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MLS And Youth Development: What They Have Done And What’s Still To Come

by Kim McCauley

Since implementing the Homegrown Player rule in 2008, MLS has signed 47 such players. They have started to develop better youth talent, but their job is nowhere near done.

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    D.C. United’s Bill Hamid is one of the few bonafide success stories of MLS academies. Moving forward, MLS teams will be looking to get more bang for its buck. (Photo by Jeff Golden/Getty Images)
    D.C. United’s Bill Hamid is one of the few bonafide success stories of MLS academies. Moving forward, MLS teams will be looking to get more bang for its buck. (Photo by Jeff Golden/Getty Images)
    D.C. United’s Bill Hamid is one of the few bonafide success stories of MLS academies. Moving forward, MLS teams will be looking to get more bang for its buck. (Photo by Jeff Golden/Getty Images)
    Getty Images

    After 47 Homegrown Player signings by 17 different clubs, there are some justifiably good feelings about the state of youth development in Major League Soccer. In the span of less than four years, the league has gone from being a virtual non-entity in the world of soccer youth development to arguably the premier developer of young talent in the United States.

    Whether that has raised the overall level of quality, remains an open question. MLS is fast approaching a point at which teams are wanting to see some more concrete signs of improvement.

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    WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 7: Ruben Luna #34 of FC Dallas controls the ball against Dejan Jakovic #5 of D.C. United at RFK Stadium on May 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Ned Dishman/Getty Images)
    WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 7: Ruben Luna #34 of FC Dallas controls the ball against Dejan Jakovic #5 of D.C. United at RFK Stadium on May 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Ned Dishman/Getty Images)
    WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 7: Ruben Luna #34 of FC Dallas controls the ball against Dejan Jakovic #5 of D.C. United at RFK Stadium on May 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Ned Dishman/Getty Images)
    Getty Images

    Sometime this season, Major League Soccer will pass a not-so-insignificant milestone when a team makes the 50th signing since implementation of the Homegrown Player Initiative. In all likelihood, this milestone will occur with little fanfare. The reason? The signing of players produced by MLS-run or -affiliated youth development programs has become so commonplace that they rarely merit mention outside of the team’s closest observers.

    The reasons for all these signings are relatively straight-forward. Homegrown Players do not have to go through the SuperDraft or any other allocation mechanism, do not count against the salary cap, don’t have to be protected during any expansion drafts and, perhaps most importantly, teams are allowed to keep 75 percent of any transfer fee those players may draw from international clubs. The standard team cut of transfer fees is two-thirds, although it can be even lower in some instances.

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