Why the MLS season may be delayed by a players’ union strike

This is the 20^th season of Major League Soccer and it was all set to be the biggest yet. With the likes of Kaka and David Villa joining up, and with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard (honest) arriving mid-season it was all set to be the most star-studded ever. Heck, even Sky have signed up so the games will be broadcast to their widest audience yet in this part of the world.

But the big kick-off, which Sky are marking by showing Kaka’s Orlando City taking on Villa’s New York City at 9pm on Sunday, may not happen at all unless an unholy row between the owners of the MLS and the players’ union, the MLSPU, is resolved. Like all American sport disputes it comes back to what is called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the deal signed by the players and the league. The last one ran out in January and the new one has been held up over one highly contentious matter; free agency. To European ears, this is bizarre as players simply move from club to club depending on who comes up with the best offer, or for free, thanks to the Bosman ruling. But the MLS have a very different system, one with no need for Jim White, Totalizers or purple dildos in reporter’s ears. The MLS is a closed shop. Players sign with the league, not an individual team and the league owns their contract. They cannot negotiate a move to another club, or out of the league to another league without the expressed permission of the MLS top brass. Even when a player's contract runs out, the MLS can prevent them from signing for anyone else by paying a nominal fee to hold onto their rights. A US international called Herculez Gomez (below), now playing for Puebla in Mexico, has had his MLS rights held by Sporting Kansas City since he left them in 2009. This policy of central ownership, known as 'Single Entity', is rooted in the disastrous collapse of America’s first pro league, the NASL, in the mid 1980s, and is now well beyond its sell by date and the MLS should be strong enough, and brave enough, to stand on its merits. That is the view of the players, and it includes the view of Robbie Keane. Our record goalscorer is easily the golden boy of the league these days and Keane is prepared to strike for their rights. Keane told SI earlier this month: “I’m supportive of the guys. I spoke to [Galaxy teammate and MLSPU executive board member] Todd [Dunivant] about it and he asked my views and I said, ‘I’m 100 percent behind this. We all have to be united together,'" Keane said. Keane, as one of the marquee ‘Designated Player’ signings, was able to choose his team and negotiate a wage comparable to that of a player in Europe, making him one of the lucky ones but he is behind a strike if the players vote for it and he believes the league needs to change its policy on player ownership. “If you want to move forward, you certainly have to have the same way of thinking as the European clubs and the European leagues,” he said. “Players should be able to have that freedom. I feel like the players feel like [MLS has] a hold on them. They have a leash on them and they can’t get off. I think it’s a problem for the players.” The MLS owners don’t want free agency as they see the possibility of clubs fighting against each other for players, and driving themselves financially into the ground, especially as most still make a loss. The league’s view is that money should be spent on growing the game, either by investment in facilities, young players or in bringing in big names, not on clubs bidding against each other. So far, discussions have seen free agency being offered to players aged over 32 with 10 years service at one club (only applicable to one player in the league right now) and a further concession of players over 28 with eight years service at one club. Neither option comes close to what the players’ union feels is required. As we know, with most of the players on very low wages, they certainly can’t afford to miss week after week of pay cheques if a lockout does happen. The Union could cover them for a while but the owners probably know the players need the league more than the league needs the players. However, in the hyper competitive world of US sport, self-inflicted strikes are damaging. The NHL’s infamous strike of 1994-95 severely hurt that sport for years and some argue it never recovered. It is also worth noting that ice hockey was stronger in that period than an admittedly growing domestic soccer game is in 2015. As it stands, both sides are still in discussions in Washington DC and the league is still due to kick off with champions LA Galaxy taking on Chicago Fire in the early hours of Saturday morning Irish time. Time will tell if that comes to pass, or if the players will be granted similar rights to virtually every other footballer on Earth.