Guenzatti Brace Leads Rowdies Past Montreal 2-1

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/f5a7q4/guenzatti_brace_leads_rowdies_past_montreal_21/

Guenzatti Brace Leads Rowdies Past Montreal 2-1

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https://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/1087475

GUENZATTI BRACE LEADS ROWDIES PAST MONTREAL 2-1

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https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/02/17/do-west-ham-are-reportedly-battling-beckhams-inter-miami-for-15m/

West Ham are reportedly battling Beckham's Inter Miami for £15m new Riquelme

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https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/soccer/inter-miami/fl-sp-inter-miami-single-game-tickets-20200217-mfy3c63ur5h3rkvmvzocwvzhwi-story.html

Inter Miami CF single-game tickets to go on sale this week

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https://gotechdaily.com/inside-of-inter-miamis-new-stadium-and-teaching-sophisticated-as-sporting-director-paul-mcdonough-clarifies-edge-of-david-beckham-remaining-an-operator/

[Inside of Inter Miami’s new stadium and teaching sophisticated as sporting director Paul McDonough clarifies edge of David Beckham remaining an operator]

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https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/joe-cole-admits-reason-struggled-17765172

HomeSportFootballLiverpool FC

Joe Cole details reason he struggled at Liverpool and makes transfer admission

Joe Cole signed for Liverpool on a free transfer in 2010

When asked about signing for Liverpool as a free agent, the 38-year-old, who has retired from football after a spell with Tampa Bay Rowdies in the United States of America, said: "I needed to stay in England, I had a young family.

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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/17/mls-expansion-teams-soccer

26 teams and counting: has MLS become too big for its own good?

The league will have 30 teams by 2022, and that figure may rise even higher. But there are fears that expansion has come at the cost of quality

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https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/david-beckham-inter-miami-qatar-sponsorship-mls

Report: David Beckham’s Inter Miami score UK£180m Qatar sponsorship

Gulf state gets shirt and stadium branding for MLS club’s debut season.

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https://mlsmultiplex.com/2020/02/17/mls-inter-miami-not-nashville-sc-learning-expansion-lessons/

MLS: Inter Miami, not Nashville SC, learning expansion lessons

Both Inter Miami and Nashville SC will enter MLS in 2020. But only one has learned the lessons of past expansion teams in how to build a competitive roster.

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https://www.newschannel5.com/news/fairgrounds-readies-for-demolition-for-nashville-sc-stadium

Fairgrounds readies for demolition for Nashville SC stadium

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/02/13/extratime-rodolfo-pizarros-impending-miami-move-and-walker-zimmermans-surprise-trade

Extratime: Rodolfo Pizarro's impending Miami move and Walker Zimmerman's surprise trade

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https://www.espn.com/soccer/concacaf-champions-league/story/4053032/concacaf-champions-league-preview-five-reasons-why-mls-can-finally-break-liga-mx-dominance

CONCACAF Champions League preview: Five reasons why MLS can finally break Liga MX dominance

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https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/02/17/concacaf-champions-league-mls-major-league-soccer-lafc-liga-mx/

CONCACAF Champions League preview: Five MLS sides eye history

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https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/02/17/ccl-mls-lafc-seattle-atlanta-nycfc-montreal-liga-mx

Amid MLS's Growth Remains the Unconquered, Humbling CCL Frontier

The Concacaf Champions League has been a house of horrors and close calls for MLS, and as the league touts the accomplishment and growth that come with reaching its 25th season, the CCL frontier remains a humbling proving ground.

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https://www.bgn.fm/editorial-if-cas-ruled-for-pro-rel-heres-a-possible-path/

Editorial: If CAS Ruled For Pro/Rel, Here’s a Possible Path

Counterfactual Fantasy World: Creating a Pro/Rel structure had the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled differently

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) put to bed any hope for a quickly implemented promotion and relegation (pro/rel) system within U.S. Soccer (see ruling here). I’ve long argued that pro/rel is a worthy goal, but given the history of soccer in the United States, it’s also not necessarily the panacea those fervently in favor suggest. This is particularly true given how other U.S. sports leagues are run and the familiarity those would-be owners have with it. But for fun, I propose a counter-factual.

What if the CAS Ruled in Favor of Pro/Rel

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https://www.83degreesmedia.com/forgood/charitable-effort-pays-youth-soccer-fees-021820.aspx

For Good: Youth soccer initiative aims to level playing field for low-income families

Youth sports participation has been on the rise among affluent families, but for the poorest households, the roster has reflected a downward trend, says research by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative.

In an effort to even the score for future athletes, the Tampa Bay United Rowdies (TBU) is partnering with local real estate company Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Properties Group (BHHS Florida Properties Group) to launch Play It Forward, a philanthropic outreach campaign.

The Play It Forward campaign aims to reach parents of children who wish to play soccer but struggle with the high cost of competitive sports.

“This partnership is a game-changer and unlike anything that currently exists in Tampa Bay youth soccer, says Anthony Latronica,” TBU Rowdies Sporting Director.

“Through our current financial assistance program, we help almost a hundred players every year with their registration fees, but there is still a gap in what our families can afford. The success of Play It Forward means we can give back to the core of our organization and help more kids play the sport they love.”

According to Latronica, costs per players vary depending on their team and league, but the Play it Forward program will benefit boys and girls in from the under-5 group all the way to the under-19 age groups.

“While TBU gives out financial assistance every year for registration fees, there are other fees like uniform or travel expenses that can be hard on a family,” he adds. “This program addresses and assists families throughout the season.”

Also a member of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), a league that enhances the development of the female and male soccer athletes, TBU has four soccer campuses throughout Tampa Bay (Waters Avenue, Ed Radice, Palm Harbor, and Monroe in South Tampa).

Latronica coached the USA U-17 Men’s National Team and was the head coach for the USA U-19 Paralympic National Team before heading up the TBU.

“Having coached at the highest youth international level it is very clear to me what is needed at the grassroots level,” Latronica emphasizes. “We have to knock down all barriers, financial or otherwise, so the best athletes are choosing soccer here in Tampa Bay. I am hoping this initiative will bring the community together and we can control the narrative of youth soccer and give the game back to the players. “

To participate in the Play It forward Campaign, contact BHHS Florida Properties Group at 813-800-4TBU. There is no extra fee. For more information, visit the Tampa Bay United Rowdies website.

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https://lmcexperience.com/sports/2020/02/17/franchise-expansion-in-norcal/

Franchise expansion in NorCal

With the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League scheduled to relocate to Las Vegas prior to the 2020-21 season, I began to think of all the professional sports teams in Northern California. No longer including the Raiders, there are seven tier-1 and one tier-2 professional teams.

One thing I realized is that Northern California is good at having multiple teams of the same sport. The San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics compete in Major League Baseball, the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings form part of the National Basketball Association, and the San Jose Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer. The Sacramento Republic will soon play in the MLS, but will be competing in the United Soccer League until the 2022 MLS season.

The San Jose Sharks are mid-season in the National Hockey League, and the Bay Area now has only one NFL team in the San Francisco 49ers.

As an advocate for growing women’s sports, I felt disappointed that even with the success these franchises have, they have not taken the initiative to bring professional women’s sports to Northern California.

I am aware that the Sacramento Republic and Golden State Warriors organizations have expressed their desire to have franchises in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Women’s National Basketball Association respectively, but this sentiment is not enough.

The California Storm, a women’s soccer team located in Sacramento, which competes at the tier two level, let their fans down after not going through with NWSL expansion for the upcoming 2020 season. In an article by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Warriors’ organization claimed expansion into the WNBA would happen “once the new arena is complete.”

Spoiler alert, the Chase Center is now complete and there have been no signs of potential franchise expansion ahead of the WNBA season, which starts in May 2020.

The National Professional Fastpitch, professional women’s softball league in the U.S. is slowly expanding West, and hopefully either Bay Area MLB team takes the initiative in franchise expansion.

I am not saying that all of these professional women’s sports teams should be established at the same time, but I do hope that in the near future these long-successful Northern California franchises will bring more women’s teams to our region.