North American soccer league suffered a suspension, to the Chinese professional tournament to bring what inspiration?

Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Raul ...... The team behind this long list of names is the world-renowned New York Cosmos, while the New York Cosmos is currently in the league of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which is currently experiencing a rare suspension in the history of world soccer.

We're all familiar with the "lockout" through the NBA, and in late February 2018, the NASL officially announced that it was canceling the entire 2018 season, leaving people with a sigh of relief.

Why did the North American Soccer League suffer a lockout? Let's start with the three leagues in North American soccer, and the antitrust exemption system behind them.

In fact, today's North American soccer world, not only the Major League Soccer (Major League Soccer, referred to as MLS) such a league, but also the North American Soccer League (North American Soccer League, referred to as NASL) and the United Soccer League (United Soccer League, referred to as USL). (USL).

As we all know, the North American Soccer League does not have the elevation system of traditional sports leagues, so for the NASL, which is nominally a second-division league, the biggest goal of the teams is to use it as a stepping stone to MLS, while the USL, which is nominally a third-division league, has become more like a reserve league for MLS.

As we all know, teams in the North American league are known as "franchises," and the commercial value of teams in the league, which has no elevation, is so guaranteed that many people want to join the league.

Look at the number of teams - as of now, there are 32 teams in the NFL, 31 in the NHL, 30 in the NBA and 30 in the MLB, and 25 in the MLS, in which case there's a lot of room for a new team to get in, even if the franchise fee is already as high as $100-$150 million. Even with franchise fees already as high as $1-150 million, teams wanting to get into MLS have been lining up for a long time, and teams in the NASL don't have any particular advantage.

The most recent example is Beckham's new team in Miami, which will be the 25th to join the MLS league for a league-approved discounted $25 million franchise fee, but NASL teams waiting in line didn't get to wait for that day.

In this case, the NASL league team investors almost can not see the possibility of spring, many teams come and go, the willingness to participate is not resolute, the number of teams in the league in the 10 up and down, has not been able to meet the North American requirements of 12 teams access standards, which also let the U.S. Soccer Federation up "kill heart", they The USL is the only league in the world that has been able to meet the 12-team requirement in North America.

After all, the USL has a number of MLS-affiliated teams, now totaling 33, and has effectively become a minor league or development league under the MLS umbrella -- less ambitious and more compliant than the NASL. That leaves even less left of the NASL's already small market.

In a critical situation, the NASL began a two-pronged effort to save itself - expansion, and suing the U.S. Soccer Federation for colluding with MLS to violate antitrust laws.

Midway through the 2017 season, the NASL began expanding, announcing the addition of San Diego 1904 and California United, which would bring the number of teams in the NASL to 10 in 2018, but that's still less than the 12-team entry level. And so, on September 5, 2017, the U.S. Soccer Federation still announced that it was removing the NASL's second-tier status.

Two weeks later, the NASL launched an antitrust lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS. But in the midst of the lengthy lawsuit and countersuit, the NASL schedule was continually postponed. At that point, teams couldn't wait any longer, with North Carolina and Indy Eleven moving to the USL, while San Francisco and Edmonton announced they were breaking up altogether.

The few remaining teams were left with the option of playing in the NPFL (National Premier Soccer League, the equivalent of the U.S. Division IV) while retaining their NASL status.

Because professional sports enjoy certain exemptions from the application of antitrust laws in North American law, and thus the law allows certain monopoly statuses and monopolistic practices to exist, for example, leagues such as the MLB have exemptions for broadcasting, labor, and so on, the law was not on the NASL's side this time around, either.

On February 23, 2018, the Court of Appeals rejected the NASL's appeal and upheld the decision, revoking the NASL's status as an official second-tier league. As a result of this, the NASL had to announce that it was canceling the 2018 season altogether, stating that it hoped to return for the 2019 season.

But no matter what follows, the damage has been done and the NASL's status has been thoroughly undermined. After the announcement, San Diego 1904 and California United, who had intended to join the NASL for the 2018 season, announced that both teams had decided to withdraw from the NASL with the intention of joining the USL instead in 2019, and the NASL was already in jeopardy.

In fact, the NASL has a long history of woes in not being able to upgrade to MLS.

The NASL, plagued by competitive market pressures, team financial insolvency, and corruption in the league's management, had already gone through a lockout crisis back at the end of the 2016 season, when participation was reduced from 12 teams to eight, when the USL grudgingly granted a one-year temporary license.

However, at the end of the 2017 season, the NASL still failed to meet the U.S. Soccer Federation for the number of teams in the second level of the league, financial situation, regional distribution and other aspects of the basic requirements, coupled with a number of legal disputes has also exacerbated the contradictions between the two sides of the antagonism, the emergence of the current situation is to be expected.

How to deal with the development of the sub-top league and the level, small and medium-sized leagues is actually a difficult problem in many countries around the world.

This kind of encounter of the NASL reminds us of another basketball professional league outside of the CBA - the NBL.

Tracing back the history of the NBL, it was was officially established in 2004. In 2005, the league was renamed the NBL.

However, the expansion of the league was not originally intended to stimulate the league's growth.

The expansion of the league, however, was not intended to stimulate its development, but to prepare for the next "monopoly".

A year later, the Chinese Basketball Association held on April 26, "CBA Club Summit" officially announced that from the 2005-06 season, the CBA completely abolished the elevation system, the league to implement the access system, since then there are Dongguan, Guangsha, Qingdao, Sichuan and other six teams into the CBA.

With the CBA's expansion of the league, the CBA will be able to provide the necessary support for the development of the league, including the development of the CBA. /p>

However, the access system that NBL teams are eagerly awaiting also has a deadline. In 2014, the Basketball Association officially announced a new management approach, NBL teams will no longer be upgraded to the CBA league in the short term, the NBL "sub-league" identity is lost, which also led directly to the situation of investors and sponsors to leave the situation of a large area, the number of teams also sharply reduced from 16 to 9 in the 2015 season! --isn't that similar to what happened to the NASL?

But that's not all.2017 coincided with the first year of the CBA's "separation of management and administration", which was thought to give the NBL a new lease of life under the reforms, but on June 30, the CBA company held a press conference to announce once again that the CBA league will not be expanding within five years, which is like a headbutt for the NBL.

Desperate, the NBL can only save themselves. 2015, the NBL has realized the "management and operation separation", the then nine teams formed to undertake the league's running and business development rights NBL company - Beijing Enbio company, intended to save the league by the hand of the market, but from the results of the present point of view, this way does not really save the NBL, but also to save the league.

From the 2016 Anhui Wenyi finals "fake game" to the 400,000 Basketball Association fines, to the 2017 season due to the Zhimei sports run lead to the suspension of the league, and then to the playoffs staged "all martial arts "was a record fine of 530,000, the NBL league problems continue to enter our eyes because of negative news. In addition to this, there are management team identity is not clear, conflict of interest and other hidden problems.

NBL so many problems, in addition to a few times "meet people not lady", and the Basketball Association for the CBA expansion or not the decision is obviously very much related. The so-called "separation of management and operation" of the initial laissez-faire style can not save the league, the tournament is chaotic, difficult to make a profit, lack of attention and lack of management experience and other issues have not been resolved. If you don't see the hope of entering the CBA, the league will never get rid of the "chicken ribs" position.

So, how to deal with the relationship between CBA and NBL? In fact, the NBL's various problems, need to be linked to the CBA and Chinese basketball to consider. CBA's non-expansion of the interests brought about by the NBL development problems can make up for the harm brought about by the problem? For Chinese basketball, this question is undoubtedly a dilemma.

Of course, for our NBL, after all, has not reached the point of court, and the CBA league five years without expansion is not absolute.CBA company competition general manager Zhang Xiong has said, "the past new teams are promoted from the NBL, the future expansion of the army may not be limited to this kind of way. For whether or not to expand, how to expand, the current league company shareholders have not reached a unified opinion, but does not rule out adjustments will be made according to market demand and shareholder requirements."

So the relationship between the CBA and the NBL is again unique. In other words, if the non-expansion can help the CBA to develop better, Chinese basketball will naturally choose such a path, and let the CBA help the NBL to transcendent development and progress in the future. Of course, such a combination of considerations, more need to "monopoly" of the CBA to assume a greater responsibility, including the NBL about Chinese basketball.

And whether to turn the NBL into the CBA team reserve pool, or to turn it into the NBL Development League as a talent pool, are worth considering the way. The only thing that is certain is that in the world of sports, where resources are pooled into "anti-trust exemptions," and in light of what happened to the MLS and NASL, completely severing the NBL from the CBA would undoubtedly be a way to push the NBL to its death.

For China's basketball, the development of CBA is by no means independent, and the future will be able to smooth the relationship between the NBL and CBA, and complete a healthy industry-style joint development, has become a challenge to test the wisdom of the Chinese basketball association.

Titanium media author introduction: text / GeSiWen, LiuJintao, editor / GuoYang, sports industry ecological circle www.ecosports.cn原创稿件, circle brother wechat (ID: tiyuchanyeco)