2018 - 2019 Football Thread - Page 54

A combined North American football league between Canada, Mexico and the United States could be the main legacy of the 2026 World Cup, the president of the Mexican top-flight division Enrique Bonilla said on Wednesday.

The "United 2026" bid -- a combination of the three nations -- beat Morocco in the vote at FIFA's Congress in June to host the first 48-team World Cup. Although the majority of venues are proposed to be in the U.S., it is Mexican teams who have dominated on the continent, winning all 10 editions of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Liga MX also remains the most watched soccer league in the U.S. and attracts average crowds of more than 26,500. However, revenues for global TV rights and sponsorship across North America pale in comparison to the top leagues of Europe. Bonilla believes that is something that could be changed with a new combined continental top-flight division.

"It's a possibility, a North American league," Bonilla told reporters at the Leaders summit at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium. "We have to determine how and see the pros and cons but I think that's a way to grow and to compete again.

"If we can make a World Cup then we can make a North American league or a North American Cup. The main idea is that we have to grow together to compete. If not, there is only going to be the rich guys in Europe and the rest of the world.

"We think this opportunity with the World Cup in 2026 opens the door for us to make a lot of things different and better."

Reached by ESPN FC for comment, MLS MLS Executive Vice President of Communications Dan Courtemanche said the league is excited to further its partnership with Liga MX.

"In March, Major League Soccer entered into a formal partnership with Liga MX, and last month we held our inaugural Campeones Cup between Toronto FC and Tigres," Courtemanche said.

"We have been discussing with Liga MX additional ways we can collaborate on and off the field, and we are excited about the future opportunities that exist between our two leagues."

Earlier this year, the MLS in the U.S. and Liga MX launched a partnership which included the introduction of the Campeones Cup, a match between the winners of each respective league.

The inaugural edition was played at the end of last month at Toronto FC who lost 3-1 to Mexico's Tigres UANL. Plans have also been discussed to play an All-Star game between the two leagues.

Despite plenty of leading clubs from Europe boosting their profile with transatlantic preseason tours, Bonilla said that distances and a lack of resources made trips in the other direction more challenging for Mexican clubs.

"We need to get out of our region," he said. "We have to go out more.

"The problem that we have is distance. Coming to Europe is quite difficult for our teams in getting there, and going down to South America is a long way also.

"So, it's quite difficult and what we have to do is we have to join forces with the MLS to get stronger together and then we can think of competing with Europe. Then we can have a strong market that can give us the resources to compete with the big financial market that is Europe."

The 2018-19 Liga MX regular season, the Apertura, is about to enter its closing stages. Defending champions Santos Laguna are third behind Club America on goal difference, with both teams trailing leaders Cruz Azul by two points.

On October 10 2018 14:38 Jerubaal wrote:
Winning at Real Madrid . Wowee.

Btw, I freely admit my ignorance and thank GTR for explaining, but your posts are terrible and deserve to be mocked.

On October 11 2018 10:43 plasmidghost wrote:
Anyone here familiar with the Czech First League? I'll be in Prague next month and want to catch a match, but don't know who I should watch

On October 10 2018 13:26 GTR wrote:
zidane was the manager of real madrid's reserve team for 3 years before being promoted to the main squad.
henry has been an assistant coach for the belgium national team since 2016.

The Columbus Crew appear set to stay in central Ohio.

After a year of uncertainty over whether owner Anthony Precourt would move the Crew from Columbus to Austin, Texas, MLS released a statement on Friday announcing that the Knoxville-based family of Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam and a Columbus-based investor group led by Pete Edwards, Jr., has joined together to move toward buying the Crew and keeping the team in Columbus.

The plans also include building a downtown soccer stadium in Columbus, and potential locations have already been discussed, according to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke to SI.com.

“MLS is committed to keeping Crew SC in Columbus," MLS announced, "should we continue to make progress on these critical components and agree to key terms with the investor group.”

Meanwhile, MLS said it remains committed to Precourt’s plan to launch Austin FC as an MLS team in Texas.

"Major League Soccer is excited to move forward in Austin with Precourt Sports Ventures and their vision for Austin FC. Regardless of any scenario in Columbus, there is a clear path forward for PSV to operate Austin FC as a Major League Soccer club," the league said in a statement. "The strong support from Austin’s corporate community, government officials and passionate soccer fans is impressive. Austin is a flourishing, dynamic city that presents a great opportunity for MLS, and we look forward to finalizing plans to become the first major league team in the capital of Texas.

"While timing for Austin FC is still to be finalized, we are confident that the team will begin play no later than 2021 at the new, privately financed stadium and soccer park at McKalla Place. We applaud the Austin community, city leaders and Precourt Sports Ventures for their commitment to making this happen."

The source who spoke to SI.com said that the most likely scenario for the impending sale of the Crew would involve the league selling the operating rights of the Crew to the new investor group, while Precourt would maintain his equity stake in the league and Soccer United Marketing.

The new investor group for Columbus, which does not include the Columbus Partnership, a civic organization led by Alex Fischer, said in a statement: “We are optimistic about our recent conversations with Major League Soccer regarding the potential sale of the operating rights of the Columbus Crew SC. While there are many details to be worked out, our alliance is working diligently and collaboratively with the league to keep Crew SC in its community. We are very excited about the quiet but deliberate progress that has been made to date and will keep the community updated as this process moves forward.

“I am energized by the willingness of MLS to collaborate with us over the past several months. I appreciate Commissioner Garber’s personal involvement with the Columbus Partnership, the Haslams and the Edwards. Having community-oriented owners ready to purchase the team is a significant step forward in achieving our goal to keep Crew SC in Columbus.”

In addition to being the owner of the NFL’s Browns, Jimmy Haslam is the brother of Tennessee governor Bill Haslam. A source with knowledge of the situation told SI.com that Gov. Haslam is close to John Ingram, the billionaire owner of Nashville’s recently awarded MLS expansion team. On September 10, the night before the U.S. men’s national team’s game in Nashville against Mexico, MLS commissioner Don Garber had dinner with Gov. Haslam.