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Goal.Commmentary: Two New Beginnings
David Rice looks at how the NASL differs and compliments the way MLS approaches finances and structure.
Mar 22, 2010 2:54:00 AM
By David Rice
Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union players only had to look as far as the other side of the halfway line last Friday night to see another team trying to make a fresh start in American professional soccer.
The expansion Union faced off against the newly formed FC Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League at the University of Tampa in their final preseason clash, a game they lost 1-0.
While the differences between the leagues weren’t very apparent on the pitch in this one match, they’re pretty clear off of it.
Philadelphia assistant coach John Hackworth interviewed for the Rowdies' head coaching position, but eventually went in a different direction after seeing the challenges that forming a team in the NASL presented. With no draft, and the fact that the clubs own player contracts instead of Major League Soccer’s single entity structure, buying talent and structuring contracts is a challenge, given the budget of many clubs in the NASL.
“It’s very subjective, but I would say generally what clubs in the NASL are looking at is a player pool of second tier players,” Hackworth said. “The contracts they can offer are based on the club's budget whereas with MLS, the league signs the player, so it’s an entirely different process.”
For players, the NASL structure allows for more of the freedoms that were recently at the center of the MLS labor debacle, which was barely settled in time for the upcoming season, which begins Thursday. With clubs owning the contracts in the NASL, players are more able to move around the league from club to club without being in violation of any league policies.
“There is no salary cap in this league (NASL), and the clubs are owned by their own people, so they have more freedom,” Rowdies midfielder Stanley Nyazamba said. “With that comes more freedom for the players, too. It’s easier to go to a new club here.”
The advantages of the NASL structure don’t stop there for aspiring players either. Most players in the league have guaranteed contracts, according to Rowdies owner Andrew Nestor. While the contracts are presumably not as lucrative as MLS contracts, the players at least know that their deals will be fulfilled.
The NASL doesn’t use an expansion draft like MLS nor do they have a draft to bring up college players. The clubs simply rely on a network of scouts around the globe that bring them players who are in search of place where they can develop. For the Rowdies, the process of building a team has been a considerable task, but one that Nestor favored over having an expansion draft.
“Without the single entity structure we had a clean slate as to how we wanted to build this team and how we were going to structure player contracts,” Nestor said. “We didn’t actually want any expansion drafts because we felt that we had a good network of scouts and that if we put in the hard work we could find the players that we want to fit our system.”
Philadelphia, on the other hand, will go into its inaugural season with a mixture of players already experienced in MLS, draftees and guys that they have discovered on their own.
“Discovery” is an important part of building an MLS roster as teams are allowed to put 10 players on a discovery list. This means that as long as the player is not a part of any other MLS club or on another club's discovery list, the team that has discovered him has the first right to the player. They do not sign the player themselves, however, they basically just authorize the league to sign the player for them.
Issues have been raised by the MLS Players Union about the way the league handles player contracts. Hackworth was quick to defend the league’s current structure for how it has aided the league’s growth, but sees how it doesn’t always work to the player’s favor.
“The single entity structure has absolutely been positive in developing the league, but I would make the distinction between what is good for the league and what is good for selecting an individual player,” Hackworth said. “MLS facilities are top notch, more teams have their own stadiums, the crowds are bigger and you can be on television every week. MLS is the only league in this country that can offer a player that. But for NASL teams, if you want to sign a player and you have the money you can do it. That being said, you’re usually looking at players not being considered by MLS, the country’s top level of soccer. There are pros and cons for both.”
The approach of NASL this time is different from that of the United Soccer League, which was always insisting that the USL was not a second division. No one in the NASL is clearly saying they are America’s second division, but they aren’t denying it either.
“Both the MLS and NASL want what is best for the sport,” Nestor said. “Our focus is not only to build up the talent pool but also to build up markets that MLS is not currently in. Markets like Montreal, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis are important markets for soccer’s growth. There is a sense of collaboration between the two leagues that wasn’t there before even though we don’t have anything formal.”
On the pitch, the NASL is America’s second tier league, but perhaps the teams in the NASL aren’t as far behind as one would expect. The Zimbabwean Nyazamba has played in every American league, from MLS to USL and now the NASL and says he sees little difference between the leagues.
“Everywhere you go soccer is soccer,” Nyazamba said. “I really don’t think that the talent level is lower here. Players play in different leagues for different reasons. Sometimes a player just wants to play in this league so he gets more opportunities.”
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The expansion Union faced off against the newly formed FC Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League at the University of Tampa in their final preseason clash, a game they lost 1-0.
While the differences between the leagues weren’t very apparent on the pitch in this one match, they’re pretty clear off of it.
Philadelphia assistant coach John Hackworth interviewed for the Rowdies' head coaching position, but eventually went in a different direction after seeing the challenges that forming a team in the NASL presented. With no draft, and the fact that the clubs own player contracts instead of Major League Soccer’s single entity structure, buying talent and structuring contracts is a challenge, given the budget of many clubs in the NASL.
“It’s very subjective, but I would say generally what clubs in the NASL are looking at is a player pool of second tier players,” Hackworth said. “The contracts they can offer are based on the club's budget whereas with MLS, the league signs the player, so it’s an entirely different process.”
For players, the NASL structure allows for more of the freedoms that were recently at the center of the MLS labor debacle, which was barely settled in time for the upcoming season, which begins Thursday. With clubs owning the contracts in the NASL, players are more able to move around the league from club to club without being in violation of any league policies.
“There is no salary cap in this league (NASL), and the clubs are owned by their own people, so they have more freedom,” Rowdies midfielder Stanley Nyazamba said. “With that comes more freedom for the players, too. It’s easier to go to a new club here.”
The advantages of the NASL structure don’t stop there for aspiring players either. Most players in the league have guaranteed contracts, according to Rowdies owner Andrew Nestor. While the contracts are presumably not as lucrative as MLS contracts, the players at least know that their deals will be fulfilled.
The NASL doesn’t use an expansion draft like MLS nor do they have a draft to bring up college players. The clubs simply rely on a network of scouts around the globe that bring them players who are in search of place where they can develop. For the Rowdies, the process of building a team has been a considerable task, but one that Nestor favored over having an expansion draft.
“Without the single entity structure we had a clean slate as to how we wanted to build this team and how we were going to structure player contracts,” Nestor said. “We didn’t actually want any expansion drafts because we felt that we had a good network of scouts and that if we put in the hard work we could find the players that we want to fit our system.”
Philadelphia, on the other hand, will go into its inaugural season with a mixture of players already experienced in MLS, draftees and guys that they have discovered on their own.
“Discovery” is an important part of building an MLS roster as teams are allowed to put 10 players on a discovery list. This means that as long as the player is not a part of any other MLS club or on another club's discovery list, the team that has discovered him has the first right to the player. They do not sign the player themselves, however, they basically just authorize the league to sign the player for them.
Issues have been raised by the MLS Players Union about the way the league handles player contracts. Hackworth was quick to defend the league’s current structure for how it has aided the league’s growth, but sees how it doesn’t always work to the player’s favor.
“The single entity structure has absolutely been positive in developing the league, but I would make the distinction between what is good for the league and what is good for selecting an individual player,” Hackworth said. “MLS facilities are top notch, more teams have their own stadiums, the crowds are bigger and you can be on television every week. MLS is the only league in this country that can offer a player that. But for NASL teams, if you want to sign a player and you have the money you can do it. That being said, you’re usually looking at players not being considered by MLS, the country’s top level of soccer. There are pros and cons for both.”
The approach of NASL this time is different from that of the United Soccer League, which was always insisting that the USL was not a second division. No one in the NASL is clearly saying they are America’s second division, but they aren’t denying it either.
“Both the MLS and NASL want what is best for the sport,” Nestor said. “Our focus is not only to build up the talent pool but also to build up markets that MLS is not currently in. Markets like Montreal, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis are important markets for soccer’s growth. There is a sense of collaboration between the two leagues that wasn’t there before even though we don’t have anything formal.”
On the pitch, the NASL is America’s second tier league, but perhaps the teams in the NASL aren’t as far behind as one would expect. The Zimbabwean Nyazamba has played in every American league, from MLS to USL and now the NASL and says he sees little difference between the leagues.
“Everywhere you go soccer is soccer,” Nyazamba said. “I really don’t think that the talent level is lower here. Players play in different leagues for different reasons. Sometimes a player just wants to play in this league so he gets more opportunities.”
For the latest news and updates from Goal.com, follow our Twitter account
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