Some 14 months after Major League Soccer announced initiatives that would allow MLS teams to sign players they develop through their own youth programs, three MLS teams are set to take advantage of those initiatives.
Chivas USA, D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls have been identified by MLS as having players who qualify to be signed to the senior teams directly. This means that players who have spent at least two years in the youth programs of these teams can be signed directly to the senior roster without having to go through the MLS draft.
According to Alfonso Mondelo, MLS technical director of player programs, Chivas USA, DC United and the Red Bulls have had programs that meet the league’s current standards for at least two years(all three had established programs before the league’s official initiative in November of 2006), meaning that these teams can now sign as many as two players from their youth set-up.
Will these teams take advantage of this opportunity? The Red Bulls are still in the preliminary stages of considering the option, with highly-rated midfielder Matt Kassel regarded as the top prospect in the Red Bulls’ program and most likely to be signed.
"It is something we are looking into but we are more likely to seriously pursue that closer to the season," said Jeff Agoos, Red Bulls technical director. "We need to see if there are players who are ready to step into the first team and contribute.
"Obviously with Matt, you have a quality young player who we have seen closely and he’s certainly someone we will consider."
An added twist to the new player development initiative also allows qualified teams to select players from other qualified programs once those teams have signed two players in a calendar year. So if the Red Bulls signed Kassel and speedy forward Walter Hines to the senior team, Chivas USA and DC United could theoretically sign Haitian-born striker Johnny Exantus, another top prospect in the Red Bulls youth system, assuming DC hasn’t already signed two of its own players.
The catch there is that teams who do not have qualified programs cannot participate in the signing of other team’s youth players. Currently, eight MLS teams have set up player development programs that are now running. The only two teams that have yet to launch a program? The New England Revolution and Toronto FC, both of which are said to be in the planning stages of establishing programs in 2008. Both teams will essentially be a full two years behind the rest of the league in terms of being able to develop and sign their own talent.
Here is my Herald News article from last summer on the MLS player development initiative. And here is my piece on Kassell , who stands a good chance of becoming the first player signed under the new MLS player development guidelines.
UPDATE– Just to clarify a few things. The two-player limit on signing youth academy players is for the first three years of the program (two PER year). Also, there is compensation involved if one team signs another team’s academy player.
Lastly, going through the youth academy setup of an MLS does not, in any way, tie up a players rights. If a prospect decides he doesn’t want to sign with MLS he can go wherever he wants (ala Gabriel Ferrari).
Share your thoughts on this story below.
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How does someone actually try out for youth academy teams? If you do not live in the area where the teams are, but you get chosen, are there some who have better boarding school options than others?
how old do you need to be if you want to sign a contract for MLS
I don’t know about Seattle, but the San Jose Earthquakes certainly has plans for a San Jose Earthquakes Academy, no doubt to be set up for this year or (at the very latest) next year.
http://blog.soccersiliconvalley.com/archives/2007/08/alioto_intervie.html
i like this new development in football in this club and even in europe foot ball but how can another young playerbenefit from this opportunity especially from africa.
This isn’t too different from the Rule 5 draft in Major League Baseball, that’s used to prevent teams from stockpiling talent in their developmental teams i.e. Minor League affiliates.
Although, in the MLB the player drafted must be kept on the 40 man roster otherwise he is put on waivers and returns to his original team if no other team adds him.
Scott A, if we have an academy setup that is creating talent that teams in Europe would consider poaching. Well, I’m sure thats a problem an MLS team would love to be in a position to be with (and hopefully solve).
I’m a little surprised that going through an MLS team’s youth academy doesn’t tie up their rights in any way to MLS. I know the single-entity structure changes things but it seems like it leaves the players vulnerable to foreign clubs swooping in after MLS academies did the dirty work. I know if clubs in Europe sell youth players to other clubs they get a transfer fee. I know it might not happen often because of work permit issues and a basic preference to stay in the States at a young age, but couldn’t a team like Newcastle or any other sign Matt Kassel for free if he was granted a work permit?
I’m a little surprised that going through an MLS team’s youth academy doesn’t tie up their rights in any way to MLS. I know the single-entity structure changes things but it seems like it leaves the players vulnerable to foreign clubs swooping in after MLS academies did the dirty work. I know if clubs in Europe sell youth players to other clubs they get a transfer fee. I know it might not happen often because of work permit issues and a basic preference to stay in the States at a young age, but couldn’t a team like Newcastle or any other sign Matt Kassel for free if he was granted a work permit?
j1m, I like that idea but if the club gets compensation for a team signing another’s youht player, that should be good enough.
As someone posted earlier, teams can also protect their system by signing just one player. It’s going to be a long while, anyway, before a team signs two youth players for the senior roster.
US club soccer arrives!
Ives, your update makes sense. If a team wants another team’s prospect, they need to trade for or purchase the rights.
I’m not against another team signing young Bulls, as long as RBNY has some control over the situation. Certainly, I wouldn’t want a team to interfere with a player’s opportunity to sign, but there should be some incentive to encourage teams to develop their own.
One thing that would be cool: Every year the team with the most youth talent signed to MLS contracts should get an allocation reward for helping develop the talent. Since allocations can be split, tiebreakers are not needed. This would really encourage MLS teams to step up, and the result would benefit MLS anyway.
Do the two years need to include the current year or can it be any two years? Can NY have me when I am 11 and 12, then sign me when I am 16 but playing for someone else?
disregard the first “only”
Ives,
Can another team (say Chivas USA or DCU) only sign younger players from NY that the Red Bulls choose not to sign that year, or can they only sign players from the “graduating class” of the academy?
i.e., if there are some compelling prospects that NY may be planning on taking next year or the year after, are those guys potential targets of qualified teams (CUSA and DCU) *this* year?
http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/t280/youth/academy/
Wont be long before we are up and running.
Pretty sad that NE hasnt started with their own, doesnt show much dedication to the sport or league on the managements part.
I hope Seattle and San Jose are starting their academies this year. This is very important to future MLS expansion teams
Danny, it’s just for the first three years, I’d imagine to give the rest of the league time to catch up.
I think this is good, and it’s the first time I have agreed with MLS treating clubs differently. Mainly because there is really something to be said for developing youth programs in terms of building up local talent, American and otherwise, starting from a young age. I hope the rest of the league get their stuff together and get these academies going asap.
Damn. You can only sign 2 players every two years? That is weak.
CD: I believe the home territories are adjusted for population.
Natsteel-
I agree, but I guess it is a balancing act which is needed with a very young and quickly growing league.
On one end, you can let teams spend as much as they want and you have a situation like NASL. On the other end, you can make everything absolutely even and, in the process, hamper sum league talent, in favor of league equality.
For the league in it’s present state to continue to grow, there must be restraints on single teams. The question is when (and if)these restraints be tossed aside.
-Mike
the two player thing will change, slowly increasing to probably 3-4 to reward teams with good development schemes (not that anyone is close to being able to sign that many players) the ‘poaching’ thing is better for the league, since it does two things: first, makes teams treat developmental prospects fairly (if you grow up a Red Bull, and train with them, and know you feature in their plans in two years, say, you might not take the deal from Chivas, but if the team has a history of treating prospects poorly, you might) and second, in a shallow talent pool, it prevents teams from stockpiling prospects they never intend to use, simply to deny them to other teams.
and the limit on signees is to continue to encourage drafting as a way to development.
My understanding of the MLS academy system is that clubs can only get players within a certain geographic area. Therefore teams like NY and LA/Chivas would have an advantage with more potential players to pull from. The 2 players a year is a bit odd. I couldn’t imagine an arrangement like that in any other sport.
Do I understand that right? Teams can only sign one of your academy players if you’ve already signed two. So, if RBNY decide to only sign one, that means that no players can be poached or would it just mean that they would have a slot available to be able to counter the offer. Does signing only one player protect the rest?? If that is the case why would anyone sign two in a single year? Maybe I’m just being a bit thick.
Why should any club be able to steal a player which an organization has already put money into developing. Another example of this “level playing field” idea going way too far. Why not just implement a geographic restriction like in England where a club can only sign youth players from within a certain amount of miles from the club instead of this ridiculous system.
What incentive do the clubs have to spend money developing players if they can just be stolen by other clubs? It hinders overall youth development as evidenced by NE and TOR not even having youth programs yet.
MLS needs to loosen the reins and let the league develop naturally. If that means the teams with the most resources have “natural advantages” so be it. That’s how football is everywhere and their “measures” to stop it are hypocritical anyway when they constantly grant rule waivers to LA.
It’s only poaching if the player agrees to the contract. He doesn’t HAVE TO sign with another team if he doesn’t want to. And we’re probably a while away from a team developing three players that absolutely positively have to play on the senior team now. So far, I would suggest, that this rule will be changed before it ever gets used.
forgive me if it has been mentioned, but if a team is only able to sign 2 of the players they have developed each year, do they retain the rights to the other players that are eligible? meaning that one of the other eligible teams would have to trade for them in order to sign then?
Can a player decline that option?
Let’s say he doesn’t want to sign with MLS, even though he went through the youth system?
Possible? Or would they be out of luck?
The added twist to the new player development initiative that allows qualified teams to select players from other qualified programs once those teams have signed two players in a calendar year seems to effectively limit the number of youth academy players any club would want to sign in a calendar year to one. Why would they want to allow rival clubs to poach the players they are developing?
Also, it’s a shame that New England and Toronto couldn’t have gotten an earlier start on this. Especially strange for New England given that they have most effectively used the MLS draft and know how to identify talent.
With San Jose and Seattle be held to the two year standard for youth academy programs as well or will the timetable be accelerated for them?
Johnny Ex?
Agreed on poaching being a problem under this structure. Regardless of whether another team has what MLS deems a quality youth academy or not, that shouldn’t mean you can swoop in and take someone else’s talent. That’s a total disincentive to running a productive academy!
J1m B-
I agree. It is odd. I assume that as more teams join, the number of players who can move up will increase. Still wierd though.
Only reason I can think of is that the league is worried that a team like RBNY could scout the whole nation for top players, not with the goal of bringing players up, but just to make sure that other teams aren’t given access to young talent.
Or perhaps, they only allow two to move up as a kind of salary cap type thing. Kind of evening the playing field for teams who cannot spend as much money developing high school players.
-Mike
Makes me wonder if a team like Red Bull with 3 possible viable options within their system can protect two of those prospects by only signing one this year. And if they have rights, can they sell them or trade them for say draft picks or allocation money.
Any update on Angulo Ives?
I’m enjoying the new site by the way. Congrats on your new venture.
The ability to sign another team’s dev players seems a bit odd. Especially if a team does minimum to develop players, and just relies on poaching. Or decides to fast track a player who’s senior club feels isn’t quite ready (I’m assuming the senior club would know the kid best.)
Great, great site, Ives. It’s getting amazing, especially with the contribution of the masses. Keep up the good work.
Youth: Seems to me a good way to develop, qualified domestic players (that don’t have/know of yet?) and allow senior teams DP slots to improve the quality of play in the league…two things everyone wants. Now the 8 foreign slots makes sense to me too.
Anyone know if San Jose has a youth program? Are prospective expansion teams more attractive to MLS if they have a program?
Its good to see the MLS moving forward with the Academy system, lets hope it supplants the NCAA as a main source for youth in the league.