July 10 – Six players plus the head coach failed to show up in time because of visa issues whilst another was reported to have defected as Cuba were trounced 6-0 by Mexico Thursday at the opening of the Gold Cup in Chicago.
By Ben Nicholson
July 10 – The rumors that the MLS is to introduce a ‘Core Player’ materialised on July 8 in the form of ‘Targeted Allocation Money’. The new rule amounts to each MLS club receiving $100,000 per year for the next five years for the purpose of investing in their roster outside of their player salary budget.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 10 – Shamed former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has won more time in his bid to avoid being extradited from his native Trinidad and Tobago to the United States to face corruption charges as part of the FBI probe into widespread corruption involving senior FIFA and other footballing officials.
July 8 – Gold Cup sponsor Allstate Insurance is activating its partnership with the additional moniker as the Official Protector of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Trophy. The activation will see Allstate take the Gold Cup Trophy on a seven-city tour across the US during the tournament which kicked off last night in Texas with a win for the US over Honduras.
By Paul Nicholson
July 8 – CONCACAF have ended their representation agreement with embattled marketing agency Traffic Sports USA with immediate effect. The announcement was made on the opening day of the Gold Cup, an event that Traffic owned exclusive rights to and had sold all of the current sponsorships for.
By Mark Baber
July 7 – CONCACAF have announced that all tickets have been sold for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader in Dallas this evening which kicks off at the 20,500 capacity Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
By Paul Nicholson
July 7 – CONCACAF has published a ‘Reform Framework’ as the confederation covering North and Central America and the Caribbean seeks for the second time in four years to put in a place a robust governance and management structure that will take football in the region forward.
By Ben Nicholson
July 3 – The MLS is reportedly set to make changes to their existing rules regarding salary caps. The league has allegedly already held a league-wide call about adding, what is essentially, an extra designated player spot, in terms of a “core player” – a player who may earn over the salary cap.
By Ben Nicholson
July 2 – Whilst the Women’s World Cup in Canada is attracting record numbers of spectators, Fox Sports are capitalising on the growing market for women’s soccer in North America by securing a broadcasting deal with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
By Paul Nicholson
July 1 – CONCACAF has called in management consultancy Alvarez & Marsal to review its finances and operations. The confederation that was rocked by the arrest of its president Jeffrey Webb and vice president Eduardo Li, has moved swiftly to establish a review of its procedures already having installed a ‘Special Committee’ of its three senior north American federation presidents to stabilise the organisation.
June 26 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and the Organization of American States (OAS) have teamed up to launch a joint Centre of Excellence for Major Sporting Events and Sustainable Development.
By Paul Nicholson
June 19 – Organisers of the 2015 Gold Cup to be played in the US starting July 7 are reporting ticket sales running at double the level of sales at the same for the 2013 championship. The news will be a relief for CONCACAF’s leaders as they battle to maintain confidence and the integrity of region’s showcase event for national teams.
By Ben Nicholson
June 18 – Minnesota’s MLS expansion franchise is in peril as their plans to build a soccer-specific stadium are struggling to receive attention in the State Capitol.
June 15 – The confederation may be in turmoil but the battle against match-fixing is on-going. This weekend CONCACAF hosted its Integrity Workshop training session in Guyana for the first time.
By Ben Nicholson
June 15 – New York Knicks basketball star Carmelo Anthony has joined the elite club of celebrity athlete owners of football clubs playing in the North American Soccer League (NASL) by creating his own team in his ancestral home of Puerto Rico.