Futbol Talk

[Uncle Rico]

This ends up with the US forcing Israel into the World Cup as like some kinda independent wild card doesn't it.

More DEI, SMDH

[panda]

So Blackburn was up 1-0 over Ipswich, and Ipswich were down to 10 men when a large rain cell caused a delay in the 79th minute.  It was determined that the field was unplayable so the game was abandoned and now has to be replayed in full.  Incredibly harsh to Blackburn.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cy4j74ll4xwo

Games gone

[Its DJOver]

Anyone even trying for WC tickets?  I was, but there's just no way I can justify it at this point.

[The Sultan]

Anyone even trying for WC tickets?  I was, but there's just no way I can justify it at this point.

My guess is the secondary market will tank for some of the less in-demand games in some locations. But I'm not terribly interested in going anywhere to see Ecuador play Uzbekistan.

[Its DJOver]

My guess is the secondary market will tank for some of the less in-demand games in some locations. But I'm not terribly interested in going anywhere to see Ecuador play Uzbekistan.

I should have been more clear, I was referring to US games.  I have in the past/would have grabbed tickets day of to a game like that were it in Chicago but between the locations and the prices it looks like I'll just be watching from the couch/bar, which is really a shame.

[tower912]

But I'm not terribly interested in going anywhere to see Ecuador play Uzbekistan.

If it stops the war between them, it will have been worth it.

[The Sultan]

I should have been more clear, I was referring to US games.  I have in the past/would have grabbed tickets day of to a game like that were it in Chicago but between the locations and the prices it looks like I'll just be watching from the couch/bar, which is really a shame.

Ah. I was unaware that the hosts had been assigned locations.

Anyway, I guess I wouldn't be opposed going to Kansas City to see a game between countries I know nothing about. KC is great for an event like this - Arrowhead, however, is not. You're pretty much required to take a car.

[Its DJOver]

Ah. I was unaware that the hosts had been assigned locations.

Anyway, I guess I wouldn't be opposed going to Kansas City to see a game between countries I know nothing about. KC is great for an event like this - Arrowhead, however, is not. You're pretty much required to take a car.

Yea, for the group stages logistics sake, everyone is going to be in either the West, Central or East region.  US is in the West so the guaranteed games are in LA/Seattle, so on top of the ticket prices, you'd probably have so outrageous lodging prices too.

Agree that KC is a great soccer town. If I were closer I'd consider heading there just for the watch parties.  It's supposed to be an incredible environment. 

[The Sultan]

Yea, for the group stages logistics sake, everyone is going to be in either the West, Central or East region.  US is in the West so the guaranteed games are in LA/Seattle, so on top of the ticket prices, you'd probably have so outrageous lodging prices too.

Agree that KC is a great soccer town. If I were closer I'd consider heading there just for the watch parties.  It's supposed to be an incredible environment.

I was there for Copa last year. Power and Light District was awesome. We spent a day just wandering around downtown to various restaurants, breweries, etc. Very walkable city.

But Arrowhead is just a boring-ass parking lot on the edge of town. No public transportation to get you there (though my guess is there will be for the WC) and the ride sharing situation was abysmal. I guess I'm just used to Packer games where there is plenty to do around the stadium pre-game, or Brewer games where you can always find places to shuttle from. KC didn't have any of that.

Yeah maybe just hanging out there during the WC without going to a game is a good idea.

[wadesworld]

I will most likely get to one of the games in KC.  Under a 2 hour drive for me.  But yeah, the logistics of Arrowhead are bad.  KC is a cool city with some really good food.

Would rather see Ecuador vs. Uzbekistan than watch the USA play.  But hoping for at least one cool country to see.

[Shaka Shart]

I will most likely get to one of the games in KC.  Under a 2 hour drive for me.  But yeah, the logistics of Arrowhead are bad.  KC is a cool city with some really good food.

Would rather see Ecuador vs. Uzbekistan than watch the USA play.  But hoping for at least one cool country to see.

I'm cheering for FIFA's profit margins

[panda]

I should have been more clear, I was referring to US games.  I have in the past/would have grabbed tickets day of to a game like that were it in Chicago but between the locations and the prices it looks like I'll just be watching from the couch/bar, which is really a shame.

I would rather walk across burning hot coals than pay to watch the usmnt

[The Sultan]

Cape Verde qualifies for the World Cup today. I believe they are the second smallest country ever to qualify.

To put this in perspective, they didn't even qualify for this year's version of the Africa Cup of Nations.

[JWags85]

Cape Verde qualifies for the World Cup today. I believe they are the second smallest country ever to qualify.

To put this in perspective, they didn't even qualify for this year's version of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Literally one of the best stories you could write for the WC.  Country with a smaller population than Wyoming.  None of their players are in the top 5 Euro leagues, and outside of a few in Portugal and Turkey, all in even lower leagues.  40 year old goalie thats never played major level soccer.  And unlike a lot of the smaller African nations, all of their most capped players and the vast majority of the starting line up are actually Cape Verde born and bred instead of coming up in Europe and switching international allegiance later on.

And doing it by beating and finishing ahead of a Cameroon squad that is flooded with guys playing in the EPL, Ligue 1, and Serie A.  African Cup of Nations and WC Qualifying is always pure chaos, far more than any other federation.

They will be cannon fodder but still super cool.

[MU82]

According to The Athletic, Messi's 2025 salary of $20.45 million is 53% higher than the entire payroll of the Philadelphia Union ($13.34 million), who had the best record in the MLS.

[tower912]

(Checks notes) So.... Philadelphia has no shot in the playoffs?

[Its DJOver]

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/breaking-news-attempted-attack-luis-190300635.html

Spain truly is the country that keeps on giving. After he was forced to resign for sexually assaulting a player, Luis Rubiales writes a book called "Killing Rubiales". During a Press Conference where he is promoting the book, he gets egged George Bush with a shoe style, and proceeds to jump into the crowd to chase down his "attacker".

[Pakuni]

According to The Athletic, Messi's 2025 salary of $20.45 million is 53% higher than the entire payroll of the Philadelphia Union ($13.34 million), who had the best record in the MLS.

Worth it.

[Pakuni]

I get the reasoning behind this, but filling seats for soccer in late November and early December in Chicago, Boston, New York and Philly is going to be rough. As is maintaining interest through a 2+ month midseason break.

MLS owners officially voted Thursday to flip the calendar to begin in mid-July and run through May.
The plan is for the MLS regular season to span from mid July to April, with playoffs staged in May. The league would take a winter break in December and January. Games would likely pause from around the second week in December through the first or third week in February. MLS understandably is trying to avoid restarting the league on Super Bowl weekend.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6804752/2025/11/13/mls-calendar-fall-spring-europe-schedule-format-owners-vote/

[Billy Hoyle]

I get the reasoning behind this, but filling seats for soccer in late November and early December in Chicago, Boston, New York and Philly is going to be rough. As is maintaining interest through a 2+ month midseason break.

MLS owners officially voted Thursday to flip the calendar to begin in mid-July and run through May.
The plan is for the MLS regular season to span from mid July to April, with playoffs staged in May. The league would take a winter break in December and January. Games would likely pause from around the second week in December through the first or third week in February. MLS understandably is trying to avoid restarting the league on Super Bowl weekend.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6804752/2025/11/13/mls-calendar-fall-spring-europe-schedule-format-owners-vote/

compete with MLB during the heart of the season, or compete with the NBA, NHL, NFL, college football, and college basketball and take a long break to absolutely kill momentum and attention while playing a majority of the season in winter in markets like Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Montreal, Toronto, New England, NYC (x2), Philly, DC, Denver, SLC, and Minnesota who all play in outdoor stadiums. What could go wrong?

https://x.com/Eli_D_fromUT/status/1989092883950174244

[MU82]

I saw that. Seems stoopid as hell. My daughter has been a Sounders season ticket holder since 2012. I'll have to ask her what she thinks of it.

[The Sultan]

This is all about getting in sync with the European leagues which allows them to cast wider nets in the transfer market and not have to deal with those teams coming in and poaching players just as the season is winding down.

Regarding TV, their playoffs is what draws in the causals and that is going right up against football right now. Now it will be moved to the Spring which is going to be better for ratings. Regular season is mostly streamed, and the hard cores are going to watch regardless.

Soccer is a fall, winter, spring sport around the world. That's when it should be played here too.

[Pakuni]

This is all about getting in sync with the European leagues which allows them to cast wider nets in the transfer market and not have to deal with those teams coming in and poaching players just as the season is winding down.

Regarding TV, their playoffs is what draws in the causals and that is going right up against football right now. Now it will be moved to the Spring which is going to be better for ratings. Regular season is mostly streamed, and the hard cores are going to watch regardless.

Soccer is a fall, winter, spring sport around the world. That's when it should be played here too.

According to Sportico, 57% of MLS team revenues still come from gameday/local sources, i.e. ticket sales, parking, concessions, etc. Only 13% comes from the national TV contract. I don't see getting away from NFL/college football on TV being a big revenue boost for clubs, especially weighed against the potential gameday revenue losses from moving games from spring and summer to late fall and late winter, especially in cold weather markets. Not to mention a two-month break, which may mean kill fan interest or may mean nothing.

I totally get the desire to sync up with other leagues and the benefits of that, but just pointing out some significant risks in it. I don't know that more eyeballs on a playoff game between the Sounders and Timbers does much for the Chicago Fire when only 8,000 show up to Soldier Field in late February to see them play in 26-degree weather.

[JWags85]

This is all about getting in sync with the European leagues which allows them to cast wider nets in the transfer market and not have to deal with those teams coming in and poaching players just as the season is winding down.

Regarding TV, their playoffs is what draws in the causals and that is going right up against football right now. Now it will be moved to the Spring which is going to be better for ratings. Regular season is mostly streamed, and the hard cores are going to watch regardless.

Soccer is a fall, winter, spring sport around the world. That's when it should be played here too.

Yep.  I get the worries about scheduling, but if the MLS is going to grow and become even more of a "legit" league by world standards, they need to align the transfer windows and sync with the schedules of the best clubs in Europe.  Many of the Euro leagues do take a winter break.  The EPL doesn't so people benchmark against that.  The Bundesliga takes a month of.  Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland, and Croatia all do.  France used to but stopped to match the EPL.  Before all hell broke loose, the Russian Premier League did the same thing as MLS for the same reasons (even more so for European competition purposes) and still took a break.  There will be some dicey matches at times in early December/Feb, but it will work out and overall be the best choice for MLS growth, IMO.

[MU82]

My daughter would rather not play most of the season when it's cool and rainy in Seattle, but she's gonna keep her tickets.