Left field

from Shop Talk:

Major League Soccer turns to training clubs’ ticket sales staff

With new teams on the way and attendance rising, Major League Soccer has turned to a league-funded program to train its clubs' new sales staffers to help drive ticket demand.

The new 45-day training program, dubbed the MLS National Sales Center, got its start last month with the graduation of 10 trainees to jobs with seven clubs. MLS calls it the first ticket sales school owned by a pro sports league.

A second session is underway with plans to run a third this year and another six or seven in 2011. The idea is to offer clubs more seasoned entry-level sales agents at a time when all forms of entertainment are fighting for their share of the consumer wallet.

"This is really a play around league expansion," Bryant Pfeiffer, MLS vice president of club operations, said in a telephone interview. "There's a need for sales people in this league."

The MLS is in its 15th season with 16 teams and plans to add three more, including a franchise in Montreal, by 2012. Attendance is up 5 percent this year, and MLS officials expect the final average will be the second highest in league history after the initial year.

To continue that kind of growth, MLS is making an annual investment in the low six figures to help teams sell tickets by training new hires.

Trainees, selected from an applicant pool of more than 100, are taught the sales process by industry executives and also work on sales campaigns for various teams, Pfeiffer said.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

The U.S. and soccer – that joke isn’t funny anymore

Even though the results of the United States team in international competition indicate the country has become a respectable force in the game, in the past 12 months beating European champions Spain and drawing with presumed World Cup contenders England for example, there remain many who doubt whether soccer can ever capture the imagination of the sporting public in the United States.

The main problem Europeans, in particular English fans, appear to have with the status of soccer in the U.S. is that it is not the number one sport in the country. Not even number two or three in fact. And the fact is that there is no-one in the soccer business in the U.S. who would pretend they are in a position to overtake, on a day-to-day basis, the NFL, the NBA or Major League Baseball.

But those who doubt that soccer has a long term future in North America need to ask themselves one question when it comes to the game's status alongside gridiron and basketball - who cares?

Ranking in relation to other sports really doesn't matter. In the era of niche television, niche websites, niche entertainment and niche marketing , soccer clearly has an important and growing niche in the sporting life of the United States.

In the past few weeks there have been cover stories on soccer all over the US media -- in TIME magazine and Vanity Fair as well as Sports Illustrated. The mammoth sports network ESPN has been all over the World Cup, broadcasting every game on television, the internet (in a choice of six languages) and streaming to mobile devices. When I left Miami for South Africa at the start of the month, my local restaurants and bars were already advertising 'World Cup specials' and promising giant screens and all sorts of competitions and prizes. Saturday's England v USA Group C opener drew huge numbers to sports bars across the States -- in one case, a pub in Columbus which had prepared itself for a massive 1,000 fans, had to deal with three times that amount turning up.

The fact is that the past couple of weeks have seen unprecedented Stateside media coverage of Bob Bradley's team and the World Cup. The Sun's mocking headline about the 'soccerball world series' was a lame attempt at humour that seems at least 20 years out of date -- belonging to an era when those English who are afraid of the United States 'catching on' to the game could feel comfortable in the knowledge that it was probably never going to happen.

Here's a few numbers that the site EPL Talk put together from various sources on the tv audience that the England v USA game drew:

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

10 things to watch out for in the new MLS season

The 15th Major League Soccer season kicks off on Thursday as fans thankfully turn their thoughts from collective-bargaining agreements and guaranteed contracts, to action on the field, safe in the knowledge that the only strikers making the news this week will be those who score goals.

Others will make their judgments on the deal that avoided a strike -- but what is certain is that the new five-year contract and modest salary structure ensures not only that MLS will start on Thursday (Seattle Sounders host the Philadelphia Union) but also that it will enter its 20th year in much the same status as it began its first – a league featuring a surprising number of good players, being paid a surprisingly low amount of money.

But anyway, this writer too has had enough of all the financial and contractual talk and rather is looking forward to the start of the new season. Here are ten things to keep an eye on this year:

1. Philadelphia Union – a brand new franchise to finally give the enthusiastic supporters club who preceded them, the Sons of Ben, something to cheer about. With the canny Pole Peter Nowak as head coach, the Union will be well prepared but they lack a proven prolific goalscorer and are relying on the unpredictable (but superbly named) Brazilian midfielder Fred for their inspiration. Expect workmanlike solidity, the odd upset and perhaps some sparkling moments from their number one draft pick Danny Mwanga, who could get more playing time than most rookies.

2. New York Red Bulls – with a shiny new stadium and an experienced new coach, the Austrian owners also hope for a new vibe around one of MLS’s most disappointing franchises. Last year saw abysmal crowds and performances to match. Red Bull’s success this year will be measured more in terms of tickets sold than goals scored but Swedish coach Hans Backe has been trying to drill some shape into the formation. Bustling Belgian Ibrahim Salou has been signed to partner the prolific Colombian Juan Pablo Angel in attack.

3. Kyle Beckerman – The dreadlocked Real Salt Lake captain was outstanding in the MLS Cup final win over the LA Galaxy at the end of last season but needs to get off to a great start this time if he is to earn a place in Bob Bradley’s U.S squad for the World Cup finals. Beckerman has the quality most sorely lacking in MLS midfielders – composure. The U.S national team could do with some of that as well.

4. Strikers – Bob Bradley needs to find at least one to settle on for the World Cup. Houston’s Brian Ching and Colorado’s Conor Casey are two big target men who are in contention for the slot alongside Jozy Altidore for the U.S but there is such a lack of real firepower that the field is pretty open for any American forward to make a blistering start to the season. Is there any hidden talent out there in the MLS?

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Twitter might not be harmless fun for players

The days when the details of transfer negotiations were closely guarded secrets could be coming to an end with the advent of the 'Twitter transfer'.

On Wednesday, U.S. national team striker Jozy Altidore all but announced a move to English Premier League Hull City on the micro-blogging site, keeping his fans updated while Hull remained silent.

Altidore, who is owned by Spanish club Villarreal, alerted followers to a potential move on Tuesday when he informed them he would be up early on Wednesday morning for a flight to England.

After details about his flight and weather on arrival he held back from announcing the deal but gave the game away by posting info of his first game.

"First match is against Chelsea subject to a work permit *wink* *wink* lol thanks for the support and love keep it coming," he wrote.

While Altidore's upbeat updates are unlikely to upset anyone, England striker Darren Bent apologised to Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy last month about comments on Twitter relating to his move to Sunderland.

MLS looks to ‘eye candy’ to win over new fans

Working to break through the clutter in the crowded North American sports market, Major league Soccer has teamed up with CosmoGirl.com to show off its best-looking young players, or “eye candy” as the website dubs them.

Fifteen MLS players, or “playas,” are on display at the website of Cosmopolitan’s teen magazine. Ranging in age from 19 to 27, the players are shown in photos both in action and relaxing off the soccer pitch.

The introduction: “Thought you had to travel abroad to look at some serious soccer hotties? Not anymore! We tracked down Major League Soccer’s most talented guys-next-door and got them to reveal some serious dating dirt! Find out what these cuties are looking for in a girl while staring at their steamy pics.”

For instance, Chance Myers (pictured), the 21-year-old Kansas City Wizards defender, lists his dating status as “taken” and reveals a girl who catches his eye is wearing “a sweet hat!.” Meanwhile, 23-year-old goaltender Danny Capero of the New York Red Bulls calls kissing on the first date “absolutely necessary”. (Sorry girls, he’s taken).

Robbie Rogers, the single, 21-year-old midfielder for the Columbus Crew, when asked to describe himself in three words, replied: “That’s easy…the three F’s: fun, friendly and fysical!”

The MLS has held up relatively well amid the recession thanks to lower ticket costs. The 15-team U.S. professional soccer league has pushed ahead with expansion despite the slowdown, with plans to add teams in Philadelphia in 2010 and Vancouver and Portland in 2011.

MLS officials said the CosmoGirl.com campaign is part of the sport’s efforts to branch beyond its 18-34 male target market and reach young women.