USA Soccercast, Episode 107: Folarin Balogun commits to the USA, USL Super League takes flight

The USA Soccercast returns with Episode 107 to celebrate the commitment of a Balogun! Folarin Balogun completed his one-time switch to represent the USMNT, and we have to start by celebrating the addition.

Balogun could be in the squad as early as next month for the Concacaf Nations League Finals as well as the Gold Cup, and he brings with him a wave of electricity both on his place and the excitement among fans.

U.S. Soccer hired a new vice president of sporting last week, a brand new position. And Oguchi Onyewu was brought in to be the first one, serving directly under new sporting director Matt Crocker. We discuss how that’s a great move for Gooch and for U.S. Soccer to have him onboard. He’ll have his hands in many things, including the search for the next USMNT head coach.

After the break, the USL Super League announced its initial teams for the league, which will debut in August 2024. However, having a fall to spring schedule in line with most European leagues and having no salary cap or draft isn’t the biggest concern for the league. The league applied for D1 sanctioning with U.S. Soccer, indicating it wants to directly compete with the NWSL. We’ll discuss some examples on on how that’s making many fans skeptical about the success of the new league.

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