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Forbes
11 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Seattle Sounders Players Accuse MLS Of Club World Cup Cash Grab
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 01: Cristian Roldan #7 of the Seattle Sounders walks onto the field for ... More warm ups before the game against the Minnesota United FC at Lumen Field on June 01, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by) Seattle Sounders players wore t-shirts bearing the slogan 'Club World Cash Grab' ahead of their game against Minnesota United on Sunday night, as they seek bonuses more in fitting with the prize money received by clubs' participation in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. The 's' was stylised as a dollar sign to represent the lucrative amounts of money on offer to clubs in the tournament, which players feel is out of step with the latest collective bargaining agreement between the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) and Major League Soccer (MLS). The players were quickly backed by the MLSPA, who had prepared a statement and released it to coincide with the unveiling of the t-shirts worn pre-match. 'The MLSPA and all MLS players stand united with the Seattle Sounders players who tonight demanded a fair share of the FIFA Club World Cup prize money,' read the MLSPA statement. 'FIFA's new tournament piles on to players' ever-increasing workload without regard to their physical well-being. In order to seize this additional calendar territory, FIFA had to commit historic amounts of prize money to secure club and player participation. 'As a result, MLS will receive an unprecedented financial windfall. Despite this windfall, the league has refused to allocate a fair percentage of those funds to the players themselves.' SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 01: Captains Michael Boxall #15 of Minnesota United and Stefan Frei #24 ... More of Seattle Sounders pose with referees before the MLS match on June 01, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by) The Sounders qualified for the now expanded and quadrennial Club World Cup on the back of their landmark Concacaf Champions League victory in 2022. The latest collective bargaining agreement was last updated in 2021, prior to the Sounders' qualification for the Club World Cup and before the United States was confirmed as the tournament's host. As a result, Club World Cup bonus payments are not specifically mentioned by name in the current CBA, as other tournaments outside of MLS, such as the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Leagues Cup, the Campeones Cup, the US Open Cup, and the Canadian Championship are. The relevant wording in the current CBA for non-specific tournaments, applicable to the Club World Cup, is: 'If an MLS Team or MLS receives prize money by virtue of the Team's performance and/or participation in a Compulsory Tournament or Non-Compulsory Tournament, players competing in that tournament will receive the following: If the Team or MLS receives prize money, fifty percent (50%) of such prize money up to a maximum payment to the Players (collectively) of $1,000,000 per tournament.' The prize money on offer at the Club World Cup means the MLS teams involved will receive at least $9.55 million just for participation, and this could rise depending on results in group stage matches. A team qualifying for the knockout rounds would receive an additional $7.5 million, meaning a prize pot could soon reach $20 million for any team that progresses from its group. Inter Miami and Los Angeles FC join the Sounders as MLS representatives in the tournament, and though they will be underdogs in their respective groups, the $9.55 million for participation alone is substantial, and far more than the prize money MLS receives in any other tournament. This is where the maximum of $1 million in bonuses to be shared among an entire team begins to look paltry in comparison to the money the clubs and the league will receive. If there was no $1 million limit and the 50% arrangement remained in place, the guaranteed bonus pool from the $9.55 million would amount to over $4,7 million shared out between the players. It is for this reason that the players believe the Club World Cup renders the CBA out of date with regards to bonuses, and are looking to come to an agreement with the league in relation to this tournament. 'For months, the players have privately and respectfully invited the league to discuss bonus terms, yet MLS has failed to bring forward a reasonable proposal,' the MLSPA added in its statement. 'Instead of recognizing the players who have brought MLS to the global stage, the league—which routinely asks the PA to deviate from the CBA—is clinging to an out-of-date CBA provision and ignoring longstanding international standards on what players typically receive from FIFA prize money in global competitions. 'It is the players who make the game possible. It is the players who are lifting MLS up on the global stage. They expect to be treated fairly and with respect.' Players are being asked to play more games than ever before, and with all the money swilling around in the game, especially at the top level, it is only right that they seek their fair share for the additional work. A players' association, such as the MLSPA, is important in a league like MLS where a salary cap is in place and the amount most players can earn is artificially limited by that cap and other roster rules and restrictions. The players' issue is not with the Club World Cup itself, but with MLS for not coming to an agreement regarding bonus payments from what is an unusually lucrative tournament for its teams.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Seattle players call for 'fair share' of Club World Cup prize money
Jun 1, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC forward Osaze De Rosario (95) wears a t-shirt to protest FIFA Club World Cup bonus sharing from MLS while participating in pregame warmups against the Minnesota United at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images REUTERS Jun 1, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC forward Pedro De La Vega (10) wears a t-shirt to protest FIFA Club World Cup bonus sharing from MLS while during pregame warmups against the Minnesota United at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images REUTERS Jun 1, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC players wear t-shirts to protest FIFA Club World Cup bonus sharing from MLS while during pregame warmups against the Minnesota United at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images REUTERS Jun 1, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei (24) wears a t-shirt to protest FIFA Club World Cup bonus sharing from MLS while participating in pregame warmups against the Minnesota United at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images REUTERS Jun 1, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC forward Pedro De La Vega (10) wears a t-shirt to protest FIFA Club World Cup bonus sharing from MLS while during pregame warmups against the Minnesota United at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images REUTERS Seattle Sounders players called for a bigger slice of the prize money for competing at the Club World Cup this month by wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Cash Grab" and "Fair Share Now" ahead of a Major League Soccer match on Sunday. Seattle are set to earn at least $9.55 million for competing at the June 14 to July 13 tournament in the U.S., where the total prize money runs to $1 billion, but under the MLS collective bargaining agreement (CBA) the players' share is capped at $1 million per club. Seattle are one of three MLS teams that will compete in the expanded 32-team Club World Cup. Teams from North America are guaranteed almost $10 million just for participating and can earn more depending on their results. MLS did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after Seattle players warmed up in T-shirts with the phrases "Club World Cup Ca$h Grab" and "Fair Share Now" written on them ahead of their 2-3 home defeat by Minnesota United. The MLS Players Association said in a statement on Sunday that players had "privately and respectfully invited the league to discuss bonus terms, yet MLS has failed to bring forward a reasonable proposal". It added that the league was "clinging to an out-of-date CBA provision and ignoring longstanding international standards on what players typically receive from FIFA prize money in global competitions. "It is the players who make the game possible. It is the players who are lifting MLS up on the global stage. They expect to be treated fairly and with respect." Seattle are in Group B at the Club World Cup along with Brazil's Botafogo, UEFA Champions League winners Paris St Germain and LaLiga's Atletico Madrid. They face Botafogo in their opening game on June 15. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Washington Post
a day ago
- General
- Washington Post
Tani Oluwaseyi scores twice in the second half and Minnesota claims its first-ever win in Seattle
SEATTLE — Tani Oluwaseyi scored two goals in the second half and Minnesota claimed its first-ever win in Seattle with a 3-2 victory over the Sounders on Sunday. Minnesota (8-3-6) beat the Sounders (7-5-5) for just the second time in 16 meetings — and won in Seattle for the first time in nine tries. The Sounders also knocked out Minnesota in the 2020 Western Conference championship.
CBS News
a day ago
- General
- CBS News
Minnesota claims its first-ever win in Seattle with 3-2 victory over the Sounders
Tani Oluwaseyi scored two goals in the second half and Minnesota claimed its first-ever win in Seattle with a 3-2 victory over the Sounders on Sunday. Minnesota (8-3-6) beat the Sounders (7-5-5) for just the second time in 16 meetings — and won in Seattle for the first time in nine tries. The Sounders also knocked out Minnesota in the 2020 Western Conference championship. Seattle (7-5-5) dropped its first game at Lumen Field this season, moving to 5-1-2. FC Cincinnati is the only MLS team yet to lose at home. Minnesota and Seattle combined for four goals in seven minutes, marking the ninth time in MLS history that two teams had four goals in eight-or-fewer minutes in a half. Oluwaseyi opened the scoring in the 51st minute when he was left alone at the penalty spot for a redirection of Robin Lod's back pass. Oluwaseyi scored again in the 58th on a rebound attempt for a 3-1 lead. Lod scored on a penalty kick in the 54th for a two-goal advantage. Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Nicolás Romero scored for Seattle. The Seattle players wore T-shirts before a match that read "Club World Cup Ca$h Grab" to demand a share of the prize money for participating in the upcoming international tournament.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
🚨 Minnesota dispatch Seattle in a high-scoring Western thriller
The final act of matchday 17 in the 2025 MLS season saw a Western Conference top-four clash end with Minnesota United holding on for a 3-2 win on the road against the Seattle Sounders. Scorers: Rienzi 55', Romero 83' (own goal); Oluwaseyi 51', 58', Lod 54' (pen) Advertisement Across what was an expected intriguing tactical battle between a ball-dominant Sounders side and a pesky counter-attacking outfit in Minnesota, the pair of Western upstarts canceled each other out before heading into the halftime interval. Eric Ramsay's Loons finally broke the deadlock in the 50th minute, with Oluwaseyi once again proving to be the attacking focal point when he turned in a cut-back from Finnish wing-back Robin Lod from close range after Minnesota did well to break quickly. Minnesota was then awarded a penalty just one minute later after substitute Bongokuhle Hlongwane was judged to have been fouled in the box after a storming run from Joaquin Pereyra aimed to pick out the South African forward. Lod would ultimately dispatch his effort from the spot to double their advantage at Lumen Field, a venue they have never picked up a single point at across their history. Advertisement But Seattle would storm back right after play resumed through a close finish from Kalani Rienzi, who put the finishing touch on a cut-back from Pedro De la Vega. The Loons would not be undone after the quick Seattle response, however, with Oluwaseyi completing his brace on the night when he converted the rebound after Stefan Frei could only parry an effort from Pereyra right into his path. Once again the Sounders would storm back as they through everyone into the fray and would narrow the deficit to a single goal after Nicolas Romero turned it into the Minnesota net in the 83rd minute. Advertisement With that, the Loons climb up to second in the West and level on points with MLS upstarts San Diego FC, and now sit four points clear of both Seattle and the Portland Timbers. 📸 Editorial Photo Credit: © Joe Nicholson | 2025 Jun 1 - Imagn Images
