Lure of Beckham, Miami no longer appealing for in-demand MLS

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http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/mls-miami-david-beckham-expansion-discount-losing-appeal

Lure of Beckham, Miami no longer appealing for in-demand MLS

As investors line up for expansion franchises, David Beckham's heavily discounted Miami bid looks like bad business for MLS.

by Graham Parker

Published 8 February 2017

It is not a great week to be David Beckham.

English tabloids have been in a frenzy over a trove of allegedly hacked Beckham emails that leaked out in various European publications over the weekend. Supposedly hacked from the former player’s publicist, Simon Oliveira, prior to a subsequent blackmail attempt, the leaked content principally relates to Beckham’s desire for a knighthood and his apparent assumption that a quid pro quo exists in the British honor system, whereby for a fixed amount of charity work he would soon arise as “Sir David.”

When said honor recently failed to materialize, an unimpressed Beckham allegedly wrote to Oliveira with his verdict of the honors committee: "They’re a bunch of c**** I expected nothing less... Who decides on the honors? It’s a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of [sic] got something like this 10 years ago…”

Leaving aside the sensational aspects of his language, and whether the latter claim is true or not, the 10-year remark has some resonance here.

The MLS which David Beckham arrived into in 2007 was cravenly excited by his transformative potential. The MLS which Beckham hopes to arrive in as an owner is a different animal.

The 10th anniversary of Beckham being announced as a future LA Galaxy player recently passed. But as Beckham and his advisors spent the past weekend contending with the potential fallout to "Brand Beckham," caused by the alleged email revelations, they may or may not have been aware of another significant Beckham-related anniversary passing them by.

On Feb. 5, 2014, Beckham stood on a stage in Miami with a “thrilled” MLS Commissioner Don Garber, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, to announce that he had exercised his contract option to purchase an MLS franchise, and that he had chosen Miami as the city to host the team.

Beckham’s speech that day was pretty typical of his public persona — he spoke with that familiar steely version of humility about his ambitious plans:

“We don’t want public funding…we want to create a stadium, we want to create a soccer team — a football club — that is a people’s football club, it’s as simple as that.”

The last few days have offered ample reminders to Beckham that it’s rarely as “simple as that” when other agendas are involved. And as the Miami project has hit delay after delay, one consistent parallel with this weekend’s revelations has emerged — team Beckham overestimating just what his extensive social capital translates into in real-world terms.

Delay after delay: The political red tape

Miami is a notoriously fickle sports market, and the publicly-funded fiasco of the Florida Marlins’ stadium (with costs over time expected to rise as high as $2.4 billion) was always going to haunt any of the political calculus around Beckham’s proposals.

Beckham is now in his fourth stalled attempt to acquire land for a stadium. The recurring pattern from the start from the Beckham United team has been a curious mix of aggression and diffidence from the start. The initial ambitious plans for a downtown waterside venue were always going to require extensive lobbying and appeasing of corporate neighbors to come to fruition, but Beckham’s team was conspicuous by its low profile at the local level.

Intentionally or not, it suggested that the Beckham name alone was intended to make any stadium plans a fait accompli, which hardly generated the political will to ease local opposition. When a cruise company objected to the first proposed stadium site, based on the impact game-day foot traffic might have on its embarkation point, it could have been a routine battle line being drawn for negotiations on the territory. That’s the nature of stadium deals — anywhere worth locating them comes with competing claims on the terrain. Instead, the opposition stalled the proposal in the Photoshop phase, and it was onto the next venue, then the next, then the next…

Miami politics and Miami real estate can be difficult, but they are not totally intractable. This is demonstrably true even in the sports market, and even after the Marlins added insult to injury with the fire sale of players that followed their stadium build.

In the three years since Beckham’s initial announcement, the Miami Dolphins managed to receive financial backing from the county for their stadium renovation, completed the $400 million project, and have played six games under a new roof in Miami Gardens. Meanwhile, the much more modest, private MLS project is stalled in negotiations around a site in Overtown.

Garber continues to be asked by media at every MLS event to provide an update on Miami, and each time, he has been forced to issue a standard “everybody is working very hard” line, while never being able to offer more than hints at a definite resolution. And as the months turned to years and first New York City FC and Orlando City — and now Atlanta United and Minnesota United —started play, the only real twist to Garber’s remarks was the gradually introduced caveat that the timeline to get this team off the ground could not extend forever.

The changing landscape of MLS…and Beckham’s appeal

Aside from the long-lost momentum of the announcement, there’s good reason to see why MLS’ patience is running out. Expansion events and demand have overtaken Beckham. The multiple bids lodged before last week’s deadline will determine who makes up a mooted 28-team league, with Miami still penciled in as No. 24. But whereas those teams will be paying $150 million to get to the table, Beckham’s original contract clause still allows him a $25m buy-in.

You can see why the numbers alone might diminish the league's appetite to indulge Beckham much further, with numerous suitors waiting in the wings to pay full price.

But it is not just the going rate for franchises that is in flux.

Even before the new scandal hit Beckham, the separation of his fame from what was once its principal force — his active playing career — meant that the Beckham brand was always more likely to cannibalize itself to try to stay relevant. With every year that passes, there will be more and more kids who have no idea what the ubiquitously handsome man is famous for.

When Beckham stopped kicking a ball, his fame had at best hit a plateau. Perhaps that’s what has driven his apparent urgency for official recognition in his home country. He’s still showbiz royalty in Britain, and a household name elsewhere, but his last free kick was a while ago.

Yet Beckham & Co. are still behaving as if they exist in a permanent state of exception — while failing to notice the climate changing around them.

The MLS which David Beckham arrived into in 2007 was cravenly excited by his transformative potential. League and club officials accommodated his every whim, and senior executives would speak in glowing terms of the standards of professionalism he’d helped elevate in many areas of the game. And when he eventually did well on the field, it felt as if the whole experiment had been vindicated.

The MLS which Beckham hopes to arrive in as an owner is a different animal, ironically in large part because of a movement he helped drive. In 2007, the league was still unwinding ownership from a handful of sports industrialists to the current ambitious entrepreneur class; the tenor of ownership has changed accordingly. You might still bet on the famously determined Beckham to thrive in the current setting, but you would not expect him to inspire awe. And yet looking at how the Miami project has unfolded – or failed to unfold – you can only keep coming back to the assumption that the name “Beckham” alone was expected to dictate events, even as whatever it is that name signifies began to lose its currency.

What might once have been heresy is now a fairly orthodox question in MLS circles: Does the league need Beckham, at all? He’s still a big deal, though perhaps not as big a deal as he thinks he is. And for MLS, he no longer represents a great deal.

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http://saintpetersblog.com/rowdies-launch-single-game-ticket-sales-big-season-expected/

Rowdies launch single-game ticket sales as big season expected

Gary Shelton

Tampa Bay Rowdies owner and CEO Bill Edwards is looking for a big season from his team.

The Rowdies, who join the USL for the first time, have begun to sell single-game tickets for the 2017 season. The Rowdies open the season on March 25 against Orlando B.

How good does Edwards expect his team to be?

Very.

“We’ve built a tremendous team that has a mixture of returning veterans like Joe Cole, Georgi Hristov and Matt Pickens, and new additions like Damion Lowe, Leo Fernandes, Luke Boden, Darwin Jones and Alex Morrell. Under the leadership of coach Stuart Campbell, we’ve established a strong squad that I believe is the best we’ve ever had,” Edwards has said.

Also, he has said this: “With your passion in the stands and the talent on the field, I know this will be our year. This is the year we add another championship to our history and bring the USL cup to Tampa Bay.”

And this: “We’ve recently focused on our push to join Major League Soccer, but it’s time to shift gears and prepare for the upcoming 2017 United Soccer League season. Unlike previous seasons, this year you will see a great variety of opponents come to Al Lang Stadium with 15 teams in the Eastern Conference alone. It’s important that you’re in the stands to show them why Al Lang Stadium is our house.”

Edwards has done a good job feeding the Rowdies’ mania. If this is his best team, as he believes, it should be fun.

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http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/fourfourtwos-31-most-powerful-people-us-soccer-5-1

FourFourTwo's 31 Most Powerful People in U.S. soccer: 5-1

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http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/could-columbus-crew-sc-keep-fc-cincinnati-out-of-mls

Could Columbus Crew SC keep FC Cincinnati out of MLS?

Geography might play a role

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/newsletter/os-sp-orlando-city-news-0209-story.html

Scouting MLS expansion candidates

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http://www.wakingthered.com/2017/2/8/14545110/don-garber-and-mls-canada-problem-toronto-fc-montreal-impact-vancouver-whitecaps

Don Garber, the fourth DP and Major League Soccer’s Canada problem

The commissioner says he has a plan to help grow the league north of the border, but are they really doing all they can?

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http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/02/07/detroit-mls-group-makes-offer-potential-stadium-site

Detroit MLS group makes offer on potential stadium site

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http://www.metronews.ca/sports/2017/02/08/major-league-soccer-travel-better-than-before-but-still-a-work-in-progress.html

Major League Soccer travel better than before but still a work in progress

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http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/02/08/mls-roster-rules-acquisitions-flowchart-how-to-sign-players

How can MLS teams sign players? The ultimate roster rules flowchart

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http://ussoccerplayers.com/2017/02/instant-replay-and-mls-video-assistant-soccer.html

Instant replay and MLS

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http://www.constructiondive.com/news/billionaire-dan-gilbert-offers-to-build-new-detroit-jail-in-exchange-for-ml/435710/

Billionaire Dan Gilbert offers to build new Detroit jail in exchange for MLS stadium site

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http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/02/08/duggan-detroit-mls-soccer/97649178/

Mike Duggan optimistic about bringing MLS stadium in Detroit

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http://aftn.ca/will-new-initiative-see-atiba-hutchinson-and-other-canadian-players-heading-to-mls-as-dps/

Will new initiative see Atiba Hutchinson and other Canadian players heading to MLS as DPs?

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http://www.mo4ch.com/goal-howard-webb-to-oversee-video-assistant-referees-in-mls/

Goal Howard Webb to oversee Video Assistant Referees in MLS

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http://www.studentnewspaper.org/chinese-super-league-looking-to-challenge-european-elite/

Chinese Super League looking to challenge European elite

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https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/webb-direct-mlss-development-video-technology-223102462--mls.html

Webb will direct MLS's development of video technology

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https://www.joe.co.uk/sport/championship-manager-legend-freddy-career-sinks-to-new-low/111864

Championship Manager legend Freddy Adu's career sinks to new low

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http://www.kvoa.com/story/34460872/mls-heads-to-oro-valley-this-weekend

MLS Heads to Oro Valley this Weekend

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http://wfae.org/post/mls-expansion-bidding-pits-clt-vs-919

MLS Expansion Bidding Pits #CLT vs. #919

There are two bids for a Major League Soccer team from North Carolina. Charlotte's has received a lot of attention. But there's also a bid up the highway in Raleigh. And there are significant differences, beginning with competing social media hash tags: #MLS4CLT and #919toMLS .

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2692068-mls-players-union-speaks-out-against-illinois-workers-comp-bill

MLS Players Union Speaks Out Against Illinois Workers' Comp Bill

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http://www.sacbee.com/sports/mls/article131508169.html

Rain forces Republic FC to cancel Friday’s friendly against N.Y. Red Bulls

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https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/threat-to-the-republic/content?oid=23644536

A threat to the Republic: Behind the ownership drama that may yet hurt Sacramento soccer club’s major league goal

Republic FC’s omission from MLS bid created chaos in region’s historically stalwart soccer community

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http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/34467617/fc-tucson-reschedules-scrimmage-with-mls-team

FC Tucson reschedules scrimmage with MLS team

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http://www.yorkregion.com/sports-story/7109587-mls-travel-better-but-still-a-work-in-progress/

MLS travel better but still a work in progress

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http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thegoalkeeper/Marylands-Sasho-Cirovski-fights-to-save-college-soccer-from-becoming-irrelevant-.html

Maryland's Sasho Cirovski fights to save college soccer from irrelevancy

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http://www.espnfc.com/phoenix-rising-fc/story/3057102/usls-phoenix-rising-sign-mexico-legend-omar-bravo

USL's Phoenix Rising sign Mexico legend Omar Bravo

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http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/portland-timbers/transfer-talk/news/freddy-adu-fails-to-win-timbers-deal_291377.html

Freddy Adu turned down by Portland Timbers

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http://www.tsn.ca/tsn-announces-biggest-ever-mls-broadcast-schedule-1.668014

TSN announces biggest ever MLS broadcast schedule

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http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/judge-puts-st-louis-soccer-stadium-metrolink-expansion-tax-on/article_1bdad181-0a02-5ad8-80f5-16ef201b1bc3.html

Judge puts St. Louis soccer stadium, MetroLink expansion tax on ballot

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http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/02/09/history-mlss-relationship-south-american-soccer

The history of MLS's relationship with South American soccer

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https://www.vavel.com/en-us/soccer/752978-mls-expands-in-canada-new-broadcasting-deal-will-reach-more-households.html

MLS expands further in Canada, new broadcasting deal will reach more households

02-09-2017

MLS has reached a new deal with Canadian broadcasters that will see seven MLS games being shown in homes all across Canada as part of their basic cable package.

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http://www.kens5.com/sports/san-antonio-fc-announces-partnership-with-new-york-mls-team/406531146

San Antonio FC announces partnership with New York MLS team

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http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thegoalkeeper/MLS-preseason-live-video-Minnesota-United-vs-Vancouver-Whitecaps.html

MLS preseason live video: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Minnesota United

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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jonathan-klinsmann-son-fired-coach-under-20-roster-215714328--mls.html

Jonathan Klinsmann, son of fired coach, on under-20 roster

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http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/02/09/nycfc-announce-usl-affiliation-deal-san-antonio-fc

NYCFC announce USL affiliation deal with San Antonio FC

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mls/2017/02/09/judge-places-st-louis-soccer-measures-on-april-ballot/97717950/

Judge places St. Louis soccer measures on April ballot

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http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2017/02/09/spurs-sports-entertainment-strikes-deal-with-new.html

Spurs Sports & Entertainment strikes deal with New York MLS team

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http://blog.seattlepi.com/oregonsportsnews/2017/02/09/the-robots-are-taking-over-major-league-soccer/

The Robots Are Taking Over Major League Soccer

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http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/02/09/indianapolis-mls-expansion-city-indy-eleven-nasl

MLS expansion city profile: Indianapolis

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http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/video/2017/02/09/email-hack-david-beckham-legacy

Does email hack damage David Beckham's image?

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl explains how David Beckham's leaked emails may affect his chances at a knighthood.

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http://www.foxsports.com/midwest/story/st-louis-voters-to-decide-on-mls-stadiums-fate-020917

St. Louis voters to decide on MLS stadium’s fate

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http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/judge-orders-to-put-soccer-stadium-metrolink-tax-on-ballot/406533381

Judge's order puts soccer stadium, MetroLink tax on ballot

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http://www.socceramerica.com/article/72277/mls-business-nycfc-and-safc-form-partnership.html

MLS Business: NYCFC and SAFC form partnership

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http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2017/02/video_replay_testing_plays_a_r.html

Video replay plays a role in Portland Timbers 3-3 preseason draw with Real Salt Lake

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http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/los-angeles-fc-announce-panasonic-as-official-launch-partner

Los Angeles FC announce Panasonic as official launch partner

Technology company to build video board at MLS team’s 22,000-seater stadium

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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/virtual-reality-is-the-future-of-soccer-broadcasting-and-its-already-here-014744043.html

Virtual reality is the future of soccer broadcasting and it's already here

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http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Soccer/2017/02/09/ETSU-soccer-coach-makes-list-of-top-goalies-in-MLS-history.html

ETSU soccer coach makes list of top goalies in MLS history

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http://blog.sfgate.com/soccer/2017/02/10/bay-area-soccer-roundup-sf-city-fc-holding-open-tryouts/

Bay Area soccer roundup: SF City FC holding open tryouts

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/02/10/mls-has-landed-major-coup-howard-webbs-arrival-says-peter-walton/

MLS has landed major 'coup' with Howard Webb's arrival, says Peter Walton

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http://www.expressnews.com/sports/soccer/article/SAFC-MLS-team-strike-partnership-10923559.php

SAFC, MLS team strike partnership

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http://www.football-italia.net/98180/de-rossi-snub-mls-roma

De Rossi to snub MLS for Roma

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http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/portune-says-nippert-paul-brown-stadiums-should-suffice-for-fc-cincinnati-to-join-mls

Portune says Nippert, Paul Brown stadiums should suffice for FC Cincinnati to join MLS

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http://aftn.ca/garber-feels-mls-refereeing-unfairly-criticised-as-he-defends-disco-and-welcomes-var/

Garber feels MLS refereeing “unfairly criticised” as he defends DisCo and welcomes VAR

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http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sd-utbg-soccer-stadium-sandiego-boling-20170210-story.html

Soccer stadium plan a win for San Diego

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http://www.wdef.com/2017/02/10/cfc-set-host-mls-team-atlanta-united-saturday-finley-stadium/

CFC Set to Host MLS Team Atlanta United on Saturday at Finley Stadium

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http://kbia.org/post/st-louis-blues-home-undergo-renovations-after-aldermanic-vote-mls-funding-lined-too#stream/0

St. Louis Blues' home to undergo renovations after aldermanic vote; MLS funding lined up, too

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http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/news/cleburne-to-become-a-two-sport-town-soccer-added-to/article_c886409e-efa4-11e6-a3f8-67f2eb7d320b.html

Cleburne to become a two sport town; Soccer added to The Depot mix

With the return of minor league baseball to Cleburne just three months away comes news that FC Cleburne, a minor league soccer team, will also debut this year.

Both will play at The Depot.

The Premiere Development League announced the new team on Thursday in addition to Texas United, which will play in Grand Prairie.

The two clubs, both owned and operated by Neltex Sports Group, will join the Southern Conference.

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http://www.espnfc.com/major-league-soccer/story/3055821/mls-would-subsidize-beckham-caliber-dp-for-canadian-clubs-garber

MLS would subsidize Beckham-caliber DP for Canadian clubs - Don Garber

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https://buffalonews.com/2017/02/09/syracuse-fc-joins-npsl-fc-buffalo-gives-statement/

Syracuse FC joins NPSL, FC Buffalo gives statement

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http://saintpetersblog.com/rowdies-sign-another-goalkeeper-first-usl-season-approaches/

Rowdies sign another goalkeeper as first USL season approaches

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http://www.syracuse.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/02/pro_soccer_league_expanding_to_syracuse_this_summer.html

Pro soccer league expanding to Syracuse this summer

The National Premier Soccer League has announced that Syracuse FC will join the league as an expansion team this summer.

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http://www.npsl.com/news_article/show/755157?referral=rss&referrer_id=2168389

Syracuse FC Joins the NPSL

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http://www.newsindiatimes.com/u-s-soccer-chief-sunil-gulati-says-travel-ban-may-not-effect-2026-world-cup-bid

U.S. soccer chief Sunil Gulati says travel ban may not affect 2026 World Cup bid

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/freddy-adu-continues-fail-live-9779958

Freddy Adu continues to fail to live up to Football Manager promise as Portland Timbers pass up chance to sign him

The 27-year-old has had 12 clubs in eight countries since being branded “the new Pele” as a 14 year old at DC United

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http://portcitydaily.com/2017/02/08/pdl-soccer-wilmington-hammerheads-youth-fc-hits-reset-button-rolls-out-soccer-future-in-port-city/

Wilmington Hammerheads Youth FC hits reset, rolls out future of soccer in the Port City

By Joe Catenacci on February 8, 2017 

"With the PDL club, it’ll still bring fans a high level of soccer. The players are just in a different point in their career. They’re aspiring to be professionals. They want to live that dream. We’re here to foster that and fill a gap between final exams in college and the start of fall training.”

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http://90soccer.com/ussoccer/united-soccer-league-expands-strengthens-league-office/

United Soccer League Expands, Strengthens League Office

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http://www.expressnews.com/sports/columnists/roy-bragg/article/USL-might-be-a-better-fit-for-San-Antonio-10915656.php

USL might be a better fit for San Antonio

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http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/story/2017/feb/11/mls-newcomer-atlantunited-visits-cfc/412334/

Major League Soccer newcomer Atlanta United visits Chattanooga Football Club today

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http://www.mountroyalsoccer.com/2017/2/10/14584718/5-teams-to-fear-about-this-mls-season

5 teams to fear about this MLS Season

We break down which MLS clubs will be dangerous in the 2017 season

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http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/recreation/sports-digest-vu-s-campbell-signs-with-usl-s-tampa/article_b4d6b4b0-c606-57c2-b317-35f8bc544786.html

Sports Digest: VU's Campbell signs with USL's Tampa Bay Rowdies