How disappointing it is to hear that we lost the chance to host the World Cup again. I will be the first to admit that the numbers were compelling for the US. Stadiums are already built. FIFA would make the most money here.

What went wrong?

My good friend and Soccer buddy and I spent the week walking through why the US would not get it. While he was walking through his analysis, I was really trying to put my hands over my ears, screaming, “I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!”. But alas, he ended up being right and the reasons for not winning could be many.

And, it is not for the reasons that Alexi Lalas declared on ESPN. FIFA is not corrupt, FIFA has a plan to export the game to all corners of the globe.

Let’s walk through a few things. The US should be proud that we changed how World Cups are selected. That’s right, the 1994 World Cup in the United States changed how World Cups were rewarded. Historically, World Cups were rotated between COMNEBOL (South America) and UEFA (Europe) with the exception of Mexico. I am going to say that Mexico is part of COMNEBOL. Their club teams all participate in both Copa Libertadores and Copa Sud Americana.

Before 1994, you could always rely on the games being hosted in those 2 continents. Then, it all changed with USA 1994. UEFA appears to be the only Federation that will host every other World Cup tournament. Here is how it has gone:

1. USA 1994 – North America – 1st outside S. America or Europe. (I exclude Mexico because they are indirectly tied to S. America)
2. France 1998 – UEFA
3. Japan/S. Korea – 2002 – Asia – 1st in Asia
4. Germany – 2006 – UEFA
5. South Africa 2010 – 1st in Africa
6. Brazil 2014 – Brazil CONMEBOL – 1st time in South America since Argentina 1978
7. Russia 2018 – UEFA – 1st WC in Eastern Europe and emerging Russia
8. Qatar 2022 – Middle East – technically part of Asia, but first in Middle East

Guess – China 2026

Sorry, Alexi Lalas, I don’t think it was FIFA corruption that Qatar won. It was part of a plan to continue exporting the game to all parts of the globe. The power of the game is beyond 22 players on a field.

Could Football be the mechanism that integrates the Middle East into the rest of the world? Would it allow us to lower the barrier of differences to unite us in what globally everyone loves? Football.

If we look at the decision from this perspective, it kind of makes sense. As much as it hurst to think the economics of a US bid also makes sense, I think the bigger purpose of the World Cup should serve to bring people together too.

What’s next for the US Soccer?

We need to keep developing our game here. Football in the rest of the world reaches the poor populations and helps bring the underprivileged out of poverty. Here in the United States, Soccer is a middle class sport that uses a pay to play system.

Could our reliance on pay to play be one of the reasons we were overlooked? Does FIFA know that kids in the inner city are still overlooked as a potential soccer playing population? Dos US Soccer’s mission fit the mission of FIFA?

Do 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan send the wrong message to the rest of the world? Is a country engaged in ongoing wars counter to FIFA’s mission?

I think if we stand back and really look what happened, we may find the reason we did not get selected was looking at us in the mirror.

Paul is the President of Professional Blog Service. PBS works with clients making strategic investments into blogging, social media and search engine optimization. He is also assistant Varsity Soccer Coach at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis.

Yesterday, the Major League Soccer franchise, Kansas City Wizards changed their name to “Sporting Kansas City”. Thought the owners said they were not trying to sound European, the soccer community has kind of rolled their eyes to the change. I like their new colors and the new logo, the name? Not so much liking it.

As a joke, someone on Twitter started a thread called #futureMLSfranchise.  If you do a twitter search, you will find some very funny names. One of my favorites, “Boca Seniors” or “Manchester New Hampshire United”.

Here is a sample:

Dwade1:25pm via TweetDeck Bayern Miami #futuremlsfranchise

Dwade1:25pm via TweetDeck Minneapolis/St. Pauli FC #futuremlsfranchise

jacobdfriedman1:16pm via TweetDeck#futuremlsfranchise AZ Albany

jacobdfriedman1:14pm via TweetDeck#futuremlsfranchise Olympique Martinsville

CoachMcCaslin1:07pm via EchofonI have no idea what that means… RT @EBooyah: As in the Farmer’s Market? RT @CoachMcCaslin Preston South Bend #futureMLSfranchise

rohanv1:04pm via webRT @JeffSvoboda: Another Idaho one for @ShortMeganShort RT @churchofsoccer: BSC Young Boise. #FutureMLSFranchise

rohanv1:04pm via TweetCasterRT @jon_marques: My favorite this far RT @robertjonas: Sao Palo Alto #futureMLSfranchise

UFJamesT1:03pm via webAlmost done compiling the best 30 team names in#futureMLSfranchise. We’ll have a vote for the best ones in case @thesoccerdon needs a hand.

rohanv1:03pm via TweetDeckRT @bacostello: The Old Firm (corrected): Boston Celtic vs. New York Rangers #futureMLSfranchise

kebzach1:02pm via Twitter for AndroidRT @Dev151: #futureMLSfranchise Oklahoma City Sounders

tehdago1:02pm via Seesmic for AndroidSanta Feyenoord #futureMLSfranchise

matthew_hall1:01pm via EchofonRT @bigHaitch: RT @bigHaitch: @SoccerByIves how did KC choose Sporting over this? Metalist Kansas#futureMLSfranchise

tehdago1:01pm via Seesmic for AndroidSpartak Mobile #futureMLSfranchise

evonne281:00pm via webThnx to @MassiveCityFFC @Studio79 @stevesirk@churchofsoccer – catching up on my feed & doubled over laughing at work. #futuremlsfranchise

matthew_hall1:00pm via webRT @BJPS_: FC Twente-One Jump Street.#futureMLSfranchise

rohanv1:00pm via TweetDeckAnd for more chuckles over silly Europhilia, go over the#futureMLSfranchise timeline. “Borussia Kansasgladbach!”

themostbrian12:57pm via Tweetie for Mac@runofplay PSV Pawtucket? Olympique Oakland? Saginaw 04? Dynamo Knoxville? #futuremlsfranchise #fail

matthew_hall12:57pm via webRT @11Kicks: #futureMLSfranchise for fans of The Wire: Ajax Hamsterdam (tough away game)

BuyRight12:54pm via webBayern LeverHouston #futureMLSfranchise

MLS_Analyst12:53pm via Twitter for AndroidRT @Dev151: #futureMLSfranchise Oklahoma City Sounders

tehdago12:51pm via Seesmic for AndroidAEK Athens (Georgia) FC #futureMLSfranchise

jacobdfriedman12:45pm via webRT @soccershow: Greatest. Hashtag. Ever#futuremlsfranchise Get ready to waste a lot of time at work…

tehdago12:41pm via Seesmic for AndroidYoung Boys Tulsa #futureMLSfranchise

tehdago12:40pm via Seesmic for AndroidBostonspor #futureMLSfranchise

tehdago12:38pm via Seesmic for AndroidMinneapolis St. Germain #futureMLSfranchise

tehdago12:35pm via webRT @soccershow: Greatest. Hashtag. Ever#futuremlsfranchise Get ready to waste a lot of time at work…

UFJamesT12:32pm via webRT @soccershow: Greatest. Hashtag. Ever#futuremlsfranchise Get ready to waste a lot of time at work…

bacostello12:29pm via TweetDeckThe Old Firm (corrected): Boston Celtic vs. New York Rangers #futureMLSfranchise

OSUMben12:28pm via webRT @JeffSvoboda: Another Idaho one for @ShortMeganShort RT @churchofsoccer: BSC Young Boise. #FutureMLSFranchise

OSUMben12:26pm via Twitter for AndroidRT @EdwinTheRedwin: Hearts of Oakland#futureMLSfranchise

Mariano_Lusardi12:26pm via webcan’t believe this is still going….Newell’s Old Boise was my best one, hope I win something from @TheOnionBag #futureMLSfranchise

UFJacob12:20pm via twidroidRT @markbacigalupo: MMM Menlo (shout out to Menlo Park, CA and VVV Venlo) #futureMLSfranchise

CHa7ward12:15pm via webRT @derek_willis: RT @SoccerByIves: Louisville-arreal.#futureMLSfranchise <—– that is great! <— good stuff

TheOnionBag12:06pm via TweetCasterRT @jon_marques: My favorite this far RT @robertjonas: Sao Palo Alto #futureMLSfranchise

Thomas1906412:05pm via web@markfishkin well in that case it makes the#futuremlsfranchise gag even better because it feeds into promotion/relegation dreamers

TheOnionBag12:01pm via webMayor @CoryBooker, what’s this about Newark Old Boys being a #futureMLSfranchise? Could become my new favorite soccer team.

11Kicks11:55am via web#futureMLSfranchise for fans of The Wire: Ajax Hamsterdam (tough away game)

TheSquard11:46am via webMLS franchise name generator:http://www.metrofanatic.com/other/expansion.jsp#futureMLSfranchise

iancahir11:45am via web@GrantWahl You’re not playing along in mocking the @SportingKC change with the #futureMLSfranchise game from @UFJamesT ?

juancsalas11:44am via web#LokomotivChattanooga2013 #MLS HAHA!!! RT @FreeBeerMovemnt: Lokomotiv Chattanooga#futureMLSfranchise

iancahir11:29am via webwitnessed a hashtag blow up for the first time that wasn’t related to a live event. Fun to watch #futureMLSfranchiselast night.

soccershow11:25am via Twitter for AndroidRT @Dev151: #futureMLSfranchise Oklahoma City Sounders

soccershow11:25am via webGreatest. Hashtag. Ever #futuremlsfranchise Get ready to waste a lot of time at work…

i_am_33311:20am via Twitter for Android“@Dev151: #futureMLSfranchise Oklahoma City Sounders” – ouch

Topper1811:18am via webApparently I’m the only one who thought my#futureMLSfranchise tweet was funny. Probably because I was the person that saw that team play…

markbacigalupo11:15am via twidroidMMM Menlo (shout out to Menlo Park, CA and VVV Venlo)#futureMLSfranchise

King_Slender7611:05am via web#futureMLSfranchise Feyenoord Carolina (or Dakota)

King_Slender7611:00am via web#futureMLSfranchise

PkSmith910:52am via TweetDeckRT @derek_willis: RT @SoccerByIves: Louisville-arreal.#futureMLSfranchise <—– that is great!

chestrockwell1410:46am via webA nod to @alexilalas22: Calcio Paducah#futureMLSfranchise (assist to @MFUSA)

phil2668710:46am via TwitterrificDC United rebrands to AC DC. #futureMLSfranchise

brosenbaum10:39am via webHertha Berwyn (IL). And I’m done. #futureMLSfranchise

chestrockwell1410:32am via webRecreativo de Helena (MT) #futureMLSfranchise

KW3Connor10:31am via web@arlowhite check out the entries to #futureMLSfranchiseLots of MLS fans are having fun after the unveiling of “Sporting KC”

chestrockwell1410:31am via webRayo Valley Forge #futureMLSfranchise

chestrockwell1410:29am via webFC Erzgebirge Austin #futureMLSfranchise

chestrockwell1410:24am via webWyoming Wanderers #futureMLSfranchise

chestrockwell1410:24am via webQueen of the South Carolina #futureMLSfranchise

brosenbaum10:22am via webWerder Bremerton #futureMLSfranchise

UFJamesT10:19am via webBest part about #futureMLSfranchise? Next time Don/MLS reveals a half-baked Euro/MLS mash-up, it can (and will) rise again.

Do a Twitter Search and have fun reading them off to your friends.

What is with the soccer fans in Dallas?

Pizza Hut Park in Dallas seems to always be empty when you watch games on TV. Last night was no exception. The game between FC Dallas and Seattle Sounders looked more like a scrimmage than a league match. There was nobody in the stands.

(I wish John Harkes would just shut up. He spends 90 minutes criticizing everything. I really want to go to a single announcer like Tobey Charles during the good ole days of Soccer Made in Germany).

Yet, last summer, Soccer opened up the new Cowboys stadium and they filled the place up with what? 80k of people? Yet, they can not get 15k-20k to find their way to Frisco on a beautiful evening to watch professional soccer.

The Dallas market hosts one of the biggest youth tournaments in the world each year. They have a lot of soccer being played.

The drive is no excuse. I used to drive from New Hampshire down to Foxboro. Shame on you Dallas Soccer people – support your team!!

“According to a report published by European football’s governing body in February, English Premier League clubs have a combined debt of 3.8 billion euros, more than the combined total of all the other European top flight clubs.” – Agence French Press, April 14, 2010

How long will it be before the English Premier League teams do something about the financial crisis occurring in their game? Can they take the measures needed to make their clubs financially stable? Or, are traditions and clan club rivalries more important in the end?

I love Football (the round kind). I agree with Michel Platini that something is wrong. Let’s take my beloved Hungarian Football as an example. The clubs there are struggling and the most popular club in the region – Ferencvaros almost melted down financially a few years ago. It took a rich Englishman to pull them from the abyss. The reality of the purchase was for the real estate deal on the club’s current property rather than for purely football reasons.

Why are Hungarian Clubs trying to compete against each other for the hearts and minds of 10 million and shrinking population? If you look across the border to Austria where their population is even smaller and shrinking, you could ask the same of their clubs. Isn’t it time for Football in these regions to consider changing their structures and breaking down the borders? Why not have a Central European Football League where there are maybe 1 or 2 super clubs from each country competing each year?

They will not because traditions will win out at the expense of the game. The rivalries are so great that the individual clubs’ egos would never allow the cooperation needed to develop such a league.
Here is where MLS comes in. There has been much criticism by many here in the United States that the single entity system is no good. The reality is, it is the future of the game. The single entity system of MLS allows it to maintain tight cost controls on players and salaries without bankrupting the league or its clubs.

It makes you wonder why FIFA kept its fingers out of the recent contract negotiations. I am sure they are using MLS as a possible model for how football should look in the future. Business management is the contribution American Soccer may make to the world game. All our sports leagues have made the necessary changes to become profitable leagues.
If Europe does not wake up to its excesses, it may find itself out of business soon. While MLS, may find it becomes the league that survives and prospers. Why? There are fans in this country and last summer demonstrated that people will go watch games, if there is talent on display.

I say Major League Soccer is poised to become what it says it wants to be when it grows up. A top league in the world competing for top talent to display.