Hi Reader,

Welcome to this week's newsletter where we take a look at how best to handle a new generation of top teenage talent emerging in MLS and on the pod dive into the losses facing American investors (and everyone else) in the EFL and have news of a big soccer stadium plan for Las Vegas.

Don't forget, if you have any news, suggestions for future stories or podcast guests, or are interested in discussing partnership opportunities, don't hesitate to get in touch with me at simon@thesoccerbusiness.com.

Cheers

Simon Evans

The Soccer Business.

The teenage talent challenge facing American soccer

The most striking and interesting aspect of the MLS season so far has been the emergence of a cohort of confident and talented homegrown teenagers making their mark with impressive performances and standout goals.

Last weekend in the shiny Nu Stadium, 18-year-old Julian Hall of the New York Red Bulls made a fool of Inter Miami’s World Cup winner Rodrigo De Paul before perfectly setting up 17-year-old Adri Mehmeti who clinically converted. Two players who had come through the Red Bulls academy, into their MLS Next Pro team, had provided a moment of top quality in a high-profile game and both played with composure and class throughout the contest.

But they were by no means alone - earlier that day 17-year-old Jude Terry had scored a wonderful long-range goal for LAFC while Real Salt Lake’s 19-year-old Zavier Gozo has been the talk of the league for some time and his eveb younger team-mate Aiden Hezarkhani is also attracting attention.

For all the talk of the failures and faults of America’s youth soccer development (and there are many) there is strong evidence that the MLS Academy system is now delivering the desired results - a production line of talented young players ready for the professional game at the age of 17 or 18. This is important as the old system of drafting out of college, while well established for other American sports, delays development until it is too late for soccer - players entering the pro game in their 20’s are years behind their counterparts from other countries.

But now the question arises as to what MLS should do with this talented class of 2026 and those who are likely to follow in the coming years?

Modern scouting through video and data means these players aren’t going unnoticed outside of the U.S. I spoke last week to a foreign club that already had two of the players mentioned in this article on his club’s radar. MLS is actually a very easy league to scout for European and South American clubs with ample video and data.

So these kids aren’t going unnoticed and you can bet their agents are already receiving calls. All of a sudden, MLS clubs can see a return on their investments in academies over the past decade and the players (or rather their agents) can sense the opportunity for rewards beyond the self-imposed limits of MLS salaries.

The temptation then will be to cash-in quickly, flip the teenagers to European clubs and replace them with the next talent on the club’s production line or another import from Central or South America. That is, after all, how it works for most selling leagues in the world. Brazilian and Argentine starlets don’t tend to hang around long with the club’s that have developed them. They same with talent from Europe developed outside of the elite leagues, such as in Eastern Europe.

But while MLS still is a selling league, it is also different from most of the other competitions that feed the insatiable desires of the big five European leagues in that it aims to become one of the top leagues in the world itself.

That is why it would be a major mistake if this generation of players is quickly moved on to Europe. From a club revenue point of view - the transfer fee for a teenager from MLS isn’t going to be huge but will grow significantly if they are allowed to develop further for a few more years, breaking into the national team and building up a more significant body of work at a high level. There is a financial reward for patience.

For the player too - it is better not to jump at the first offers that come in after just a handful of appearances in MLS. Chances are that the buying club will view the player as another development project, along with their own academy products, and place them in a reserve team or loan them to a less demanding league. We have seen many case of young Americans head to Europe, not develop or not get opportunities, and then return to MLS a few years later, their progress having been slowed and their value having vanished.

Clubs in many selling leagues, sell early because they have serious cash-flow problems and the departure of the 18-year-old ‘wonderkid’ can solve many issues in the short term. MLS clubs aren’t in that position though and can afford to stand firm and let the players (and their values) mature.

At a league level there is another big reason why it would be prudent to hold firm when those early offers come in: American soccer fans love watching American talent - and there is something different about supporters becoming attached to a local hero. There hasn’t been enough of that yet in MLS. What message it would it send about MLS if the first serious wave of homegrown talent the league has produced is quickly sent off to the reserve teams or feeder teams of mid-tier European clubs?

Moving to Europe can help an American player grow to the next level - and every player wants to test themselves against the best. But a 22-year-old with four years of MLS and international football under his belt is going to be in a much stronger position to thrive than an 18-year-old with a single season in MLS to his name - and will cost more for the buyer too.

For player, for club and for the league, MLS needs to hold on to the Class of 26 for as long as they can.

Pod: Are the EFL's record losses really a problem?

The EFL is one of the most exciting and interesting leagues in the world, packed with clubs of great heritage and history. It also attracts plenty of investment both domestic and international (mostly American) capital.
​
But the clubs across the EFL's divisions, especially the second tier Championship, continue to make losses with the latest projections suggesting they are reaching record levels.
​
We invited Kieran Maguire- author of a leading book on English football's finance, podcast host and lecturer - to dive into all the issues.
​
What factors are driving the losses? What can be done to shift the trajectory? Is regulation the answer? What is a 'good owner'? And why are investors still attracted towards EFL clubs? Which clubs are most at risk and what does the future hold?
​
And Kieran throws in an interesting question towards the end of the pod. "Do the losses actually matter?" raising the question of whether we should just view football ownership as an expensive hobby?

You can listen on Spotify here:

Record losses in English foo... Apr 17 · The Soccer Business Podc... 40:21   ​

The links on Apple and Podbean can be found at the link here.​

Crocker quits USSF on eve of World Cup

The big news in US Soccer this week was that Matt Crocker has left his position as Sporting Director of the US Soccer Federation just two months before the World Cup and is heading off to take on a similar role with Saudi Arabia's federation.

When we say, 'similar role', let's just say a lower profile position but with significantly higher levels of compensation. And while social media had no shortage of angry responses to this news, I'd argue that people should pause and ask themselves the obvious question of what they would do if they found an offer from Riyadh in their inbox?

Crocker, a Welshman who had previously worked with England's Football Association and at Southampton, had only joined the USSF in 2023 but made an impact by securing Emma Hayes as USWNT coach and persuading Mauricio Pochettino to take over the men's team. But he also had announced big plans to restructure and reform the player development system but had expressed some frustration at how tough it was to bring about change, especially in youth soccer.

Big ideas in powerpoint presentations aren't easy to deliver in the US soccer world especially in the world of American youth soccer with all the vested interests, politics and money involved. But it's also not unusual for people like Crocker to move on after a few years and keep building the resume. Or maybe it was just the Saudi offer.....

His biggest legacy will be his input into the creation of the hugely impressive National Training Center near Atlanta. Emma Hayes won gold medal and has improved the USWNT. The outcome of the Pochettino era remains to be defined this summer.

U.S. Soccer said that in the interim Chief Operating Officer, Dan Helfrich, will “provide executive oversight and support across the Federation’s sporting operations.” Helfrich will work closely with assistant sporting director Oguchi Onyewu and women’s youth national team director Tracey Kevins.

Long-term? US Soccer tends to react to failure/let down from foreign-born staff by appointing Americans and I'd expect that to be the case again here.

Soccer venue features in big plans for Vegas

A new multi-billion dollar development project called Starr Vegas has been proposed for 63 acres at the southern edge of the Las Vegas valley and - yes - it includes a soccer stadium as well as an indoor arena for a hoped-for NBA expansion franchise.

The development group, led by CEO Chuck Haifley, has reportedly secured $6 billion in funding toward a total project cost of $10 billion Designed as an integrated sports and entertainment "ecosystem," the plan includes a 50,000-seat covered soccer and concert venue featuring a retractable roof and views of the Las Vegas Strip.

Of course, Vegas has held soccer games in the past few years, including the Concacaf Nations League finals at the 61,000 capacity Allegiant Stadium, home to the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. The city also has a USL team, the Las Vegas Lights, who play at their own venue, Cashman Field, a converted minor league baseball park which holds just under 10,000.

A 50,000 seater venue feels a bit big for MLS (Inter Miami just opened a new 26,700 stadium) but who knows how plans will evolve once discussions start about a potential club for the city? Vegas has long featured in discussions about possible MLS expansion and so it will be interesting to keep an eye on this project. Perhaps the size of the venue reflects a belief that the city could be attractive for pre-season friendlies by international clubs.

The developer's own documents, which we have seen, state the stadium would be: "the anchor of the campus. Designed for MLS and international soccer, configured equally for the concerts and events that bring Las Vegas its largest audiences. The sight lines, the acoustics, the turf, the stage infrastructure, all built to the highest specification available."

BAY FC PARTNERS WITH CONTENTSTACK TO DRIVE DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT

NWSL club Bay FC has selected Contentstack as its digital experience platform partner as it enters its third professional season. The partnership has evolved from an initial agreement in the club’s 2024 inaugural year. The club will use the platform to drive ticket sales and awareness during the 2026 season. The technology allows the digital team to streamline complex campaigns and test messaging and imagery in real-time.

CEO Stacy Johns noted that the partnership gives the team greater flexibility to keep pace with the current growth in women’s soccer by ensuring the fan experience extends effectively beyond the stadium. By leveraging AI and personalization, the club intends to match the “energy and urgency” of its matchday experience across all online touchpoints.

SAMSUNG CANADA JOINS CANADA SOCCER AS OFFICIAL TECH PARTNER

Samsung Canada has become the official TV and mobile partner for Canada Soccer as the nation prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The tech giant will provide consumer electronics to support fan engagement goals and will receive prominent branding across men’s and women’s national team fixtures.

The deal was brokered by Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment (CSME), the newly rebranded commercial arm of the governing body. This partnership falls under a new long-term commercial model that runs through 2037, designed to cement the future commercialization of the sport in the country.

FIFA PUSH BACK OVER NJ GOVERNOR TRANSIT STANCE

FIFA has rejected demands from New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill to fund local transportation costs for the 2026 World Cup, expressing “surprise” over the governor’s stance on the issue.

Local officials had annouonced plans for NJ Transit to increase train fares from New York Penn Station to MetLife Stadium to $100 for match days. The proposed fare represents a 775% increase over the standard $12.90 price for the route. Sherrill said the rise was to help cover the costs of hosting the games.

A FIFA spokesperson told the New York Post that the organization is “quite surprised” by the governor’s approach, noting that original host city agreements signed in 2018 had actually required free transportation for fans. According to the spokesperson, FIFA revised those agreements in 2023 to allow for “regular cost price” tickets after recognizing the financial strain placed on host cities.

“FIFA is not aware of any other major event previously held at [Metlife] Stadium, including other major sports, global concert tours, etc., where organizers were required to pay for fan transportation.”

The pushback follows a social media post by Governor Sherrill, who took office earlier this year, in which she accused the organization of “providing $0 for transportation” despite a projected revenue of $11 billion from the event.

MetLife Stadium is scheduled to host eight matches during the tournament, including the final. There has been a similar issue in Boston regarding high ticket prices for trains to Foxboro Stadium.

LIONEL MESSI ACQUIRES FIFTH-DIVISION SPANISH CLUB CORNELLÀ

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has purchased the Spanish fifth-division team Cornellà, a club based in Catalonia. The club is renowned for its youth academy, having developed notable professional players such as Jordi Alba and Arsenal’s David Raya.

This move marks Messi’s first venture into owning a European club, adding to his existing partnership in the Uruguayan professional team Deportivo LSM. Messi’s investment into Cornellà follows his hosting of the inaugural Messi Cup for under-16 teams at Chase Stadium in late 2025.

MLS TAPS VISION INSIGHTS FOR AI-POWERED SPONSORSHIP ANALYTICS

Major League Soccer has entered a multi-year deal with Vision Insights to enhance brand exposure analysis for its commercial partners. Using the “Decoder Media” platform, the league will utilize AI and machine learning to track sponsor visibility across match broadcasts and in-stadium branding.

The technology measures the frequency and prominence of brand logos on assets like perimeter LED boards and jerseys. This data-driven approach allows sponsors to evaluate their return on investment and perform in-season optimization rather than waiting for post-season reporting.

CAPE VERDE UNVEILS CAPELLI WORLD CUP KITS

Cape Verde has revealed its home and away kits for its World Cup debut in 2026, designed by American company Capelli Sport. The jerseys feature a triangular pattern replicating flight patterns between the nation’s ten islands, alongside the “Tubarão Azul” (blue shark) crest.

The theme of the kits, “Connected Through Rhythm,” is intended to reflect the nation’s culture and shared identity. The debut is a significant milestone for both the federation and Capelli Sport, which is also making its first World Cup appearance as a kit manufacturer.

As the second-smallest nation in the tournament, Cape Verde faces a challenging opening group. They are scheduled to open their campaign on June 15 in Atlanta against Spain, followed by matches against Uruguay in Miami and Saudi Arabia in Houston. The kit ensures Capelli will be worn during the World Cup finals for the first time.