Monday's soccer news starts with the United States and Mexico Under-23 teams advancing to the Concacaf Olympic qualifying semifinals. The two play each other on Wednesday (9:30pm ET - FS1) to close out the group A schedule. Mexico holds the tiebreaker going into the group stage finale after a 3-0 win over Costa Rica. They'll meet the top two group B teams in the semifinals with the winners advance . . .
Preview: The delayed 2020 Club World Cup
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jan 25, 2021) US Soccer Players – The eyes of the soccer world will be on Qatar next week with the start of the FIFA Club World Cup. The 17th edition of the tournament officially kicks off February 4, originally scheduled for this past December, but postponed because of the pandemic. What in theory crowns the world club champion is closer to reality a tournament . . .
FIFA confirms that any breakaway league is an outlaw league
Friday's soccer news starts with FIFA and its member Confederations taking time out of their busy schedules to remind us of something obvious. Should the elite European clubs breakaway to form a super league, they're also breaking away from FIFA. That means super league players wouldn't be eligible to play for their countries. Specifically, "Any club or player involved in such a competition would . . .
2020 doesn’t need a Super League rumor
By J Hutcherson (Oct 20, 2020) US Soccer Players - Last week's brief Project Big Picture debate lasted just long enough to remind everybody how generally annoying revamp ideas have gotten. There's always someone or some group that knows that they can do things better. Then there's the current stakeholders insisting on holding onto what they have. That's been an ongoing them in European soccer . . .
FIFA suspends Trinidad & Tobago
Friday's soccer news starts with FIFA upholding what they believe to be a crucial concept in soccer governance. Federations aren't supposed to go to their domestic courts to seek relief over soccer decisions. Trinidad & Tobago is the latest to decide to take that route, with their soccer leadership filing suit against a FIFA decision in local courts. At issue was FIFA stepping in and taking . . .
FIFA puts a price on the pandemic for soccer
Wednesday's soccer news starts with FIFA putting a price point on what soccer will lose due to the pandemic. According to reports, that number is $14 billion. FIFA is using that figure to explain the immediate need for world soccer's governing body to help its member federations. "If you look at the breakdown of losses in absolute and relative terms, European clubs and member associations were . . .
FIFA, UEFA, and playing games during a pandemic
By J Hutcherson (Aug 25, 2020) US Soccer Players - In this era of pretending that it might be possible to have reasonable control of a situation, it has to be tough to be a governing body. On Monday, FIFA released a set of temporary regulations for the September international window. With UEFA the only confederation using the September dates, the regulations only apply in Europe. Still, it's an . . .
What we learned from Europe this season
By J Hutcherson (Jul 21, 2020) US Soccer Players - It was already an interesting time for European soccer even before the pandemic that brought leagues to an abrupt halt in March. Look back at some of the articles on the future of the sport making the rounds late in 2019, and the primary focus was what happens next. The Champions League TV deal ends in 2022 with the expectation that UEFA will make . . .
IFAB, FIFA and Pandora’s Box
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 19, 2020) US Soccer Players - A quick litmus test. When you hear the phrase "rules changes" in the context of soccer, what's your first reaction? If your answer is suspicion, disgust, concern, or anything along those lines, you've generally got plenty of company in this sport, where tradition tends to hold sway. Soccer was one of the last major professional . . .
Is the glut of games good for soccer?
Friday's soccer news starts with a question that may only be an issue in retrospect. With all of the world's professional sports leagues impacted by the global pandemic looking to get the games in, will this be the summer of too many options? The Bundesliga is the only major European league that will finish by the end of the month, but we now know the 2019-20 Champions and Europa Leagues will be . . .
