TOA League goes up to 9 teams! Baltimore and Tampa join!

Last week we mentioned the possibility of Tampa joining the TOA (read HERE) which lead to much skepticism on behalf of a number of readers and on bigsoccer, but today it has been confirmed! I hate to tell you I told you so...

The Kartik Report indicates Tampa's inclusion into the TOA League might be a bit premature due to legal binds with USL. Still, Tampa is a TOA member and worst case scenario might spend 2010 with USL jumping ship in 2011.

According to the Whitecaps website the TOA League is now 9 teams strong!

The addition of Tampa Bay and Baltimore brings the new league to nine teams, as they join the owners of the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, St. Louis Soccer United and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

More HERE

It goes on to report that the new league will be announced some time next week! The new league is also active in its search for a full-time commissioner and will introduce an extensive marketing campaign in the coming months.

USL News goes on to report that Miami FC Registered Two NASL Trademark Claims on 11.16.2009!

According to a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office records, North American Soccer League, LCC in Delaware filed two trademark claims on November 16th, 2009. They claims were marked c/o Miami FC 501 Brickell Key Drive, Suite 407 Miami FLORIDA 33131

More HERE

More news to come!

The Kartik Report
Inside Minnesota Soccer
MLS Rumors
Match Fit USA
Railhawks site
WVHooligan
Major League Soccer Talk
PitchInvasion

Miami FC President Aaron Davidson talks about the New League, the WC in Miami and more

Miami FC President Aaron Davidson was on WQAM 560 yesterday and spoke a little to the Big O about the new, yet to be named TOA League. He Speaks about Miami FC, Traffic Sports and the Miami World Cup bid.

Check it out, Press play:




All South Florida Soccer Fans need to listen to the Big O (Orlando Alzugaray) everyday from 2pm to 4pm. The Big O loves Soccer so be sure to write to him at BigO@wqam.com and let him know you want to hear about Miami FC and Soccer in General.

If you like good Soccer then be sure to follow this weekends World Cup qualifier between Costa Rica and Uruguay. Only one will advance, the other will watch it from home! You can only see this game on pay per view brought to you by Traffic Sports.
As you may know Traffic owns Miami FC so please support them. You can follow Traffic on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/TrafficSportsUS
They also have a blog with game information so check it out:
http://trafficusa.blogspot.com/

We need the Blues to be a powerhouse this coming year so stay tuned and follow South Florida's only professional Soccer team Miami FC here:
http://twitter.com/Miamifc

Talk about support, the city of Miami needs your support to bring the World Cup to Miami. Please go to the link below and fill in your name and email. Thats all you need to do. Help us bring the World Cup to Miami!
http://www.gousabid.com/city/local/MIAMI-FL

A special thanks to Ignacio Rodriguez at Miami FC for a copy of the interview along with WQAM and the Big O!
Picture by Robert Scorca

Miami FC and the rest of the TOA confirm New League! Tampa would leave USL

Yesterday we found out that the new League was a go and today a number of sites confirm that the TOA will play the 2010 season in a new league.
Teams such as Miami FC, Atlanta Silverbacks, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, Carolina Railhawks and the Vancouver Whitecaps will soon be joined by a St. Louis team. Sources indicate Tampa will leave USL and become the 8th team.

All this coming only a week after USL announced business as usual with the addition of as many as 11 teams. Austin, Cleveland, New York, Puerto Rico, Portland, Rochester, Edmonton and Ottawa even Baltimore and Detroit had representatives. USL also announced Tampa Bay was part of the fold but as mentioned their days with USL seem to be numbered.

Other sources indicate further teams from the PDL may join the TOA, who offers a better structure allowing teams more say as to the direction the league will take. A Lower division would be created to accommodate the PDL teams.

It's my opinion as a soccer fan that though USL still retains the majority of it's teams and has new teams looking to join them that the loss of the stronger teams (Montreal and Vancouver) will be a hit that will give USL-1 more of a USL-2 look. When Nurock took over USL they made the mistake of ignoring the issues and did not look to make peace with the TOA. Look for MLS to form some allegiance with the new league that will eventually lead to further PDL and USL teams leaving their ranks. The battle lines are drawn. Sit back and enjoy the war of the Soccer Leagues.

Miami FC finally gave us the press release go to http://www.miamifc.com/

Miami Herald on Miami FC and the New League.

More sites with New Soccer League info:
The Kartik Report
Pitch Invasion
Soccer by Ives
Match Fit USA
WVHooligan
Inside Minnesota Soccer

UPDATE 11/10/09 2:30PM
In a comment left below by Eric he points out some interesting information straight out of the Montreal Impact website where joey Saputo says Montreal is still in talks with USL. As Eric says as much as a blow the joining of Tampa would be if they leave USL the same if not bigger would happen if Montreal leaves the TOA. The drama never ceases!

I wish to reiterate that there are still ongoing talks between the Montreal Impact and the USL. We continue working on different options for the 2010 season, including the possibility that the Impact take part in the USL-1 or in a new league.

Check it out HERE

Match Fit USA has some valid questions for the TOA
1. Who's the eighth team? (or, What happened with the Rowdies?)
2. Will the league be broadcast?
3. Are the Impact sticking around?
4. What role does MLS/SUM play?
5. Are your clubs stable?
Read about it HERE

Miami Fans send letters to Beckham plus more TOA vs USL info

South Florida Soccer Fans may be the ones that enticed a group of investors to discuss an MLS team in Miami with Beckham.

A recent conversation among South Florida Soccer fans revealed that some time ago a letter was sent to David Beckham urging him to bring a team to Miami. Letters were also sent to possible investors around the country.

I was able to speak to Julio Caballero VP of the Miami Ultras Soccer Fans who confirmed the existence of the letter. Julio went on to say that more information will be revealed shortly. Be sure to check out MiamiSoccerfan.com in the next few days to read more about the letter. Hopefully we can see an actual copy.

If South Florida Fans are determined to do something about bringing an MLS team to this part of the country then we need to do something about it! Support our efforts and make a promise that you will purchase a season ticket by going to http://www.miamisoccerfan.com/Soccer/Tickets.html all information will be given to any potential investor willing to bring an MLS team to South Florida.

If you want to do more as a fan then Please email the above site to your friends and family and tell them to write letters to:

David Beckham / 19 Entertainment: simon.oliveira@19.co.uk or simon@19.co.uk
Also email the following possible investors:
Marcelo Claure: marcelo.claure@BRIGHTSTARCORP.com
Traffic / Miami FC : adavidson@trafficsports.com

Voice your opinion. Tell them how you want an MLS team in South Florida and how you will support the team. Help spread the word Soccer Fans!

TOA vs USL

As most of you have read on this site, it seems USL has kicked our team (Miami FC) out of the league by eliminating all evidence of the teams existence from their site. The same was done to the Minnesota Thunder and the Carolina Railhawks. My calls to USL have not been successful but our friend Kartik Krishnayer of the Kartik Report wrote the following:

I can confirm Vancouver, the reigning USL First Division Champion, who knocked out Portland last night in quest of a second title will be joining the TOA in a potential breakaway league. Vancouver, I can confirm has not renewed for next season and will take their cue from the TOA as to the next step. Expect Whitecaps players to get the same email from Tim Holt that the Carolina, Miami and Minnesota players did, at the conclusion of the USL First Division Championship Series.

Montreal, the other finalist this year has yet to renew with USL for next season, but still may do so independently of the TOA per a well placed source. It is also possible that Montreal will stick with the TOA whether it is within USL or a “breakaway” league.

The way things are going it seems the new TOA league would have the following teams:

Miami Blues
Vancouver Whitecaps
Montreal Impact
Minnesota Thunder
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Carolina Railhawks
St. Louis United
Atlanta Silverbacks

It is believed that the Puerto Rico Islanders would join the TOA and possibly New York FC as well but its still up in the air.

USL would be left with the following teams:

Rochester Rhinos
Charleston Battery
Cleveland City Stars
Portland Timbers
Austin Aztex
Ottawa

There is still the rumor that the TOA league might be the fabled MLS-2. We have a number of sources with this information but none willing to place their name on it. Everyone is tight lipped about this. We will keep you informed if anything comes up.

The good news is that Miami FC is still operating and they are conducting business as usual! They have announced that in collaboration with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce as well as nine other South Florida premiere sports teams have come together to offer the South Florida Sport Super Pass. What does that mean? Well, fans will have the option of choosing between 10 different sporting events spaced out through next year. It's pretty cool, read more HERE

TOA vs USL UPDATE 10/06/09 11:13 AM

Inside Minnesota Soccer has new info concerning a meeting between the USSF, TOA and USL taking place in NY.
It's about time USSF does something about this. IMS also informs that an MLS official will also be present. For more information go HERE
It's a good read!

My personal opinion is that nothing will come out of this meeting. USL/Nurock should have approached the TOA as soon as they took over in order to make peace and open dialogue. Instead they ignored the issues and made the situation worse.

TOA vs USL UPDATE 10/06/09 7:40 PM

Brian Quarstad of IMS has done it again, this time they have the actual letter sent by USL President Tim Holt to the players. If there are any lawyers out there we'd like your input. Check it out HERE

Becks to set up MLS Miami Team Rumors continue...

I decided to take a week off after Miami FC's season ended. But now I'm back and as promised here is some more Miami MLS info. I'll start off with an anonymous comment made on the last post written by Burrito below. It states that David Beckham is interested in starting an MLS team in Miami.

A source said: "Beckham does not want to go into management when his playing career ends and is now focused on owning a club. Simon Fuller is a clever man and believes there is a lot of money to be made as football continues to expand in the US.

"They have concluded Miami is ripe for a new team and stadium. There is a big Latino population who love their football and there is also a large expatriate British community.

"Plus, it is a great place to live - very sunny and on the coast. They are now starting to look for the right financial partners and sponsors."

For more Go HERE

The link is over a year old and the source, though not the best, is accurate to an extent.

Recently, a few sites including MLS Rumors brought us the news that Becks was looking at Montreal as a possible city to exercise his option to own an MLS team. We think most fans knew this information was bogus as soon as they heard it and ultimately even the Beckham camp refuted the rumor. Becks and Spice girl in Montreal? Sorry, I just can't imagine them living there or wanting to do anything in Canada for that matter and I don't mean to dis Montreal but the truth is Montreal doesn't need Beckham. They have everything already working for them: A wealthy team owner, a Soccer specific stadium and a large fan base.

In the U.S. after New York and Los Angeles, the only cool city left is Miami. South Florida is the perfect place to set up a team and if anyone can bring the fans to the stadium it's David Beckham.

There remains uncertainty concerning the fate of Miami FC in USL and as some of you have already read we broke out the news of the recent talks involving Aaron Davidson, president of Miami FC and MLS. Read about it HERE
It is still unknown what the talks were about. Some say there could be an MLS-2 in the works. But the same sources that gave us the info on the meeting between MLS and the TOA (Miami FC) tells us "Team Beckham" is in talks with a group interested in bringing MLS to Miami. Is it Traffic Sports? (Owners of Miami FC) Is it Marcelo Claure? (Who did the failed Barcelona Miami bid) or is it another group of investors?
We will keep looking for who these people are... More on this soon.

TOA meets with MLS? Could this be the beginning of MLS2?

A few sources have stated that the TOA (Team Owners Association) is meeting with MLS this week and both groups are trying to make some deal that might create every promotion/relegation lovers wet dream... MLS2. I must point out that no one has come forward and confirmed this news yet. I bring it to you only for the sake of argument and will leave the breaking story (if in fact this meeting took place) to the actual journalists.

That being said I find the prospect of a possible MLS2 intriguing. The fact that both parties are willing to talk is a good thing and in my opinion this would give better credibility to MLS and the TOA in the eyes of the soccer world. But for something like this to work the TOA has stated in the past that they want control of their new league. Would MLS want the teams to buy into the league? How much would they ask as an entry fee? Will the TOA be forced to work under a salary cap? So many questions.

It appears the TOA are aggressively looking at all the options. But I think starting a League from scratch would be very difficult and costly. They either talk to USL and make up or pursue an agreement with MLS.

I think the MLS option is a good one. MLS gets a second division for free, as opposed to buying all the USL (which included USL1, USL2, PDL, etc) All MLS would have to do is give the TOA the name (for which they pay a fee) and let them run themselves. The relegation/promotion idea though ideal for many wont happen anytime soon so forget about it people! MLS doesn't have to cherry pick teams off of USL anymore. They have many teams to pick from now. So if say San Jose or Kansas City can't continue in MLS anymore then they can pick a team from MLS2 that has a good ownership group, a SSS and a large fan base. I make it sound easy and it's not but this is my fantasy damn it!

Would South Florida fans support an MLS2 team? I've read on this blog all the comments and on other sites that fans want MLS in Miami and not a USL team. The Fact is Miami FC/Traffic has done a terrible job to get the word out that there is a team in Miami. I have spoken to many Soccer fans who have told me they never knew the team existed. Miami FC fans have done their part. I started this blog and I have done my part to get the word out. I have even given away my own season tickets to get some of these people to the stadiums and so have other Miami FC fans most notably the Miami Ultras, but fans can only do so much, it's not enough. Next year if we have a team, Traffic needs to prove they want Miami FC to exist and spend some money and put some signs out in front of the stadiums and out in the city. If Miami FC actually puts some effort, spends the money and still fails then I'll be the first to say "Ok, this market sucks!" But I'm convinced that if the product is good. If the effort is made and if the organization is there, that South Florida will succeed like the Strikers were successful back in the NASL days and like the Miami Fusion were becoming in their final year in MLS.

I can go on. But I'd like your take on all this. Do you think MLS2 is a good idea? Would you support a South Florida team in MLS2?

UPDATE 4:54 PM - 9/16/09:
As Burrito noted in a comment below. It's confirmed that Miami FC spoke to MLS!
Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports it is Aaron Davidson of Miami FC who is in NY but he is not sure if it is in representation of the TOA. Read more:

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/total_futbol/2009/09/miami-fc-in-new-york.html

Other Links:
Kartik Report:
http://thekartikreport.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/update-breakaway-mls-or-usl/

MLS Rumors:
http://www.mls-rumors.net/3677/2009/09/report-usl-team-owners-association-met-this-week-with-mls/