Good Soccer/Bad Soccer Vol. 5: Caps, Hacks, And Sacks (Of Cash)

It's time again for Good Soccer/Bad Soccer, our weekly roundup of soccer happenings from around the Amerisoccersphere. This week, we're adding the word "North" to our typical regional purview for reasons that you can probably guess.

Before we dive in, share this newsletter with a soccer fan you know. The Soccer Eagle would greatly appreciate it. There's something in here for everyone.

AWAY.

Save The Caps: A Don, A Premier, And A Call To Action

Damn the Man. Save The Caps.

The saga of the Vancouver Whitecaps and their potential move to Veges/Phoenix/Sacramento/Indianapolis is move fast and furious these days, so it can be a little hard to keep up.

Like an 80s sitcom with a multi-episode arc involving one character's battle with an addiction to diet pills, let's just do a recap:

Monday:

Tom Bogert and Paul Tenorio drop a bombshell of a story on an MLS committee meeting to discuss the future of the Whitecaps. The story mentions a few possible destinations (Las Vegas first, with Phoenix "also a top contender") and includes a note that the league would like look for a "relocation fee" on top of whatever price is paid to buy the Caps. Jeff Carlisle follows with his own reporting at ESPN, including quotes from MLS commissioner Don Garber's during a session with the Associated Press editors, further ramping up the drama.

"The Whitecaps are a tenant in BC Place. That's run by a public entity. They control no revenue," Garber said, painting a picture of what the Whitecaps deal with. "They don't control their schedule. They're not able to expand any of their offerings in a world now which has more premium and more special experiences for fans.

"We've been unable to make progress with the province or the city, all of which control different aspects of the decisions that need to be made to make that situation better for our owner, for the team, and for the league. It's reaching a critical point. If we can't get a better dynamic in that with BC Place, I don't know how we stay."

The sabres, they rattle.

Tuesday:

The Province in Vancouver publishes a story with quotes from Ravi Kahlon, minister of jobs and economic growth for the province of British Columbia. The province owns BC Place and is allowing the Caps to use it at no cost to the team.

Although Kahlon takes pains to praise the professionalism of Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster, most of the minister's statements paint a picture of obfuscation on the part of MLS and the club.

In other words, Ravi says he doesn't know what the Caps need to make the stadium work because they Caps won't tell him. He also pointed out that if the Caps want total control of the building, that means paying the stadium's debt service.

“Axel and his team have been very professional,” he said. “We’ve been working on that because we want to make sure that the numbers that they’re presenting are accurate. The team also says they’re losing money. We have no line of sight of their costs. They haven’t shared their structure, how much debt they’ve accumulated. And so these are things we would want to know.”

“If they had a proposal that they felt, you know, would solve their issues, we’d love to see it. We haven’t seen that yet. They’ve raised issues, good issues, with parking, concessions and advertising. And we’ve been addressing them as we hear them.”

Wednesday:

Garber meets with the Premier of British Columbia (that's like a governor, Canadian-style) David Eby. Eby calls the talks "constructive" in a press conference late on Wednesday, but says that the Whitecaps taking over BC Place is not an option.

“The simple reason for that is the Whitecaps have shown absolutely no interest in taking over BC Place,” Eby said.

Garber has thrown out the idea of the Whitecaps taking over the commercial naming rights of the stadium, something the province sees as a handout it's not willing to give.

Late Wednesday night, things get weird.

Um. Okay.

Did Don Garber really post a snarky direct reply in the form of a playground insult to the premier of British Columbia?

Don says, well no, actually, he didn't.

For good measure, GS/BS friendo Jonathan Tannenwald:

Here are the possibilities as BS/GS sees them, acknowledging as necessary that this is the standard bag of explanations that come with any whoopsie daisie ill-advised social media interaction:

1. Don Garber is really salty about the Caps situation and actually did fire off an emotional response to Eby just hours after meeting him in Vancouver.
2. Don Garber got into his cups following his visit with Eby and let fly with the bad idea tweet while in the Zone of Lower Inhibitions.
3. A social media manager responsible for posting on Don Garber's behalf or with access to his account was guilty of 1 or 2.
4. Don Garber really was hacked (or compromised...)

Ranked in order of likelihood, it's 3, 2, 1, 4. No one believes the "I was hacked" excuse, right?

Damn the Man. Save The Caps.

BAD SOCCER (waves at most of this)

GOOD SOCCER (Save The Caps)

Good Gear

Last week GS/BS brought to your attention the story, as told by Rory Hadar, of the Washington Spirit's plastic coyote good luck charm, José.

This week, José got his own merch.

In Jose We Trust Tee

Own a piece of Washington Spirit history with the In Jose We Trust Tee. This shirt celebrates Jose the Coyote, the plastic mascot that transformed a San Jose road trip into the team’s most iconic superstition. Since April 2026, Jose has been a fixture at training and matches—a good luck charm that’s helped fuel the Spirit’s winning streak and become a beloved symbol of team unity. Whether you believe in the magic or just love the quirk, this tee lets you rep the legend. In Jose We Trust.

Washington Spirit Shop

$40 is a little steep for a t-shirt, but this is limited edition stuff we're talking about. José has an expiration date and it might be the Spirit's next losing streak.

GS/BS was all set to laud the Spirit for spelling José's name with the accurate Spanish accent, as is indicated here...

..only to see the version for sale lacking the accent. Anyway, it's a plastic coyote named after part of the name of the city where the Spirit first ran into his kind and that city doesn't use the accent ('Merica) so we're walking away.

GOOD SOCCER

But Is She A Finisher?

Here's to hoping Deb Haaland tells her opponent to "stay humble",

GOOD SOCCER (50 Plus Döner)

Staking Holders With Rigor While Evaluating Alignment Broadly NAILED IT

The NWSL made news last week when several outlets reported the league was pondering making calendar switch, a la Major League Soccer.

Following several days of debate over the idea and the NWSLPA stating a majority of the players oppose a switch, the league issued a statement that put the story to bed...for now.

If your broad stakeholders are out-of-alignment, see a doctor immediately.

For a little more insight on exactly why the NWSL might have paused this move for those exact three season mentioned at the top of the statement, we turn to GS/BS's go to soccer lawyer.

BAD SOCCER (NWSL)

GOOD SOCCER (NWSLPA)

Accelerating Model Growth Into Strategic Hometown Operating Scales NAILED IT

Just before GS/BS when to print on Thursday, Major League Soccer announced that "global investment firm" (read: private equitty) KKR is throwing a bunch of dollar bills as its reserve league, MLS Next Pro.

As part of the deal, MLS and KKR have formed a new enitity, Hometown Soccer Holdings, to run MLSNP and oversee its "strategic investment in accelerating growth". Former NYCFC, Chelsea, and Carolina Panthers executive Tom Glick and ex-LA Galaxy president Chris Klein are at the top of the new company's org chart.

Paul Tenorio has more details at The Athletic. Using the word "hometown" is so obviously a swing at convincing soccer fans the whole investment is in their interests and not that of the capital that it makes our blood run cold.

And quotes like these in the context of (more) private equity getting involved in lower division soccer in the United States are enough to give GS/BS the willies.

“Our platform is about expanding access to the game and investing in the communities that support it,” said Glick. “We believe every city deserves a professional club it can call its own, one that inspires local pride and contributes meaningful economic impact. We welcome the opportunity to work with local leaders to develop clubs and venues that reflect the character of their markets and bring professional soccer closer to more fans across the country.”

On the surface, more money and more ambition means more clubs representing more fans and more hope the soccer potential of the United States can finally be realized.

And maybe we simply can't get more clubs and more everything without this kind of "strategic investment". But no one should ever feel comfortable throwing their support to a team whose existence flows from a private equity's firms desire to maximize its return.

GS/BS will be watching closely to see if this means an escalation of the Soccer Wars in small and mid-sized cities across the country. KKR is joining the battle on the MLS side while USL scoops up private equity cash of its own to enact its own vision of what a "soccer team for all" looks like.

BAD SOCCER WITH A CHANCE OF SOME GOOD

Render Me Excited

In general, mostly as a means to protect from massive disappointed when plan doesn't meet reality, GS/BS takes a cynical stance on soccer stadium renderings.

Look at them. Appreciate them. But don't fall in love with them because they will inevitably let you down when they turn out to be a totally different person. Er, stadium.

But come on. How can you not be head over heels for this new look at the planned expansion of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds venue on the banks of the Monongahela River?

GOOD SOCCER (now built it exactly like that, please)

That's it, we're done. Whew.

Thanks for reading GOOD SOCCER/BAD SOCCER if you made it this far.

Announcments!

Thursday nigtht! Live edition of The Best Soccer Show! Come join for American soccer fun.

Morning Kickaround is going to be broadcasting live from Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on May 9th ahead of the Rhode Island FC v. Tampa Bay Rowdies match. Tune in on YouTube or better yet, come to the stadium and support out efforts to shine a spotlight on soccer clubs and communities across the U.S.

And last (and also least), GS/BS asks you to again spread the word about the newsletter to help this little thing grow. Any support you can give in that way, or any other way, is greatly appreciated.