Billionaire cable television magnate Rocco Commisso, the owner of the New York Cosmos soccer team, is shaking up the soccer world with an offer to spend $250 million of his own money to promote professional soccer in the United States in return for reforms in the sport's government body, the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF).
Commisso's offer turbocharges his ongoing dispute with the USSF, which he says has been guilty of "lopsided favoritism" toward one league, Major League Soccer (MLS), at the expense of the development of U.S. soccer generally.
Last year, the USSF effectively decertified Commisso's North American Soccer League (NASL), saying it had failed to meet minimum "professional league standards" for an intermediate level of certification. But Commisso, who also serves as the chairman of the NASL, says that USSF has granted other soccer leagues a grace period of several years to come into compliance with the standards. No such waiver was offered to NASL, he says.
The NASL has filed a lawsuit charging that the USSF displays favoritism toward Major League Soccer (MLS), and had engaged in unfair business practices. USSF attorneys have denied those charges, and the NASL lost its fight for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed it to remain certified as a Division II league.
Four days after that February ruling, the league cancelled its entire 2018 season. Now league officials say they hope to resume play sometime next year.
On April 13, Commisso wrote to USSF President Carlos Cordeiro and offered to spend $250 million of his own money if USSF would undertake reforms to assure investors the NASL would be given a fair chance to succeed.
Commisso wrote: "I am confident that we could raise at least $500 million in the initial round of funding, with my personal commitment to provide at least $250 million as the lead investor in this undertaking."
Commisso predicts his cash infusion "would produce immediate and long-lasting benefits for the game of soccer in this country," adding: "If the USSF is willing work with us… my expectation is that we could also complete subsequent rounds of financing that could see the initial funding amount double."
Commisso, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Mediacom Communications Corporation, the nation's 5th largest cable TV firm, says that the MLS and the soccer federation have "become so deeply intertwined" that the governing body "has lost its independence and fallen short in performing its duty to serve the best interests of American soccer as a whole."
Among the changes Commisso wants to see:
A more flexible application of the leagues professional standards to NASL, so owners don't have to worry the league would be effectively decertified. He asked for "a minimum 10-year window to come into full compliance" with league standards.
An end to the ban on any single individual owning more than one soccer team.
Adoption of a strong conflict of interest policy that eliminates any favoritism toward MLS or Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the USSF's for-profit marketing subsidiary that earns over $15 million a year according to financial reports.
The granting to each professional league an equal, voting representation on the USSF's board of directors.
Rules to prevent one-sided "poaching" of teams from one league by another league.
In an April 19 response, USSF President Carlos Cordeiro asked Commisso to provide more details on his proposal, stating: "We welcome the opportunity to re-open a dialogue and to determine whether there is a mutually agreeable path forward that does not involve a multiplicity of legal proceedings."
Cordeiro added that he is extremely preoccupied with trying to secure the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but promised to identify USSF executives who would be able to meet with Commisso to listen to his proposal.
Commisso responded on April 23 that he was "more than a little disappointed" that Cordeiro would not find a way to put the FIFA bid on hold for "even a few hours to personally explore the unprecedented opportunity represented by my proposal."
That letter drew a strong response from USSF CEO and secretary general Daniel T. Flynn, who stated "while we are prepared to have this conversation in the spirit of reopening the dialogue, we are prepared to do so without pressures of artificial deadlines or suggestions of gong to the media."
Commisso, who was a star soccer player in college at Columbia University, has been sharply critical of the development of U.S. soccer under the stewardship of the USSF, which he calls an embarrassment.
He recently told The Guardian: "It's truly embarrassing. We joined Fifa before Brazil and Uruguay — look how much Brazil and Uruguay have won."
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