USL
Entrepreneurial Lawyers Open Door to US Football Talent for UK and European Clubs
With football academies costing millions of pounds to run and fierce competition amongst the wealthy clubs for young talent, football scouts are turning towards the US and Canada as a potential source of new talent.
Beswicks Sports (BSports Management Limited), the specialist sports division of Stoke-based Beswicks Solicitors, has opened the door to this market for UK clubs through a partnership deal with United Soccer Leagues (USL), whose majority shareholder is Umbro, now part of Nike. USL run the largest professional elite-level soccer league in the US, Canada and the Caribbean with over 22,000 professional, pro-am and youth players.
From left: Gary Mellor and Simon Woodings, Partners, Beswicks Solicitors
Led by solicitors Gary Mellor and Simon Woodings, the deal makes Beswicks Sports the USL's sole representative in the UK to broker partnership deals between UK football clubs and members of the Florida-based United Soccer Leagues.
"Football is big business and clearly the scale of the North American market means that there is a bigger pool of talent from which to draw," explains Gary Mellor. "It makes sense for UK clubs to cast their net widely now as the payback on discovering great raw talent can be substantial. With a population of over 300 million, the US and Canada are obvious places to look, particularly as soccer is growing in popularity there."
The USL was recognised by Sport Business Group in their 2006 Sport Business Report as "a potentially attractive vehicle for foreign investment, particularly compared to Major League Soccer." The report explained that "USL professional teams are owned by a diverse group of companies and individuals who have broad control over player and business decisions. Such control, for a reasonable financial investment, is complemented by the potential to develop players and a brand....."
USL will offer a range of partnership opportunities to UK clubs via Beswicks Sports. At the top end is the franchise of a first division club. At present, the first division league comprises twelve professional clubs¹. It is envisaged that the league will grow to 16 clubs by 2010 and have 24 member clubs by 2012.
Crystal Palace FC has a well established partnership in Maryland with a USL second division club "Crystal Palace Baltimore." Last year, Stoke City FC signed an affiliation agreement with the Austin Aztex, who will be joining the USL First Division in April 2009, and Gary Mellor is already in discussions with a number of other UK Premier League clubs.
"There are a number of obvious advantages to any UK club with an eye on attracting new talent. The catchment area for each North American club is massive, as there is not the geographic concentration of clubs that you find in the UK with everyone competing in a small area, so the chances of attracting and finding talent are much higher. Many Canadians have family ties to the UK, which can make immigration easier too," explains Gary Mellor.
"In addition to the franchise of a professional club, which offers total control for the investor, there are opportunities to partner with the amateur and junior clubs on the basis of a franchise or affiliation."
"The USL clubs are very keen on partnering with UK football clubs as they recognise their expertise in terms of coaching and management and are keen to learn about the academy system that we operate here, so it is clearly a win-win situation for both clubs," says Mellor.
FURTHER INFORMATION
1. The professional clubs in the USL First Division include
Austin Aztex (from 2009) | Portland Timbers |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | Puerto Rico Islanders |
| Carolina Railhawks | Rochester Rhinos |
| Charleston Battery | Seattle Sounders |
| Miami FC Blues | Tampa Bay Rowdies (from 2010) |
| Minnesota Thunder | Vancouver Whitecaps |
| Montreal Impact |
United Soccer Leagues
Contact: USL Public Relations Tampa, FL,USA - Tel: 00 1 813.963.3909
Email: gerald.barnhart@usisl.com
United Soccer Leagues (USL) was set up in 1986 and is the largest organisation of elite-level soccer leagues in North America, with a growing soccer operation at all levels in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean.
United Soccer Leagues is dedicated to growing the sport at the grassroots level in every community, and comprises:
• USL First Division and Second Division (North American men's professional soccer)
• USL Premier Development League (U23 North American men's amateur)
• USL W-League (North American women's amateur)
• USL Super-20 League (U20 North American men's and women's amateur)
• USL Super Y-League (North American boy's and girl's elite youth amateur).
This vision and commitment to develop a soccer nation by fans, investors, administrators, coaches, and players has created the foundation for the growth of the sport, while presenting affordable, exciting family entertainment in over 100 cities and towns on the continent.
ENDS
