That's one of my biggest gripes about the footy system here in the states. It's very lily white & only the well off can afford to participate in the higher levels of youth footy. Young black & latino kids don't have access to the same avenues as those well to do families & most of them wouldn't welcomed either.
gulati should've opened academies in inner cities pro bono so they could grow the base of players the US has. I think minority kids specifically black kids would flock to footy. I've seen it happen with lacrosse here in Bmore.
As usual so much misinformation and willful ignorance in your post and much of it parroted by others in the following post. Everything I'm about to say I've stated before in these discussions numerous times. It's almost to the point where i'm convinced some people legitimately just want to ***** and moan.
The highest levels of U.S. youth soccer is the United States Soccer Development Academy system. The roster of every academy team in the country is available
here on the USSDA website. Click on a team to view its roster.
You love to complain about how lily white our present day system is without any basis and it seems like you outright refuse to accept that reality is very different. A look at virtually any U.S. Academy roster is actually a cool look at exactly where this country is heading demographically. The majority is brown, many mixed or ambiguous, with first and surnames that feature a range of origins that include every ethnicity in the world from A - Z.
In 2016, to say that serious youth football in America is lily white and that it's exclusive to the financially privileged is just factually incorrect. Another poster stated the highest levels of the system are pay to pay, again so much misinformation and it's frustrating because we've had this discussion so many times over the years.
The MLS academies are highest level of youth soccer in America. Of the 22 current operating MLS Academies, DC United is the only one that is not 100% cost free.
You say Sunil Gulati should just open DA academies in our inner cities "pro bono." I know you're ignorant of the cost of operating an academy or a youth club for that matter but you shouldn't be ignorant of the USSF budget or its revenue/expenses. The information is publicly available and it's been posted here before. I don't get how you understand why local municipalities can't just build and upkeep new parks and soccer fields at will, but you don't understand why Gulati can't just open up free academies in our country's urban centers.
As for saying black and brown kids wouldn't be welcome at the highest levels of U.S. youth soccer anyway (despite the fact that they already a core part of the DA talent pool), that's just your usual baseless cynicism talking.
America needs more Futsal cages in inner cities
Our urban centers desperately need any open space to play and Futsal courts are actually viable solutions when it comes to costs and land footprint.
Earlier in the year
@Mastamind89 posted a very detailed article on what LA's doing in terms of installing a number of futsal courts throughout the city and the local community response.
I'd love to see that approach taken in Norther California. It's shameful how limited the number of available public places to play are in the Bay Area's inner cities.
