By Paul Nicholson
October 22 – The day after CONCACAF announced their new Partner Code of Conduct to regulate and set protocols for working with outside partners, the confederation has revealed it is ending its relationship with Datisa, one of the sports marketing agencies at the centre of the bribery and money laundering scandals that have rocked football in the Americas.
By Paul Nicholson
October 22 – The National Womens’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US has awarded a new franchise to Orlando Pride, owned and operated by Orlando City, itself a new franchise this season in the MLS.
By Paul Nicholson
October 21 – CONCACAF, rocked by the arrest of its president Jeffrey Webb and Costa Rican president Eduardo Li in May in Zurich over allegations of requesting and accepting bribes to secure marketing sales contracts, has released a new code of conduct for its partners.
By Ben Nicholson
October 19 – The MLS has joined up with other heavyweight sporting organisations in the US across multiple sporting disciplines to advance race relations. The MLS, NFL, NBA, NHL, to name a few, have joined the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) to launch a nationwide campaign that uses the power of sport as vehicle to promote understanding, respect and equality.
By Ben Nicholson
October 13 – The MLS has revealed plans to trial video refereeing for penalty and goal awards and red cards. The trial will take place in October 2016 and cover ten to 15 friendly fixtures.
By Ben Nicholson
October 10 – The one-off CONCACAF Cup game between Mexico and the US, which Mexico won to decide who will be the region’s representative at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, was well and Trumply politicised. A record 93,000 crowd packed the Rose Bowl and viewing figures are also expected to have broken records for a national team game.
By Ben Nicholson
October 7 – An economic impact study analysing the impact of Sacramento Republic FC’s proposed MLS stadium has been released, cataloging an enticing list of fiscal benefits.
By Ben Nicholson
October 1 – The rivalry between Mexico and the US national teams has reached levels worthy of cinematic production. The upcoming one-off CONCACAF playoff between the pair, which will decide who will go to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, is slated for the big screen in 200 locations across the US.
By Ben Nicholson
September 21 – CONCACAF is considering changing the dates of its Champions League competition to a single a year campaign, more in line with the current MLS season schedule.
September 20 – Steven Gerrard’s commitment to LA Galaxy has came under scrutiny in the last week as he missed training ahead of an important weekend fixture. Gerrard returned to the UK and was in London doing punditry for the BT Sport channel during the midweek European Champions League fixtures.
By Ben Nicholson
September 18 – The official naming of LAFC has been formally decreed. They are to be called, LAFC – Los Angeles Football Club.
By Ben Nicholson
September 18 – MLS newcomers Orlando City SC are looking to establish itself in the women’s game, while, concurrently, Kaka and co continue to build on the success of the men’s side debut season.
September 16 – US Club Soccer, the 500,000 member organisation supporting grassroots clubs in the US, has backed the recent US Soccer federation proposals for a revamp of youth soccer in the country and unveiled the pathway to change for its clubs.
By Ben Nicholson
September 16 – Following the U.S. Senate Hearing on July 15, where the integrity of international governance took center stage, Senator Maria Cantwell (pictured) followed up with questions for the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) regarding training compensation to which USSF has now provided a written reply.
By Paul Nicholson
September 14 – While the South Americans seem convinced that the 2016 Centennial edition of the CopaAmerica will be played for the first time outside of the region in the US, in partnership with CONCACAF, the idea this is now a done deal does not seem certain.