Tested Models Do Work: Part Three

There is a definite demand for a good system for both men and women in North America.  I am not opposed to Canadian clubs playing in leagues here, but wouldn't that hurt their own domestic prowess on the international scene?  The US and Canada have built mega empires in NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA leagues.  With the exception of the NFL, they all have a minor league system that helps develop players.

I don't think that we there should be a minor league system though when it comes to football (soccer).  The reason is it is a whole different beast.  There are development teams in Germany that play in the lower leagues, but the team itself will not rise to the Bundesliga, only the players.  There are other leagues now becoming more competitive in the world further cramping any chance the US/Canada has in achieving that goal.  Russia and China are just a few that have upped their game.

FIFA or someone needs to step in and say the way it is being run here is just criminal to the game.  It keeps the game away from the masses and that is not what I think was intended in the deal back in the early 90's to make a professional league here.  It is not a crime to emulate a model that works.  We shouldn't be reinventing the wheel here, we should be putting on the same wheel as others have.   There are some exceptions.

The one thing that North America has that European countries lack and that is size.  Our countries are huge.  There has to be some serious breakdown in leagues, possibly by city, county and state levels.   There can be no real expectation that a team from Frederick, Maryland play a club in Los Angles, California unless they were both in top the flight league and had the money to travel the distance.  Populations in cities change over time.  Detroit used to be one of the largest cities in America, now it is struggling to keep residents down over 25% in just the last 10 years taking it down to around 800,000 residents.  Meanwhile, the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina had a 40% increase in the same period.  I don't even have to get into the fact that there is a huge influx of immigrants from countries who watch and play football.

There are complexities, but I think if you take a few pages out of Europe's book, Canada and The United States could have a hugely competitive system that would sustain the growing demand for the game in this part of the world.  Football is not just about investors and profit margins, football is about the love of the game from those who love it.  It is a cherished thing that has been handed down from generation to generation for us to nurture and keep alive for those after us.  Let's keep it alive!