Global Soccer League

[Curtis Cassel]

TheInternational Soccer League was a U.S.-based soccer league which was formed in 1960 and collapsed in 1965. The League, affiliated with the American Soccer League, featured guest teams primarily from Europe and some from South America, Canada and Mexico.

The creation of the League was announced in January 1960, when it was regarded as an attempt to create a Club World Cup. However, the concurrence of the UEFA/CONMEBOL-endorsed Intercontinental Cup, launched also in 1960, nullified any possibility that the League might have relevance as a club world championship.[1]

In 1960, William D. Cox, a wealthy U.S. businessman and former owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, a U.S. baseball team, saw a potential market in the United States for top-level soccer. Recognizing that U.S. teams did not play at a sufficiently high level to attract the attention of most fans, he began to consider the possibility of importing European and South American teams during their league off-seasons. Traditionally, tours by European clubs in the northeast United States had drawn well and Cox decided to pursue this approach.

However, soccer in the U.S. was run by the U.S. Soccer Football Association (USSFA). As a member of the soccer's international governing organization, FIFA, the USSFA had the sole power in the U.S. to authorize the creation of a new league, and any league created without USSFA authority would be declared an "outlaw league". Any person playing in an "outlaw league" would then be banned from playing in any other league or team affiliated with FIFA, and as nearly every league and team in the world was affiliated with the world soccer body, this would effectively ban a player from playing soccer anywhere.

To get USSFA approval, Cox worked through the existing American Soccer League, a USSFA-recognized league. This went so far that in 1961, the ASL scheduled only one game during the ISL season in order to keep from drawing fan support from the league.[2] Each year, the ISL played two halves to its season, with different sets of teams; the top team from each half played each other in a season-ending championship game. In order to give the American fans a greater stake in the league, Cox also decided to enter a team of U.S.-based players; this team, called variably New York, the New Yorkers and the New York Americans, was usually a mix of U.S.-based European professionals with some native all-stars. Cox also gained regional television coverage, and the associated revenue stream. While the games were initially played in the New York metropolitan area, as interest in the ISL increased, he expanded the league to Chicago, Detroit, Boston and Los Angeles.

Beginning in 1961, the league champion was awarded the Dwight D. Eisenhower trophy, but from 1962 to 1965 it was given to the league MVP. However, in 1960 and 1961 the best players in the tournament were Ademir da Guia (Bangu)[6] and Vlter Santos (Bangu)[7] respectively.

The camps will provide an authentic German Soccer Camp Experience at the highest level. Most DFB Academy Coaches hold their UEFA Pro or A license and bring a wealth of experience in developing top players. "The DFB soccer camps offer an excellent opportunity to sustainably position our brand ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the USA and to actively shape the growing interest in soccer in the USA. Our goal is to strengthen our presence in the USA and at the same time establish new, innovative cooperations," says Henning Wegter (DFB GmbH & Co. KG, Department Head Partner & Sales).

which will also benefit from coaching education that will be delivered to aspiring soccer coaches by the DFB Coach Educators at each of the camp locations. To register for the DFB Soccer Camp visit www.globalsoccerdevelopment.com/dfb-soccer-camps/.

"We are extremely proud to partner with the DFB to bring a taste of German Soccer to the USA and inspire, improve, and impact many talented US youth soccer players through this unequaled camp series. Together with the DFB, we want to leave a sustainable mark in the US Soccer landscape and help elevate the game in this great country, and at the same time we also want to introduce the successful DFB brand to the US Soccer community," says Global Soccer Development Founder, Eddie Loewen.

Male and Female players will not only have the opportunity to train with DFB Academy Coaches, but also have a chance to be scouted for a DFB Dream Team, that will travel the following year to Germany and experience the DFB Campus in person and compete against German Pro Academies. Players born 2015 to 2008 are eligible to register for the DFB Soccer Camps which will take place during the summer annually leading up to the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Global Soccer Development's mission is to impact, inspire, and improve talented soccer players, providing a nurturing environment that challenges players while offering the necessary support for success. Eddie Loewen, a former player for Bundesliga Club DSC Arminia Bielefeld, a representative of the German National Team at two Beach Soccer World Cups, and a coaching instructor for FIFA and CONCACAF, co-founded Global Soccer Development and International Soccer Academy. His experience and expertise continue to drive GSD's success.

The championship also underscores the recent dominance of EPL clubs in UCL finals. Since 2018, EPL clubs have taken five out of eight Champions League final places and won two of the last three competitions.

As the club fixture with the biggest global audience, the UCL final provides a solid return on investment for brands and rights holders. The increased international audience provides teams and their sponsors access to a broader set of viewers and fans who would otherwise watch them in their domestic leagues each week.

And the increase in audience size is driving an increase in value for broadcasting rights. U.K. pay-TV broadcaster BT Sport, for example, agreed to a $1.5 billion deal to retain exclusive broadcast rights to the UCL, Europa League, and the new third-tier Europa Conference League from 2021 to 2024.

The only Premier League club in the top five of the Euro Club Index in May 2018 was Manchester City at number five. Today, EPL clubs claim three of the top five spots with Manchester City (2nd) and Chelsea (5th) joining top-ranked Liverpool. Just four years ago, LaLiga held the two top places in the Euro Club Index ranking, but today only Real Madrid remains in the top five.

FILE - General view of the Mestalla stadium played in an empty stadium because of the coronavirus outbreak, during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Valencia and Atalanta in Valencia, Spain, Tuesday March 10, 2020. Atletico Madrid is revamping its training facilities. Sevilla and Valencia are rebuilding their stadiums. Sporting Gijon is expanding its youth academy. This week Spanish clubs are showcasing projects funded with their shares of the $2.1 billion that private equity group CVC Capital Partners is investing in the Spanish league.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Spanish clubs this week are meeting to showcase and discuss projects funded by their shares of the $2.1 billion that private equity group CVC Capital Partners is investing in the Spanish league. Real Madrid and Barcelona opposed the deal and are not part of the agreement that gave Luxembourg-based CVC a 8.25% stake in a new company that manages TV rights from the Spanish league, whose two-day conference began Tuesday.

Investors seized the opportunity when clubs became cash-strapped during the coronavirus pandemic and now are thriving in a niche few of them had fully explored before. More than one-third of the teams in the top five European leagues currently have financial backing from private equity, venture capital or private debt firms, according to a report released late last year by financial data company PitchBook. They have invested some 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in Spain, France, Italy, Germany and England, up from less than 66 million euros ($71 million) in 2018, PitchBook said.

Miami-based 777 Partners entered the club-ownership business a few years ago and today has stakes in Genoa in Italy, Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Standard Liege in Belgium, Red Star in France, Melbourne Victory in Australia, Hertha Berlin in Germany and Sevilla in Spain. Its purchase of English club Everton is pending final approval from the Premier League.

The multi-club ownership approach often relies on investing in small- and medium-sized clubs with lower valuations and greater growth potential. More than 40% of clubs in the top five European leagues have been linked to multi-club owners, according to PitchBook.

Other industry players include Sixth Street Partners, which has deals unrelated to ownership with Real Madrid and Barcelona in Europe, and Clearlake Capital, which recently acquired Chelsea. RedBird Capital Partners purchased controlling interest of both AC Milan in Italy and Toulouse in France, and has a stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool in England.

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