Our Game

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What one thing would change about the sport of soccer? I would love to get rid of the pay to play programs....

[Unregistered]

What one thing would change about the sport of soccer? I would love to get rid of the pay to play programs....

You are talking about the BUSINESS of soccer. Not the sport

[Unregistered]

I would add 2 small (1/4 sized) goals along the side at midfield (or perhaps 4 goals evenly spaced) that would count for a 1/2 goal each.

A team could either try for a "full" goal in the traditional goals or sneak in a few "half-goals".

This would keep defenders on their toes and make for an action packed spectacle!

[Unregistered]

What one thing would change about the sport of soccer? I would love to get rid of the pay to play programs....

I think that's a great idea. I nominate you to fund 100% a free program. You can either pay yourself, or go find sponsors to pay, for all the field rentals, uniforms, referee fees, league fees, coaching fees, equipment, insurance, etc. That way it's free for the players and their parents. Great idea. Now go do it.

[Unregistered]

Well, if you were actually asking about changes to the sport itself, and not the business of the sport - I would be in favor of anything that made the game more high scoring without completely altering the way the game is played. For example, eliminating offside altogether would turn the game into a kickball match, but I would like to see an experiment where the offside rule was tweaked a little.

Right now, you can't be offside in your own half. What if, once the ball crossed midfield, there was no offside up to the top of the 18, and then once the ball crossed the top of the 18, there was no offside? Also, what if the rule was called so that if any part of the attacking player is onside, they are adjudged to be onside?

I think they could stand to lessen the width of the 18 yard box, too, or perhaps make it so goalkeepers aren't allowed to catch the ball, only punch and parry.

I also think the professional level could stand to have more refs on the field. It is silly how few officials there are, (and in the case of the ARs, how limited their movement is) given the size of the field.

These are all very fanciful ideas and I have no belief whatsoever that any of them will ever be tried. But they are just some things I have thought that could be experimented with at lower levels to see how they would impact the game.