The Real Reason Youth Soccer Is So Expensive — PRO/REL, MLS, and Why It's More Complicated Than You Think
About this episode
Neil Crawford discusses the complexities behind the high costs of youth soccer in America, challenging the notion that MLS is solely to blame.
In this episode I'm responding to a comment from our Anytime Soccer Training Facebook group that puts most of the blame on MLS and closed-circle systems for the problems in youth soccer. And honestly, there are some valid points there. We do need a stronger federation, a more open pyramid system, and better accountability across the board. But the more I dug into it, the more I realized — this is a lot more complicated than pointing the finger at one organization. Yes, MLS has influence. But club soccer's high costs aren't primarily driven by league structure. They're driven by what parents want and expect. Paid coaches. Multiple training days per week. National league competition. That demand exists regardless of how the system is set up at the top. I also talk about why bringing in more professional academies doesn't solve the cost problem for the average family, how the lack of a clear ranking system lets clubs market themselves without real accountability, and why those international comparisons you see online are almost always missing key context — coaching compensation, training frequency, facility costs, season length all matter before you can make a fair comparison…
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