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MLS Ticker: Beckham reveals frustration at Miami stadium delays; Diarra joins Fire as trialist; and more

David Beckham Miami

By RYAN TOLMICH

David Beckham’s fight for a Miami stadium remains a “frustrating” one, but the former LA Galaxy midfielder insists that it will all pay off in the end.

Beckahm says that he expects some sort of announcement “in the next couple of months” regarding a new soccer stadium deal in Miami, as the Englishman and his group continue to search for a permanent home for their expansion side.

“Miami obviously doesn’t have a stadium at the moment and we’ll continue to work hard on that,” Beckham told BBC. “We’re making some really good progress, some real positive progress, so some point in the next couple of months there will be some announcement. It’s hard work, of course, but nothing in life is easy. We’re focusing on that and we’ll announce it when ready.

“Delays are always frustrating, but we’ll get it right. It will happen. It’s just taking a little bit longer than we thought.”

Beckham and his group have been linked with a temporary home at nearby Florida International University, but the ownership is still not sold on the idea. The Miami-Dade County Commissioners recently passed a resolution directing Miami mayor Carlos Gimenez to discuss the FIU stadium site as an option for Beckham’s group.

Here are some more of Monday’s MLS news and notes:

FORMER FRANCE CAPTAIN DIARRA JOINS FIRE AS TRIALIST

The Chicago Fire are currently stationed in England for the club’s preseason for a trip that has allowed the club to get a look at a former French international captain.

Midfielder Alou Diarra joined the Fire on Sunday as a trialist. The 33-year-old is currently a free agent after most recently featuring for West Ham last January. Diarra has also featured for Lens, Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille throughout his club career.

On the international level, Diarra has earned 44 caps for France’s national team and was a member of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup rosters. Diarra was given the captain’s armband in Les Bleus the final game of the highly criticized 2010 tournament.

NYCFC ANNOUNCE NEW YOUTH LEAGUE

New York City FC may be playing catchup to the league’s existing clubs when it comes to youth development, but the club took a step Monday by announcing a new means of developing talent.

NYCFC announced Monday that the club has founded The Youth League, a league set to be run by the club that will focus on boys’ teams at ages U-9, U-10 and U-11. The club currently has 11 affiliated youth teams stationed throughout the New York metro area.

“It is part of the culture and ethos of the Club to develop young players in the right way,” said NYCFC Youth Technical Director Rodrigo Marion. “We want to pay close attention to the competition element to ensure it is age appropriate. It is not about winning at all costs. First and foremost it’s about focusing on the personal and technical skills required to succeed.

“We will be closely linked with the City Football Academy in Manchester to make sure that we have access to resources and intelligence across our network. We believe that it will provide a positive and exciting experience for all the young soccer players taking part.”

CREW RELEASE DEFENDER SWEAT

Second-year defender Ben Sweat is set to begin a search for a new club.

The Columbus Crew announced Monday that the club has waived Sweat ahead of the team’s upcoming trip to Texas for the ATX Pro Challenge. Sweat, the 14th overall pick in the 2014 MLS Draft, did not make an MLS appearance for the Crew in 2014 after spending a majority of the season on loan with the USL Pro’s Dayton Dutch Lions.

The Crew now have 25 contracted players on the current 29-man preseason roster, which includes unsigned draft picks Sergio Campbell, Sagi Lev-Ari, Kalen Ryden and Tomas Gomez.

What do you expect from the Miami franchise in the coming months? How would Diarra fit with the Fire? Excited about NYCFC’s new youth setup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Can someone please tell garber that LA2 and Miami need more time and they need to be executed perfectly in order to be a success in their market.
    I also read LA is a getting a nfl stadium sooner than everybody thinks and that rapids owner Is ahead of the game with some other LA rich person in order to make the nfl stadium a reality.
    So what happens if LA gets an nfl stadium before MLS LA2. Will LA2 play their by paying rent while LA2 get their stadium done.
    So why not, give Sacramento the green light and let them have their stadium ready by 2017 and let them come in with Atlanta.
    Then 2018, you can easily add Miami and LA2 given that Beckham needs way more time and LA2 might end up playing in a new nfl downtown stadium. ( I’m not from LA but is the Hollywood horse track close to downtown LA, since I read they plan to make their the nfl stadium with condos and stores)
    But like I said, Sacramento – Atlanta for 2017 and Miami-LA2 for 2018 and hopefully San Antonio- Indy for 2020 then Minnesota-Vegas for 2022.

    Reply
    • Good luck with that. Maybe after Kroenke moves the rams to LA he’ll move Arsenal there too.

      Also the land he owns is in Inglewood not downtown.

      Reply
  2. It sure would be a shame if Miami gets a franchise and it all turns out a bummer as we might expect .. temp accommodations turn perm and attendance is dismal .. At the expense of Sacramento, Minn or San Antonio getting in.

    What’s the rush with Miami?

    Reply
    • Beckham doesn’t want to live in sacremento or any of the other cities that don’t have teams. He basically wants New York or LA and is settling for Miami because they don’t have a team. He should have held his horses and he could have taken over for Chivas but instead Magic Johnson got it.

      Reply
  3. It’s clear to me that Beckham and his ownership partners are far and away the most “lost” amongst all the expansion groups… even the ones that don’t actually have franchise licenses yet. They have treated this entire process solely as a marketing exercise — it doesn’t appear they have a single person on board who really understands the nuts and bolts of an execution like this (and fewer still who seem willing to commit and focus the necessary time on getting it done). Even the NYCFC folks look like seasoned geinuses by comparison. At the rate these guys are going, it will only get worse.

    I am wondering at this point if Garber and the other owners might not be better off simply buying the Beckham group’s option out, and selling the license elsewhere. Beckham might even be receptive at this stage.

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  4. “NYCFC … founded The Youth League, … ages U-9, U-10 and U-11.”
    Maybe they will discover the next Freddy Adu.

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  5. I firmly believe Beckham and his group will make it happen, just still can’t believe the City n County aren’t bending over backwards to help. His team should have a very positive impact on the community…..more ways than one.

    Reply
    • I’m sure government officials don’t want their name to come up when they find out nobody in Miami cares about MLS and the stadium turns into a white elephant

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    • Ignore history at your peril. There are reasons the sport hasn’t taken off down there. Why it folded before. Ownership. Stadia. Interest.

      MLS took a risk letting Beckham try this but they seem to be just letting him see what he can accomplish. MLS has made clear they won’t go to FI or Dolphins Stadium so he needs to come up with something concrete and creative in a city that doesn’t seem helpful. He needs a local friend and thus far not sure we have one. Part of the problem in being aggressive in an indifferent market.

      Reply
      • Maybe so but it’s not like they’re asking for any public funds so any failure would not result in a city owned stadium that Dade would have to flip the bill for.

    • Look no further than how the baseball stadium worked out.

      Plus Miami has not been a great soccer city even when the Fusion were stacked.

      Reply
    • Never underestimate the influence of money and local politics. For every person who’d benefit from the team, there are others who will see it as a competitor, and politicians who’ll see that disparity as an opportunity to gain wealth and influence. It happens in every large city.

      Reply

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