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Post by paterfamilias on Mar 16, 2018 6:28:57 GMT -5
Open civil war has broken out
"Dear Fellow GA Soccer Club Member,
Twenty-six Georgia Soccer Clubs held a conference call on March 1st and a follow-up meeting in person on March 8th to prepare a response to the decision of Concorde, GSA, NTH, SSA and UFA to form a new league under US Club Soccer in the fall of 2018 in opposition to and excluded from all other GA Soccer Member Clubs. The league would compete directly with RPL and provide the clubs unrestricted recruiting access to all member clubs’ players. A working group of clubs including All-In FC, Cherokee Impact, Georgia Storm, KSA, Inter Atlanta and Smyrna Soccer Club and have since been working to formalize a response.
The remaining clubs are concerned that;
This move will directly undermine the strength of Georgia Soccer, suppress equal opportunity for clubs and circumvent established recruitment rules and regulations between clubs. Members looking to form the new league should not be allowed to benefit from Georgia Soccer Membership while simultaneously undermining it, without penalty. All remaining GA Soccer clubs should let their opinion be heard on this issue. No response on behalf of all remaining members to this issue prior to the start of tryouts in June 2018 could permanently damage the competitive landscape we enjoy as member clubs of Georgia Soccer.
Please email your response to the questions below by email. The collected response will be presented to GA Soccer and as appropriate, proposed as by-law amendments for the Summer AGM or before as needed. Time is of the essence so please return the attached signed notice of support by 5pm on Saturday 3/17/18 to indicate your feedback.
The response of (Name of Club): ______________________________________________ is as follows;
In response to the decision of Concorde, GSA, NTH, SSA and UFA to form a new exclusive breakaway league in opposition to US Youth Soccer/GA Soccer leagues, my club support for the proposed response is as follows;
Yes
No
GA State Cup: Suspend all players that play in the US Club Soccer ECNL or Champions League from GA Soccer State Cup participation in the soccer year in which they play (Fall & Spring). Play to be considered participation in any part of one game.
GA State Cup: Suspend all players that play in the USSF DA platform from GA Soccer State Cup participation in the soccer year in which they play. Play to be considered participation in any part of one game.
US Youth Soccer Regional & National League: Suspend all players that play in the US Club Soccer Champions League from participation in RPL or National League, unless they transfer completely to a GA Soccer member club that is not a Champions League member.
Illegal Recruiting: Increase and apply in full illegal recruiting sanctions for any US Club Soccer Champions League clubs that remain a GA Soccer member and illegally recruit players.
GA Soccer Leadership Positions: Exclude all representatives of US Club Soccer Champions League clubs from any position on a GA Soccer committee, sub-committee or any position of influence within GA Soccer.
My club has _____________ votes in GYSA.
Please send your completed and signed response by email to jon.conway@smyrnasoccerclub.com or respond by return email indicating yes or no for questions 1 through 5, your club and your number of votes.
For example;
Jose Mourinho from Manchester United We vote Yes to all 5 questions My club has 4 votes Alternatively, complete scan and email the form."
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Post by soccerfan30 on Mar 16, 2018 8:15:14 GMT -5
Several listed on the opposition club list are the biggest violators of illegal recruiting in the state, doesn't lend a lot of credence to their argument.
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Post by soccerdaddy on Mar 16, 2018 8:59:18 GMT -5
What will they do about Atlanta Fire club that does ECNL and GA Soccer? Do they get a free pass because they are not in the Big 6 list? They only mentioned 5 clubs?
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Post by soccerdaddy on Mar 16, 2018 9:15:25 GMT -5
What will they do about Atlanta Fire club that does ECNL and GA Soccer? Do they get a free pass because they are not in the Big 6 list? They only mentioned 5 clubs? From the sounds of the response questions, they want to exclude all DA & ECNL players from the State Cup, RPL & NL. I don’t think the Champions League clubs mind at all, why would they do this? Who is the 6th club? Atlanta Fire or AFC Lightning and does anyone know what the AFC stands for?
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Post by Keeper on Mar 16, 2018 9:39:25 GMT -5
This isn’t harsh enough. I say if the 5/6 of them do this they need to be kicked out of Ga Soccer all together. They are completely blowing up youth soccer and those large clubs, yes with others whining about them, have screwed over so many of us smaller clubs in Ga Soccer for way to long.
Draw the line in the sand Ga Soccer! Tell them to drop ECNL and “Champions League” or we will drop them from Rec, RIAS, Academy,Athena, Classic, and every other Ga Soccer group. Can’t have it both ways.
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Post by soccerdaddy on Mar 16, 2018 9:46:17 GMT -5
This isn’t harsh enough. I say if the 5/6 of them do this they need to be kicked out of Ga Soccer all together. They are completely blowing up youth soccer and those large clubs, yes with others whining about them, have screwed over so many of us smaller clubs in Ga Soccer for way to long. Draw the line in the sand Ga Soccer! Tell them to drop ECNL and “Champions League” or we will drop them from Rec, RIAS, Academy,Athena, Classic, and every other Ga Soccer group. Can’t have it both ways. I could care less about these club wars fighting over money. I just want the best thing for my son who wants to play on the highest level, can’t we just agree on what is the highest level and then maybe the the next one down? All these clubs weather they’re USSF DA, US club soccer or US youth soccer need to be ashamed for the amount of money they charge to play and travel forcing them to stay in the preferred hotel. This is what happens when $$$ gets into the picture.
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Post by Keeper on Mar 16, 2018 10:02:50 GMT -5
This isn’t harsh enough. I say if the 5/6 of them do this they need to be kicked out of Ga Soccer all together. They are completely blowing up youth soccer and those large clubs, yes with others whining about them, have screwed over so many of us smaller clubs in Ga Soccer for way to long. Draw the line in the sand Ga Soccer! Tell them to drop ECNL and “Champions League” or we will drop them from Rec, RIAS, Academy,Athena, Classic, and every other Ga Soccer group. Can’t have it both ways. I could care less about these club wars fighting over money. I just want the best thing for my son who wants to play on the highest level, can’t we just agree on what is the highest level and then maybe the the next one down? All these clubs weather they’re USSF DA, US club soccer or US youth soccer need to be ashamed for the amount of money they charge to play and travel forcing them to stay in the preferred hotel. This is what happens when $$$ gets into the picture. Well unfortunately that will never happen until there’s one entity running youth soccer. That won’t happen until after US Youth Soccer and Us Club fight it out. Us soccer should have never let clubs have it both ways. All I can say is the best players don’t always play on DA, ECNL, or RPL. The best players play Classic Two for a coach that they respect, and players they truly can call their friends. Those are the players that actually excel at the college level. That other 1% that might play professional, well they’ll get noticed if they’re truely that great no matter what level they play in. Parents need to stop being the drug addicts worried about levels and maybe these mega clubs will stop being the drug dealers.
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Post by alacrity174 on Mar 16, 2018 10:19:32 GMT -5
I could care less about these club wars fighting over money. I just want the best thing for my son who wants to play on the highest level, can’t we just agree on what is the highest level and then maybe the the next one down? All these clubs weather they’re USSF DA, US club soccer or US youth soccer need to be ashamed for the amount of money they charge to play and travel forcing them to stay in the preferred hotel. This is what happens when $$$ gets into the picture. Well unfortunately that will never happen until there’s one entity running youth soccer. That won’t happen until after US Youth Soccer and Us Club fight it out. Us soccer should have never let clubs have it both ways. All I can say is the best players don’t always play on DA, ECNL, or RPL. The best players play Classic Two for a coach that they respect, and players they truly can call their friends. Those are the players that actually excel at the college level. That other 1% that might play professional, well they’ll get noticed if they’re truely that great no matter what level they play in. Parents need to stop being the drug addicts worried about levels and maybe these mega clubs will stop being the drug dealers. Sorry I was half with you until you said the best players play Cl2. Come on, in the competitive world of pay to play soccer we have now there may be 1 or 2 players in Cl2 who are good, but they aren't getting better there and they definitely aren't setting the world on fire. Back to the original point, there is NO club in the State of GA who is out for the kids, they are out there to make money, GA Soccer isn't above reproach as they have made it clear where their priorities lie and it is with the money makers. USYS and US Club are only in it for the cash and don't give 2 hoots about your kid or any club or team. The whole sordid mess is driven by the almighty dollar and we are not getting our return on this investment. The complete system needs to be revamped from top to bottom but that isn't going to happen as the ones feeding from the trough can't afford to lose.
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Post by soccerdaddy on Mar 16, 2018 10:20:15 GMT -5
I could care less about these club wars fighting over money. I just want the best thing for my son who wants to play on the highest level, can’t we just agree on what is the highest level and then maybe the the next one down? All these clubs weather they’re USSF DA, US club soccer or US youth soccer need to be ashamed for the amount of money they charge to play and travel forcing them to stay in the preferred hotel. This is what happens when $$$ gets into the picture. Well unfortunately that will never happen until there’s one entity running youth soccer. That won’t happen until after US Youth Soccer and Us Club fight it out. Us soccer should have never let clubs have it both ways. All I can say is the best players don’t always play on DA, ECNL, or RPL. The best players play Classic Two for a coach that they respect, and players they truly can call their friends. Those are the players that actually excel at the college level. That other 1% that might play professional, well they’ll get noticed if they’re truely that great no matter what level they play in. Parents need to stop being the drug addicts worried about levels and maybe these mega clubs will stop being the drug dealers. OK, point taken but labeling Parents as drug addicts is a little bit harsh don’t you think? Not the parents fault for this because we pay the money. You sound like you are an upset Coach and Your blaming the parents who pay your club and hate the ones who leave? You can’t point the finger at them because if your club and coach provides return on your investment then they will never leave you.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 10:31:29 GMT -5
I stated it in the other post and I'll state it again. I still have not seen anything formal that the champions league is going to happen. A lot of smoke so I'm sure there is a fire, but still nothing as far as an official announcement.
Who knows maybe... just maybe, the re-organization of RPL might sway the "big 5" to abandon this effort. Awww, who am I kidding.... if they get yet another leg up on everyone by being able to have unrestricted recruiting, I'm sure that in its self would be worth it.
As guerillaman said, it's a business... and this allows them to drive their competition out of business. This isn't about making great youth soccer players in the state of Georgia.
Side note, I also thought it was going to have AFU in it and not SSA.
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 10:35:25 GMT -5
Who wrote this?? first of all lets call it the big 5 not the big 6....i had always heard it was 5.
I can't take this seriously when they're calling it "US Club Soccer Champions League" thats not the real name...that name was made up in this forum! Is this being started by parents or actual clubs?
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Post by cleansheet on Mar 16, 2018 10:35:51 GMT -5
What will they do about Atlanta Fire club that does ECNL and GA Soccer? Do they get a free pass because they are not in the Big 6 list? They only mentioned 5 clubs? The 6th club of the big 6 is from Alabama.
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 10:44:58 GMT -5
What will they do about Atlanta Fire club that does ECNL and GA Soccer? Do they get a free pass because they are not in the Big 6 list? They only mentioned 5 clubs? The 6th club of the big 6 is from Alabama. What i heard was, that it was originally going to be 6 but that the rest of the clubs decided not to include the 6th one and keep 5. Why SSA and not AFU? who knows, but AFU has ECNL and SSA doesn't so they need it more than them. The "rumor" is that they will add BUSA and CESA to this making it 7 clubs.
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Post by soccerdaddy on Mar 16, 2018 10:50:36 GMT -5
Who wrote this?? first of all lets call it the big 5 not the big 6....i had always heard it was 5. I can't take this seriously when they're calling it "US Club Soccer Champions League" thats not the real name...that name was made up in this forum! Is this being started by parents or actual clubs? It’s in the letter, first post 😃 “GA Soccer Leadership Positions: Exclude all representatives of US Club Soccer Champions League clubs from any position on a GA Soccer committee, sub-committee or any position of influence within GA Soccer”
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 11:05:49 GMT -5
all the uproar now....but like soccerfan30 stated these clubs were violators themselves GA State Cup: Suspend all players that play in the US Club Soccer ECNL or Champions League from GA Soccer State Cup participation in the soccer year in which they play (Fall & Spring). Play to be considered participation in any part of one game. Haven't we been asking them for years not to allow this and yet the 3 ECNL clubs did it year after year and they did nothing?GA State Cup: Suspend all players that play in the USSF DA platform from GA Soccer State Cup participation in the soccer year in which they play. Play to be considered participation in any part of one game. Haven't we been asking them for years not to allow this and yet some kids would quit DA at end of year and go play state cup and they did nothing?US Youth Soccer Regional & National League: Suspend all players that play in the US Club Soccer Champions League from participation in RPL or National League, unless they transfer completely to a GA Soccer member club that is not a Champions League member. Isn't this what they want anyway?? not to be part of RPL?? Illegal Recruiting: Increase and apply in full illegal recruiting sanctions for any US Club Soccer Champions League clubs that remain a GA Soccer member and illegally recruit players. But DA & ECNL clubs can still do it? cause they already do...and they don't get in troubleGA Soccer Leadership Positions: Exclude all representatives of US Club Soccer Champions League clubs from any position on a GA Soccer committee, sub-committee or any position of influence within GA Soccer. if they're creating this new league...will they really care??I don't know how much GA soccer will do or not do....lets be real here and realize that its all about the $$$ for the clubs and for GA soccer. If they completely kick out the 5 clubs from GA soccer ...thats a lot of kids....doesn't each club pay a fee per kid? US Club will just pick up the slack for all teams and line their own pockets. This is a giant mess with no easy solution!
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 11:08:31 GMT -5
Who wrote this?? first of all lets call it the big 5 not the big 6....i had always heard it was 5. I can't take this seriously when they're calling it "US Club Soccer Champions League" thats not the real name...that name was made up in this forum! Is this being started by parents or actual clubs? It’s in the letter, first post 😃 “GA Soccer Leadership Positions: Exclude all representatives of US Club Soccer Champions League clubs from any position on a GA Soccer committee, sub-committee or any position of influence within GA Soccer” I dont think you understood my question. The new league is not called US Club Soccer Champions League, thats what "we" the forumites call it
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Post by soccerdaddy on Mar 16, 2018 11:12:40 GMT -5
Got it! 😃👍😁
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2018 11:15:27 GMT -5
Love 2 terms --- The US Club Soccer Champions League & Forumites!!!!
Great Stuff!!
But -- if I think what maybe folks might be saying is for Georgia soccer to take a stand and say, well, then get out of Georgia Soccer and dont' compete at all in classic 1 to 8 or athena a to z. We are no longer recognizing you as a Georgia Soccer Association.....
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Post by hotspur1 on Mar 16, 2018 11:51:28 GMT -5
Love 2 terms --- The US Club Soccer Champions League & Forumites!!!! Great Stuff!! But -- if I think what maybe folks might be saying is for Georgia soccer to take a stand and say, well, then get out of Georgia Soccer and dont' compete at all in classic 1 to 8 or athena a to z. We are no longer recognizing you as a Georgia Soccer Association..... Let’s say they do kick them out. What’s stopping impact from picking up SSA or NASA players as guest players. If they didn’t allow these clubs to compete then wouldn’t all of the “champions league” players be out there for grabs to play in both leagues?
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Post by soccerdaddy on Mar 16, 2018 12:44:16 GMT -5
They probably won’t allow any guest players not under Georgia soccer membership. That’s my guess. If it’s out of state guest players then they probably have to be on an approved list.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 16, 2018 12:48:38 GMT -5
My blood boiled years ago with the ECNL concorde team taking all the central players out at state cup. We all know the story.
Why do we allow guest players for state cup? Should have to play in X games during the regular season for the team or document an injury or other extenuating circumstance keeping the player from playing in X amount of games. We are just saying being rostered vs actually playing.
Problem is we are way past this -- the damage is done, DA/ECNL's impact on Classic I and Athena is too big now, the entire system doesn't really make much sense anymore. State cups/regionals/nationals used to be the greatest thing going. Now its for the most part a meaningless endeavor (way to harsh, I know) Now a kid can play DA, and not compete for a trophy until u17... u17. thats nuts. I say it all the time, we've taken the competition out of competition. No standings, no scores kept, no results, everything starts over every year.
That being said, I think it was Carleton that said, his first truly meaningful game he played was in the World Cup. I could be mistaken, but we are talking about a kid that has won on every level.
But 99.9999% (exaggeration) of kids ain't going to ever put on a US Soccer uniform or play professional soccer -- but why is the country so against state cup at u13+, winning and advance. Its so cool, you go regionals, and guess what, you used to be the only team from your state their. So you weren't just representing your club, or your city you were representing your state. Obviously as you progress your representing the region etc.
Instead we have systems in place, where kids have to fly or drive 8 hours to play one game or drive 7 hours to play a team whose home field is 15 minutes from yours.
Everything needs to be re-thought out, everything! The question is, is there anyone with the federation thinking this way. This country will never amount to dog poop on the soccer field if 25% play DA, 25% play US Club and then the remaining 50% (made up numbers) are never even considered or evaluated.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 13:09:31 GMT -5
I say the parents (the ones footing the bill) come together and collectively protest with a planned "walkout". Pick a weekend and have nobody show up at the fields... Just birds chirping and sounds of crickets at the fields. Just kidding... kinda !! I know that would never happen, but there has got to be a way to get OUR voices heard about all of this. US Club is doing this, USYS is doing that... how about the paying customer!! This is as big of an example of "the tail wagging the dog" as I have heard of!
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 13:30:59 GMT -5
I say the parents (the ones footing the bill) come together and collectively protest with a planned "walkout". Pick a weekend and have nobody show up at the fields... Just birds chirping and sounds of crickets at the fields. Just kidding... kinda !! I know that would never happen, but there has got to be a way to get OUR voices heard about all of this. US Club is doing this, USYS is doing that... how about the paying customer!! This is as big of an example of "the tail wagging the dog" as I have heard of! Problem is that not all parents are on the same page......
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 14:00:49 GMT -5
I say the parents (the ones footing the bill) come together and collectively protest with a planned "walkout". Pick a weekend and have nobody show up at the fields... Just birds chirping and sounds of crickets at the fields. Just kidding... kinda !! I know that would never happen, but there has got to be a way to get OUR voices heard about all of this. US Club is doing this, USYS is doing that... how about the paying customer!! This is as big of an example of "the tail wagging the dog" as I have heard of! Problem is that not all parents are on the same page...... I bet if a straw poll were taken, a large majority would be in favor of these: 1. less travel 2. less cost 3. promo/relegation 4. inclusiveness 5. parental relevance ...Specifically speaking of GA Soccer. Anyone else fell free to add to this list if you want. I agree that there are factions out there that might not be on the same page, but not in amounts that are on the side of the Clubs and Associations holding all of the power that impacts our childrens' soccer experience.
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 14:08:47 GMT -5
Problem is that not all parents are on the same page...... I bet if a straw poll were taken, a large majority would be in favor of these: 1. less travel 2. less cost 3. promo/relegation 4. inclusiveness 5. parental relevance ...Specifically speaking of GA Soccer. Anyone else fell free to add to this list if you want. I agree that there are factions out there that might not be on the same page, but not in amounts that are on the side of the Clubs and Associations holding all of the power that impacts our childrens' soccer experience Isn't that the whole point of this new league? at least the 1st two points are. And BTW....the actual name of the league is: Southeastern Clubs Champions League, and the letter originated from Smyrna Soccer Club
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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 16, 2018 14:12:27 GMT -5
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 14:18:25 GMT -5
So its a done deal i guess.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 14:29:24 GMT -5
I bet if a straw poll were taken, a large majority would be in favor of these: 1. less travel 2. less cost 3. promo/relegation 4. inclusiveness 5. parental relevance ...Specifically speaking of GA Soccer. Anyone else fell free to add to this list if you want. I agree that there are factions out there that might not be on the same page, but not in amounts that are on the side of the Clubs and Associations holding all of the power that impacts our childrens' soccer experience Isn't that the whole point of this new league? at least the 1st two points are. And BTW....the actual name of the league is: Southeastern Clubs Champions League, and the letter originated from Smyrna Soccer Club What I'm saying is that the majority of parents would like GA SOCCER to have these considerations. I get why the "big 5" are doing this, and while those first two are nice selling points for them, I don't trust that they have other motives as well. But we can agree to disagree. BTW, where did you get the name of this Southeastern Clubs Champions League? I haven't seen it anywhere. Is there an announcement somewhere?
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 16, 2018 14:38:21 GMT -5
Isn't that the whole point of this new league? at least the 1st two points are. And BTW....the actual name of the league is: Southeastern Clubs Champions League, and the letter originated from Smyrna Soccer Club What I'm saying is that the majority of parents would like GA SOCCER to have these considerations. I get why the "big 5" are doing this, and while those first two are nice selling points for them, I don't trust that they have other motives as well. But we can agree to disagree. BTW, where did you get the name of this Southeastern Clubs Champions League? I haven't seen it anywhere. Is there an announcement somewhere? I agree, I would have liked for GA soccer to have been able to come to an agreement and everyone get along....but we are way past it like Soccerhouse said, once ECNL and DA came into the picture everything became a mush....and now its an even bigger mush...no idea how to even begin to fix it I asked one of the "big 5" DOC, I don't think it has been officially announced yet...the information just started leaking from everywhere.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 16, 2018 14:55:08 GMT -5
Going to be very interesting how these mega clubs determine what players/locations participate in the SCCL. Location of training, selection of players ==== messy messy messy ugly ugly ugly
this thing will be sold as the next great thing at these clubs - obviously after DA and ECNL.
So long State Cup, now your getting the 3rd teams from UFA, the 4th teams from concorde, the 2nd/3rd teams from NASA/Tophat (boys/girls). So so strange.
This will be sold as the next "elite" thing and will still have increased costs equivalent if not more than before.
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