Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Football/Fully professional leagues/Archive 33

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Bangladesh Premier League (football)

Bangladesh Premier League is a professional league where it is included as semi-pro league. Saiful Islam Jitu

Where are the third-party sources which confirm that the league is fully-professional? GiantSnowman 16:51, 13 May 2020 (UTC)

References

Italy's Serie C

Although the third level of Italian football was changed from semi-professionalism to professionalism in 1978, it appears that over the past few seasons, and particularly in the 2019–20 season, the league is again functioning as a semi-professional league. Contrasti magazine has a detailed article about the challenges facing Serie C, with several clubs dissolving or withdrawing from the league as club revenues have been insufficient to meet the mandated 26,000-euro minimum player salary. If clubs are unable to pay their player salaries and are dissolving to avoid their responsibility, can we really say this league is still fully-pro? The Contrasti article cites league leadership and club chairmen that are pushing to officially return to semi-professionalism for Serie C. Should we update the FPL list to show Serie C as fully-pro from 1978–2019? Jogurney (talk) 20:27, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

• This never got responded to, but if teams are dissolving to leave Serie C because of their professionalism requirements, that means it's still professional until otherwise noted. SportingFlyer T·C 16:38, 13 May 2020 (UTC)
• The Serie C is widely known as the "third level of professional football in Italy", or the "lowest professional league", or something of the sort. Many reliable sources (Sky Sport, Sport Piacenza, Repubblica, Goal) agree that Italy has three professional leagues: Serie A, B, and C. Also, the official name of the body that governs the Serie C, Lega Pro, is "Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico" (Italian League Professional Football) (Lega Pro). Nehme₁₄₉₉ (talk) 17:22, 13 May 2020 (UTC)

National Independent Soccer Association IS a Professional League

Have been following the WP:NFOOTY NISA thread and was upset to see the discussion stopped so wanted to bring this up again for few reasons:

1. Here is a link to an official document from the United States Soccer Federation provisionally approving NISA league as D3 Professional - http://www.ussocceragm.com/book-of-reports - page 91 on 2020 Book of Articles. Suggesting that the NISA article that the general public can access and review, is not relevant because its lacking listing on WP:FPL is dubious as it questions the legitimacy of wikipedia as a whole. This is the equivalent of saying "Yea its professional!" Then whispering behind the publics back and saying "actually not really... but don't tell anyone!" Also apart from the USL's own websites there are no other sources proving USL to be sanctioned by USSF. Why is NISA League in question with an official document from the federation proving its legitimacy but not USL?

2. Contradictory that a club is deemed not professional and not in WP:FPL even though it clearly participates in a competition deemed relevant for a clubs inclusion in WP:FPL. Here is a schedule posting of several NISA teams participation in the US Open Cup posted via the United States Soccer Federations own website, just search "NISA" - https://www.ussoccer.com/us-open-cup. Note this is also the first round where PROFESSIONAL clubs are introduced.

3. Various articles referencing NISA's professional status:
https://www.soccertoday.com/why-america-needs-the-new-pro-soccer-league-nisa/
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/sports/detroit-city-fc-kick-first-season-pro-team-next-month
https://sgbonline.com/national-independent-soccer-association-announces-los-angeles-club/
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/professional/story/2020/mar/12/chattanooga-fcs-home-opener-nisa-suspends-season-due-coronavirus/518038/
https://www.nycosmos.com/news/2019/12/13/new-york-cosmos-confirm-participation-in-the-national-independent-soccer-association-starting-in-the-fall-of-2020
https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/73705/nisa-ex-fire-gm-peter-wilt-plans-launch-of-d3-lea.html
https://ussoccerplayers.com/2020/04/expansion-keeps-going-in-american-soccer.html

4.If all of the points above plus all of the news articles referencing NISA League as PROFESSIONAL are not enough to qualify NISA for WP:NFOOTY please let me know what or who decides that apart from WIKI moderators. Also please understand that if NISA is truly NOT professional this opens up some serious issues that need to be raised nationally ASAP. First of all, the public should know they are being deceived. Secondly, If NISA is truly not considered a professional league that means that NCAA College players can participate and not lose their NCAA eligibility. This type of news would make for a very big headline within the United States as your decision could be shared with College Compliance Offices to allow students to play in NISA and keep their scholarships and eligibility as a college athlete. Futbol10p 22:33, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

• The requirement is fully professional, not professional, meaning a player must make their full-time wages from the sport. For teams such as Oakland it's possible this is the case, but the last evidence I had shows some players were paid by the six-game season last year, which isn't "fully pro." Considering how new and unstable the league seems to be, considering we're a lagging indicator of notability, considering COVID, and considering this really is a "all players in the league pass WP:GNG" more than anything else, I see no need to add this to the list at the present time. SportingFlyer T·C 16:41, 13 May 2020 (UTC)

• I invite everyone discussing this to please avoid unsubstantiated assumptions and do their best to provide information for or against with outside sources so we can keep this an educated discourse and not one based on personal opinions WP:FAPO.

Article 1: On page 9 of an official FIFA document on player statuses it states that there are only TWO distinctions recognized by FIFA - Professional or Amateur. Why is Wikipedia trying to further introduce new distinctions beyond what the worlds football governing body as well as federations like USSF have already established? By FIFA and USSF standards, NISA League pays players and which are now considered professional and nothing else in between. Hence being a professional league - fully or not fully are not officially recognized distinctions.

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/regulations-on-the-status-and-transfer-of-players-2018-2925437.pdf?cloudid=c83ynehmkp62h5vgwg9g

Article 2: Who or what is determining the league is unstable? Is that just SportingFlyer opinion? The NISA League started with 8 teams and has since added 6 more teams; are additions to the league - nevertheless teams like NY Cosmos - considered instability? Also please see the following article with quotes from a NISA Club OWNER stating his belief that the league IS stable.

https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/24/usl-championship-league-one-two-npsl-nisa-coronavirus-impact

Article 3: A NISA Team Owner + Lead Spokesperson for his team stating salaries are consistent with USL (which is considered FULLY pro).

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/story/2019-07-17/soccer-san-diego-1904-fc-demba-ba-nisa-sdccu-stadium?_amp=true

Article 4: Data provided by ex-NISA League Co-Founder Peter Wilt stating expectation for larger player wage budgets than USL League One teams (Also considered FULLY pro).

https://www.soctakes.com/2017/08/05/comparison-between-nisa-usl-d3/

Article 5: Article showing comparable Player + Staff pay to FULLY professional English League Two clubs. Article also shows - from factual information shared on behalf of the EFL - that there are some players in the Championship on $15,800 per year and in League One + League Two $9,500 per year. This can be considered not a full-time wage so should these cases also lead to speculation that the historic Championship, League One and League Two are actually NOT Fully Professional? I absolutely disagree and believe they are very much professional - which leads to the question then - what PERCENTAGE or amount of players must be paid a full-time wage for a league to be considered FULLY pro? This creates a very grey area and is a very important distinction to make clear.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8262315/Physios-191-000-kit-men-56-000-Crazy-wages-dont-add-EFL-clubs-brink.html Futbol10p 12:30, 13 May 2020 (UTC)

Fine, I'll keep playing. 1. Here on Wikipedia, we make the distinction between professional and "fully professional" as criteria to help distinguish between players which likely meet WP:GNG and players that don't. This excludes leagues that include semi-pro or amatueur teams, within reason (an amateur team was stunningly promoted to the Norwegian top flight, but we didn't remove it from the list out of common sense.) 2. Yes it's my opinion but the league has already had a couple teams fold, we're in the midst of a COVID crisis, and has barely played any games. Wikipedia is a lagging indicator of notability and outside of maybe Oakland and Detroit, nobody cares about this league (attendance is terrible.) 3. The word is "expected to be," and that source is primary. 4. An almost three year old article from a patreon-funded blog and that word again "expects." 5. Daily Mail is not reliable, and if you think League Two players should no longer qualify, that's a separate discussion. Basically what we need is either a definite showing of league salaries, or that everyone in the league is receiving coverage that qualifies them for WP:GNG - right now, we have neither. SportingFlyer T·C 08:30, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure if SportingFlyer is trolling at this point or has some kind of personal vendetta or bias against NISA League because every response repeatedly conflicts with WP:FAPO and WP:NPOV and sound more like attacks against the league than logical reasoning. Making statements like "nobody cares about this league (attendance is terrible)." should immediately disqualify SportingFlyer from any further conversations on this topic and honestly any topics pertaining to professional football. USL Championship has average attendance of 4,900, EFL League Two 4,400, and USL League One 1908 which are considered below average attendances but many people - including myself - still very much care about these leagues and they are ALL still considered "fully pro". Also I live outside of Oakland and Detroit and care about NISA - so there goes that argument... Average attendance - which you can request from the NISA office - for 2020 alone was around 2,039 before cancellation. It was 1720 in Fall 2019 alone - again legitimate signs of growth. Repeatedly mentioning COVID is also just unfounded alarm-ism.

There have been neither showings of league salaries or that everyone is receiving coverage for other "fully pro" leagues like USL Championship or USL League One yet they were accepted. If there is evidence showing otherwise please share the link.

If anyone else would like to add constructive arguments for or against and provide sources and not just trash talk a clearly fully pro league, I invite them too and hope SportingFlyer is banned from further conversation on this topic as he has shown no WP:GF regarding the topic.

Futbol10p 16:00, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Anyone else want to ban me from football articles?

By the way, see discussions here for our most recent discussion on other US minor leagues, and [1] (sorry for the non-RS) for the 2020 season showing the very low attendance numbers outside of Oakland/Cal Strikers, along with the fact a couple teams have already folded. SportingFlyer T·C 00:56, 17 May 2020 (UTC)

I appreciate sharing here but doesn't seem like any action or progress is being made there... Also I appreciate your sharing some supporting sources finally to make your case against NISA however, I think you are painting a misleading picture of the 2020 attendance. See first week stats - provided by the league:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NISA/comments/fenoe2/nisa_2020_spring_season_attendance_report_week_1/

There is already clear growth from Fall 2019 season (LA Force was averaging about 900ppl in Fall). Why were numbers low on week 2? I think the date says it all - March 8th - when very serious COVID warnings were already in place, especially in LA which was clearly affected. Again, I am only attempting to share facts here versus opinions by SportingFlyer that seem clearly biased and devoid of WP:GF - especially attempting for the THIRD time now to paint an unfair picture - devoid of any proof - that the league is unstable and a "couple teams have already folded." Can you please provide a source showing confirmation of the teams that folded? The NISA wiki clearly states "Inactive" not "Folded" which is a very important distinction. See article here clearly discussing the Phiadelphia Fury has in fact NOT folded but is looking for additional investors before rejoining the league again. That article has a primary and secondary source confirming this. Also let me state for the second time that despite one team moving to USL and two teams inactive - that could be back at anytime - that SIX new teams have been added. Also adding article from reliable secondary source stating NISA is "Fully Pro" Futbol10p 17:30, 17 May 2020 (UTC)

it is clear from the above that the league is NOT fully-pro and that there is no consensus to include it on the list. GiantSnowman 09:38, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

I'm sorry how is it clear from the 16 sources I've provided as proof FOR versus the zero sources from @SportingFlyer and only comments he admitted to being his own opinions? Yourself and @SportingFlyer have been the only two users opposing this with no proof or sources to backup your claims. Futbol10p 9:38, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

It's pretty clear that @Futbol10p wants the league to be considered fully-pro, in order for Patryk Tenorio to be granted automatic notability through WP:NFOOTY (see the AFC submission, which was rejected, and the AfD). I would go as far as saying that Futbol10p is creating his own Wikipedia page, and finding any possible solution to keep the article up. However, I don't want to jump to conclusions, so let's leave it at that. Nehme₁₄₉₉ (talk) 15:02, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

You went from "It's pretty clear..." to "I don't want to jump to conclusions..." I'm surely not the only one that can see this is juvenile trolling at best right? I was initially unclear on the WP:GNG standards for the Patryk Tenorio article but have a better understanding of it now and agree it fails to meet those standards so I respectfully accept and understand if it must be deleted. The issue I am discussing here is of much greater important within world football and the players associated in my opinion and why I am addressing it. The outcome here has no bearing on my edits for Patryk Tenorio; I would not revisit until I see it meets WP:GNG. Futbol10p 9:38, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

"Juvenile trolling", are you serious? Where is the "general consensus of FOR 5 to 2" you are talking about? Four people have participated in this discussion: you, SportingFlyer, GiantSnowman, and I. If anything, the consensus is 1 to 3 (1 to 2 if you exclude me). Are you worth 5 people? Where are the other four people who think the NISA is fully pro? Also, the "it's pretty clear" relates to the fact that Patryk Tenorio is an important basis for why you are pushing so much for having the NISA included in this list (given that over half your edits, 24/41, are about him). "I don't want to jump to conclusions" is regarding the fact that you are Tenorio himself. Nehme₁₄₉₉ (talk) 17:06, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

Please review the archives on this topic and add up all the FOR vs. Against and let me know what number you find for and against and who the against users seem to be each time. FOR: Futbol10p, ArsenalFan700, ColeTrain4EVER, Smartyllama, Leviv. As stated before please stick to the discussion and provide sources and avoid making unfounded personal attacks. Futbol10p 10:15, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

May you please quote my supposed "unfounded personal attack"? Nehme₁₄₉₉ (talk) 17:29, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

ColeTrain4Ever canvassed off-wiki (which fortunately didn't affect the discussion too much.) I'm exceptionally curious as to why you think Levivich supported your proposal. SportingFlyer T·C 19:51, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

To be fair I was just trying to find more sources to benefit my case - I wasn't looking for a pile on of screaming users who had no idea what they were talking about (hence the final sentence about using sources). I apologize if this seemed as though I was trying to use greater numbers of support to win the argument. ColeTrain4EVER (talk) 15:22, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

For what it's worth, I was on a wiki break at the time and needed some time to think. I agree now that NISA isn't a fully-professional league, at least not yet. I do think it will be in the future but for now there is no evidence that every team is fully-professional. If anything, it is like the National League in England with a mixture of fully-pro and some somewhat pro sides. --ArsenalFan700 (talk) 21:39, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

• This has been the most educated, level headed argument made so far against and clearly made by someone with a strong understanding of the worlds game. That being said I think its a totally fair assessment. I appreciate your level headed response and think the National League comparison is great. Futbol10p 18:40, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

References

USL Championship technically is not "fully-professional"

Making a case here that either the USL Championship should be removed from the list of fully professional leagues, or the term "fully professional" should be revised. Even though the USL Championship is the second-highest league in the US, it does not fit the current criteria for "fully professional". USL Championship teams sign players to "Academy Contracts" in which players are not paid so that they can keep their college eligibility. Here are a couple of examples: Sacramento Republic FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Charlotte Independence, Tulsa FC LamBiosInc (talk) 04:32, 25 March 2020 (UTC)

I don't know the answer but the 2019 Soccer Today article says, "Typically, USL teams are allowed to roster a maximum of five young players who are on Academy contracts on their game-day roster, although very rarely does this happen." If these clubs are now allowed to use players on academy contracts and regularly do so (the part which seems unclear to me), it does call into question the full-time professionalism of the league. I guess the other question is whether we should treat the entire league as non-fully-pro if a club or two rely on using amateur players regularly. I think we need to do some research to get to the bottom of it. Jogurney (talk) 20:39, 25 March 2020 (UTC)

Are these limited number of Academy players any different, really, to youth players playing for Premier League teams? GiantSnowman 21:58, 25 March 2020 (UTC)

Stepping in here. Yes, you are correct. These limited academy players are no different to youth players playing for Premier League teams. Difference is, besides some players in the Premier League maybe earning 500 a week max as a youth player playing the odd game or two, these USL academy guys are paid nothing BUT only because that is the only way we can play them without these players losing eligibility for college soccer scholarships (if you are paid a cent, you don't get a scholarship). These are special case players and don't constitute the majority at all. In fact, you go through the stats of the 2019 season, barely any USL Championship side, that wasn't a II team, played guys younger than 20 years of age and all those players were earning full-time salaries. For the II teams, you would get maybe 5-7 at a time under the age of 19. --ArsenalFan700 (talk) 20:07, 17 May 2020 (UTC)

There is an article from The Athletic dated August 2018 with a few interesting points in regard to this matter. It is a subscription service, but I will directly paste a few key points from the article.[2]

Quote:

After going unsigned after the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, defender Tyler David signed with the USL’s Saint Louis FC, where he saw how the team attempted to keep costs low.

“My second year there, Saint Louis was still looking for players when the season started,” said David, who is now playing in Finland. He said the club offered lodging to every player, and would sometimes pay players from its coaching budget. “I know of some teams who would sign goalkeepers from within their market and pay them $250 a month. They’d end up living at home or with their own friends, but it was a much cheaper choice than signing three true goalkeeping options.”

According to one former USL general manager, salaries can be even stingier.

“There are players on rosters that are playing for a place to live,” he said. “These guys are being paid room and board but earning no income on top of that. They’re squad players—the guys filling out numbers. In fairness, those contracts include bonuses for playing time.”

Signing with these teams can mean getting a foot in the door with no other financial benefit. Teams like Reno 1868 sign players for nothing beyond room and board and the hope of earning cash bonuses.

“We have guys in Reno that are earning zero-dollar contracts,” (Patrick McCabe of Stellar Group) said. “They have bonuses, and we just had one player flipped into a better deal that’s above market value next year. Every situation is a little bit different, but guys are willing to take the hit to play in Reno because it’s a good team.”

Players across the USL confirmed to The Athletic that some of their teammates drive for ride-sharing companies, which sometimes means working past midnight after a game or showing up exhausted for training the following day.

“I drove Uber and Lyft every single day in the offseason,” David said. “It kept me busy and out of trouble, which helps between games. I love it—it’s a really easy way to earn money.”

In this one section, the article written by Jeff Rueter claims USL pays players under the poverty line, that players have secondary sources of income (Ride share driving), and some players are getting signed for "zero dollar contracts". The credibility of both Rueter and the publication itself should allow for the inclusion of a anonymous source, especially considering a player is named in the story as well.

Quote:

The insecurity of low monthly wages can be compounded by the fact that only about 30 percent of teams—according to estimates by both a former USL general manager and an agent—pay their players on a 12-month schedule. Most teams pay only from the start of training camp to the final day of the season. The majority of players are on one-year contracts, which means they will often begin the following season as unpaid trialists, leaving a four-month period without payment.

“The first year of my contract was an eight-month deal,” David said. “Apparently, I hadn’t read that close enough, but it wasn’t brought up in negotiations. I was surprised when I stopped getting checks in mid-September, after we were eliminated. In my option year, my salary went up after performance incentives. Rather than raise how much each check was, we renegotiated to a ten-month deal with the same weekly wage and bonuses. It ran through the end of November, and that was a massive improvement from the eight-month deal.”

This is the last part I'll quote so I don't give an entire article away for free, but previous definitions for "fully professional" have brought up full-year salaries vs. season-by-season pay. USL teams, both reserve and independent, seem to be skirting this line. There seems to be enough here and in other sources to show the league, at least at the USL Championship level, isn't following the "fully professional" standard set by this project. Appreciation to ArsenalFan700 for helping me retrieve this article. ColeTrain4EVER (talk) 17:52, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

• Wondering how the latest news released from the USL Players Association themselves also affects how "fully pro" USL Championship is. See the following two articles which both share the direct USLPA statement within as well:

https://www.frontrowsoccer.com/2020/05/19/counter-proposal-usl-players-association-throws-it-back-to-the-league/

https://abc11.com/coronavirus-north-carolina-fc-usl-nc/6197630/

Key Takeways per the USLPA document itself

• Many USL Players earn less than a livable wage
• Mention of the league being "unstable for decades" - only noting this since same argument was used repeatedly against NISA league (I don't think this should be a valid argument as this pandemic has shown that even the top world leagues can be unstable...
• Ask for a minimum salary of $20k which one can clearly determine to mean that there are players below this currently. The U.S Poverty line is currently $12,760 and federal minimum wage gets you about $15k per year. Considering many teams are in larger cities and markets I would think this walks a very thin line of what is "Fully pro" and what isnt...

In closing all I want to add is that I am not necessarily advocating for USL to be removed as "Fully Pro" especially as the U.S.A's second division; but want to highlight the flawed system of "Fully Pro" and "Not Fully Pro" as in worldwide football the finances amongst clubs and leagues are too varied. There are non-league teams where players make more than League Two or League One players! I will open a separate talk page to discuss updating or "repealing" the Fully/Not Fully Pro distinction. Futbol10p 13:30, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

I think the evidence presented shows that USL's current status as it pertains to the project's current scope of "fully professional" should be discussed. But burning down the system isn't something we should look at right now. So if we can move past that last part and continue discussions, I feel that would be best. ColeTrain4EVER (talk) 01:10, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

References