Prost Amerika is proud to welcome a new media and content partner, Business of Soccer.
Every week, they will bring us a round-up of the top soccer stories from a financial viewpoint. They will also bring us editorials on a major issue affecting the finances of football.
Here are summaries of the top stories from around the global soccer industry from last week:
The Sleeping Giant that is the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (Business of Soccer)
The stage has been set for the 102nd edition of the US Open Cup, the oldest soccer tournament in the United States. A tournament which has pitted amateur clubs against professional sides, the Open Cup has been a constant through the trials and tribulations of soccer in the United States.
The drawing of the first and second round matches took place on Wednesday, April 8th. The first two rounds of the Cup consist of third and fourth division regional matchups.
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MLS National Sales Center Setting Industry Example (Business of Soccer)
Major League Soccer (MLS), now in its twentieth season, is off to a record start in terms of attendance, averaging 22,188 through 4 weeks of competition.
More than half of the league’s 20 clubs are experiencing growth in average attendance per match, and it doesn’t hurt that the newest additions, Orlando City SC and NYCFC, are off to very successful starts with regard to match day attendance, averaging +46k and +35k per game respectively.
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Six Sold Out Matches in MLS Western-Heavy Week 5 (Business of Soccer)
MLS week 5 average attendance is 22,205. The regular season average has increased +0.01% to 22,191 from 22,188 last week. Stadiums were 97.75% filled throughout the week, remaining at 97.86% of capacity for the season.
Six matches were sold out this week – Orlando City SC versus D.C. United at the Citrus Bowl, Seattle Sounders versus Houston Dynamo at CenturyLink Field, Vancouver Whitecaps versus Los Angeles Galaxy at BC Place, Portland Timbers versus San Jose Earthquakes at Providence Park, San Jose Earthquakes versus Real Salt Lake at Avaya Stadium, and Sporting Kansas City versus Philadelphia Union at Sporting Park.
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MLS, US Soccer Sign Four-Year Sponsorship Deal with Coca Cola (Bloomberg)
Major League Soccer signed a four-year sponsorship with Coca-Cola Co. making it the official non-alcoholic beverage of the league and U.S. Soccer.
MLS had been with PepsiCo Inc. since its inception in 1996. The league has doubled in size since then, and attendance has risen to an record high. The Pepsi contract expired in December and Coke won the bid through Soccer United Marketing, MLS’s commercial arm, which also represents U.S. Soccer and the Mexican national team’s American games.
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New Fan Organisation Launched in Scotland (FC Business)
A new, independent football supporters’ organisation has been launched to represent every Scottish football fan with the backing of former Scotland captain Gary McAllister.
The Scottish Football Supporters Association is a not-for-profit, members’ body open to everyone, whether they are individuals, supporters groups or affiliates. Until now Scotland had been the only football nation in Europe not to have an independent fans’ body.
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Gabon to host AFCON 2017 (Soccerex)
Gabon has been chosen as the host country for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) following a vote by the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) executive committee.
Gabon, located on the west coast of Africa, has been awarded the 2017 tournament ahead of Algeria and Ghana following the withdrawal of Libya, which was originally selected as the host venue, due to its ongoing civil war.
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New Proposed Florida Law Would Ban “Obnoxious” Youth Soccer Coaches (Major League Soccer)
We all know the stereotype. In fact, Hollywood depictions like funnyman Will Farrell in “Kicking and Screaming” have made it into something of a pop-culture phenomenon.
But a state lawmaker in Florida wants to see a whole lot less of the aggro, over-the-top youth sports coaches he’s come across on the sidelines of his 9-year-old daughter’s soccer games.
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FIFA Warns Indonesia Over Meddling in Football (Yahoo Sports)
Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has written to the Indonesian government, asking the Minister of Youth and Sports to stop meddling in the running of the local football league.
A FIFA spokesperson told Reuters that if the Indonesian government did not comply with the request, FIFA could impose possible sanctions. These could include a ban from playing international competitions.
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SportAccord Welcomes Qatar Financial Centre Authority (FC Business)
SportAccord Convention welcomes Qatar Financial Centre Authority as a Bronze Partner for this year’s World Sport & Business Summit, taking place from 19-24 April 2015, at the Sochi Expocentre, Sochi, Russia.
“Ahead of the 2019 World Athletics Championship and the FIFA World Cup 2022, business opportunities are thriving across sports-related industries in Qatar,” stated Martin Tidestrom, Business Development Director, Qatar Financial Centre Authority.
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Senate OKs $20M Plan for Indy Eleven Stadium Upgrade (Indy Star)
The Indiana Senate on Thursday approved a $20 million bond package to renovate IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium, home of the Indy Eleven.
But to reach the governor’s desk, the bill must be reconciled with a drastically different version passed by the House that would have financed a new $82 million Downtown stadium for the Indianapolis soccer team.
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This article originally appeared on Business of Soccer. To find out more about BOS you can follow them on Twitter, or Facebook.
