Protagonist Picks: 7/21-7/26
Guest picker this week is D’alary Dalton. She’s an accomplished coach and club owner, let’s see if she can continue guest picker dominance.
Week 1 was Mario Alcala, week 2 was Danny Woodfill.
NPSL Keeps 2020 Club Fees Despite Cancelling Season
In a developing story, broken by Apyramid_blog on twitter, the NPSL has decided to keep the club fees for 2020, regardless of the fact that the league has cancelled the season. In an internal email, sent from a journalistic source, the league explained it’s rational.
“The NPSL believes the best thing for soccer in the United States is to ensure that we have a strong platform for teams like yours, and thus we optimize for keeping the league healthy, operational, and moving forward. Therefore, we were focused on finding a healthy balance between keeping the league healthy and sustained for years to come, while also providing relief for our teams. As we considered the sustainability of the league, heavily factored was the NPSL brand and where the league is positioned in the U.S. market. We are a year-round business, providing a platform for teams to build a business in their communities that has year-round relevance and a vision for the future. We have a small but high-level staff supporting that model and we are known for the level of professionalism and quality with which the league is operated and managed.”
Because of this, the league decided to keep the entirety of the $5,500 fees that were assessed to each club on entry to the 2020 season. What the league did offer to clubs was a credit - “Teams will receive a $2000 credit effective immediately.The league will review other ways to give more relief in the future. This is a credit refund as opposed to a cash refund. Credits will be applied to balances and benefits teams that see their future in the NPSL.”
Many clubs are not happy about this news and one NPSL club owner speculated that “30-40% of the league could be lost” with a “bunch of the clubs going to the UPSL.”
Things are challenging and appear to be getting worse.
NPSL Announces Launch of VPG eNPSL
With the cancellation of the 2020 season, the NPSL has announced the launch of an eLeague to help supply NPSL fans with a soccer fix. In a press release today, the league laid out the format for the new league. The tournament will be 11v11 style on the FIFA Pro Clubs platform. The inclusion of VPG, a big name in the industry, certainly lends credibility to the new eLeague.
“The NPSL is excited to enter the esports market for the first time,” NPSL Managing Director Cindy Spera said. “The VPG eNPSL will be a great way to bring our community members together for friendly competition on a virtual pitch. This will also be an opportunity to take the NPSL brand beyond our traditional boundaries and into new households across the country.”
“It’s fantastic to see the NPSL getting involved in the 11v11 FIFA esports,” Virtual Pro Gaming CEO Arron Dellosa said. “All of the teams entering into this will benefit massively as football has been postponed around the world. Many fans and gamers will enjoy watching the content created from FIFA 11v11. I am looking forward to getting this started.”
So far 8 clubs have signed up to participate: Atlantic City FC, Central Florida Panthers SC, Denton Diablos FC, Duluth FC, Fort Worth Vaqueros, Milwaukee Torrent, Muskegon Risers, and Ozark FC. We spoke with Damon Gochneaur about his club, Denton Diablos, participating in the competition. “The Diablos are excited to continue to grow the beautiful game, and one way or another, find a way to play soccer. The 11v11 format will provide an exciting format that will embody the spirit of the game. But most importantly, one way or another, we’re excited to face off in the first ever online Chisholm Trail Clasico against the Fort Worth Vaqueros.”
The schedule of the competition has yet to be announced, but the league did roll out a slick new logo for the league. Won’t lie, it’s pretty awesome. When we know more about the specifics of the league, we’ll pass them to you.
- Dan Vaughn