FCKC to the new team.

Photo credit: Victor Araiza

The Boston Breakers are another story entirely. The team had been in preparation for the 2018 season, including participating in the NWSL draft, signing players and all, when things abruptly came to a halt. After months of courting new ownership failed, the team folded two months before the season began. Players were distributed to the remaining nine teams in a dispersal draft, and the schedule was restructured to account for the loss of the team.

That then leaves us with the following 9 teams:

• Chicago Red Stars
• Houston Dash (owned by Houston Dynamo)
• North Carolina Courage (owned by North Carolina FC)
• Orlando Pride (owned by Orlando City SC)
• Portland Thorns (owned by Portland Timbers)
• Seattle Reign
• Sky Blue FC
• Utah Royals FC (owned by Real Salt Lake)
• Washington Spirit

Last season was all about the North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns, who finished first and second in the regular season and played in the 2017 NWSL Championship game won by Portland. While we can expect both teams to continue to perform well this year, don’t count anyone out. The Courage only won the shield by two points, and only nine points separated third place from seventh. It’s a very, very competitive league and ranks among the world’s best.

It’s also an absolute blast from start to finish. The season began on March 24 and will run through Sept. 9, with each team playing 24 games. The playoffs will begin on Sept. 14 and end with the championship game on Sept. 22. One game per week is broadcast on Lifetime, with the remainder streamed through go90.

Onto the next tier.

The “second tier” of women’s soccer isn’t officially designated by the federation, but is generally agreed to feature two leagues: United Women’s Soccer and the Women’s Premier Soccer League. Compare this to the “fourth tier” of the men’s pyramid, as both are affiliated through USASA.

United Women’s Soccer is the younger of the two, and the youngest league in the pyramid. It was formed in 2015 due to issues teams had with the WPSL and the folding of the USL W-League, and began its first season the following spring. The league currently comprises 22 teams, including a mixture of former W-League and WPSL sides, two MLS-affiliated clubs and one former NWSL team, the Western New York Flash.

The league is classified as pro-am, meaning that some teams have paid players and some do not. And for NCAA eligibility rules, any team with NCAA players is fully amateur. The 22 teams are distributed into three conferences with nine in the East, seven in the Central and six in the West. The season is set to begin on May 8 and end July 15, with each team playing 10 games. Playoffs will occur sometime in July and will be announced as we get closer. 2018 will be the third season for the league and they’re already doing pretty well.

Image credit: WPSL

The other second division league is the Women’s Premier Soccer League. This league has been around since 1997 and currently features 108 teams. That makes it the largest single women’s soccer league in the world. It also once spawned a men’s league which has since become the National Premier Soccer League.

The WPSL’s teams are organized into four regions: East, South, West and Central, and are further divided into 17 divisions — four in each of the East, South and Central, and five in the West. Divisions have as few as four teams and as many as nine, meaning that the divisions don’t all play the same number of games. It’s a bit confusing, yes, but the important thing is that every team will play at least six games and the league has a truly national footprint.

They (quite justifiably) brag about their massive footprint which covers 33 states and 38 of the top 39 metro areas, with a club each in Puerto Rico and Canada. The league is also under new management, with the group that runs Oklahoma City FC taking ownership and control of the league last fall. They’ve emphasized stricter standards for every team and a focus on professionalism in the league, with an aim on fixing the issues that have plagued the league in the past (see: UWS, which was founded due to these frustrations). They’re also planning a league-wide streaming solution that will be rolled out at some point in the future.

Anyway, that’s the state of American women’s soccer in a nutshell.

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnMLTX.

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The crew analyzes the successful weekend that NASL road teams enjoyed before trying to figure out some of the issues with the Indy Eleven. The fellas debate if it’s OK or warranted to boo players, then close out with some nostalgic U20 U.S. men’s national team chatter. Listen:

Thumbnail photo credit: Jacksonville Armada FC

You can follow Soc Takes on Twitter @SocTakes.

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