As we discussed earlier this month, the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to press fast-forward on changes in North American soccer that were already coming. We’ve already seen a big shift in the academy system, and could soon see major changes in college soccer.
The financial and cultural ramifications of both developments are minor, however, when compared to the growing possibility of a true merger between Major League Soccer and Liga MX in the near future, or a ‘super league’ as many have termed the idea. Before COVID-19 disrupted both leagues, they had already signed off on several collaborative ventures, most notably the Leagues Cup, an annual joint tournament contested between teams from both competitions that began in 2019.
And if you don’t think the current global health crisis could send those discussions into hyperdrive, you haven’t been paying attention. Here are five reasons why such a merger could be so appealing when life returns to something closer to normal:
More TV Money (In The U.S.)
As MLS looks for a way to return from the pandemic-imposed stoppage of play, we’ve discussed how its not-so-lucrative TV contracts make the financial math of playing in closed stadiums less appealing. Among American viewers, MLS is third in both rights fees and viewership, behind the English Premier League and Liga MX. And the financial impact from the coronavirus will make MLS’ desire for greater future broadcasts revenue more important than ever.
Meanwhile, LigaMX also perhaps doesn’t earn as much from American TV as it should, placing second behind the Prem in the size of its U.S. contracts despite ranking first in U.S. ratings. While MLS teams would clearly be riding the coattails of more popular Mexican clubs in a joint TV deal for a merged competition, it would also give Liga MX an opportunity to receive better — and likely more fair — compensation for its product.
More Club Financial Stability (In Mexico)
The biggest news in Mexican Soccer this month was the suspension of promotion and relegation for the next five years, a reform aimed at bringing financial stability both to Liga MX and its supporting second division, Ascenso MX. The top division clubs get a guarantee they won’t be relegated, while the second flight gets some needed support in the form of parachute payments.
While the Mexican economy has not taken as large of a hit so far from the coronavirus relative to the U.S. and Canada, it was also on considerably shakier ground to start, a reality which will surely surface across Mexican clubs. Erasing relegation gives those teams whose struggles are pronounced one less thing to worry about. And it also erases some of the structural obstacles of a merger with MLS, which is also a league that is closed from promotion and relegation to the second tiers of the USL Championship and the Canadian Premier League. Presumably, a joint MLS-Liga MX competition would also be closed off promotion and relegation outside the two leagues, which could be particularly appealing to Mexican club owners.
World Cup Qualifying Insurance (In The U.S.)
Major League Soccer largely weathered the impact of the US men’s national team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But nearly three years after the infamous loss in Trinidad and Tobago that sent the Americans out of contention, reaching the 2022 tournament in Qatar is far from a certainty. There have been some uneven results under coach Gregg Berhalter, and in a recent interview (above) with ESPN’s Herculez Gomez, Zack Steffen conceded the USMNT lacks a clear identity.
The coronavirus has further complicated matters, wiping out friendly matches and Olympic qualifying in March, as well as the Concacaf Nationals League semifinals and final in June. All those games could’ve helped Berhalter and his staff iron out those issues and gain more cohesion heading into their shot at qualifying redemption, which for the moment is still scheduled to begin this fall. The Americans still are unlikely to miss a second World Cup in a row, but such a disaster is more fathomable now than four months ago. For MLS, joining forces with a more mature entity in Liga MX could help bolster American clubs’ credibility as a destination for players and opportunity for commercial investment even if the national team continues to flounder
World Cup Venue Demonstration (In Mexico)
When the United States, Canada and Mexico jointly won the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it was with a bid that proposed 60 of the tournament’s 80 games would be played in the U.S., with 10 more each in Canada and Mexico. The original bid proposed three cities each from Canada and Mexico to participate, with as many as 10 American cities also involved.
However, FIFA ultimately has the final say on how the matches are broken down between the countries, and how many cities are selected as hosts in each. With arguably less infrastructure and public health safeguards in Mexico than in the other two countries, there could be an increased burden on the three proposed Mexican cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — to prove themselves capable of hosting safe and successful events in the pandemic’s aftermath. One chance for those cities to prove themselves could be through their clubs hosting super league games against MLS competition on a regular basis.
More Player Transfer Flexibility (For All Countries)
No one quite knows what the international transfer market is going to look like when the coronavirus subsides enough to allow play to resume. It’s possible travel restrictions could throw cold water on many moves, and also that the hierarchy between clubs and leagues may shift based on the pandemic’s uneven financial impact on different regions and countries.
However, any alliance that turns Canada, the U.S. and Mexico into a more united market is likely to give clubs in all three countries more inroads to develop, purchase and sell players than they would have going it alone. This is fairly to easy to prove by the increase in business we’ve already seen between the two leagues following the launch of the Leagues Cup last year.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário