The training wheels on MLS’s Homegrown Players program are ready to come off.
Major League Soccer Effectively Eliminates Limits on Homegrown Players
Todd Durbin, the league’s VP of Competition and Players Relation, told Extra Time Radio that the limit of adding four homegrown players a year to senior and developmental rosters would likely be lifted this week. Don’t be surprised if MLS Commissioner Don Garber discusses the issue during his State of the League on Tuesday.
This is a potentially significant change in MLS rules, and one that signals the league is getting serious about player development. It comes about a year after the limit had been doubled to four.
In the past, teams were pretty much limited to building their rosters through trades, the SuperDraft and foreign signings. This opens up what could potentially be a treasure trove of talent, and gives enterprising teams significant advantages over those unwilling to invest resources in youth academies.
Teams like Real Salt Lake, the New York Red Bulls and DC United have already seen benefits of investing in this kind of talent development. Andy Najar, Bill Hamid, Juan Agudelo, Tyler Deric and Tristan Bowen are among the homegrown players who made their debuts this season.
The league is still years away from seeing teams full of academy products, but news like New England’s signing of 15-year-old Diego Fagundez will likely become even more common than it already has become.
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