On this 3Four3 podcast, guest Brandon Ponchak explains why Alexi Lalas’s challenge to “build a better a mousetrap” (to get pro/rel or anything different than what US Soccer currently has) in soccer falls flat on its face.
The explanation was given by the guest and is the title of the podcast: “People Want to Invest in American Soccer, but They Want to Make Smart Business Decisions.”
In the podcast, Brandon explains further why building a better mousetrap in the U.S. isn’t a smart business decision.
Short answer: because there’s no upside. U.S. Soccer restricts that upside.
He explains further in this blog post of his from 2016 that various forms of upside are common features of soccer federations around the globe, and also supported (or mandated, except in a few countries) by the world governing body, FIFA.
Implementing these would make investing in soccer in the U.S., at any level, smarter, which would attract more investment.
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