Jill Ellis leaves Wave for FIFA, FIFA gets Club World Cup broadcast deal, and more: Thursday Freedom Kicks
Happy Thursday. It’s a very busy day for me, so I’m getting straight to it…
Under-fire Ellis leaves San Diego Wave to take FIFA position (PSW)
Jill Ellis is failing up, leaving the San Diego Wave for a nice job as chief football officer at FIFA.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 broadcast agreement (FIFA)
FIFA has a broadcast partnerr for the 2025 Club World Cup, with all games to be streamed on DAZN worldwide.
Hey Spirits episode: We can’t stop talking about the 2024 Spirits! (DP)
The season may be over, but Hey Spirits has a new episode for you!
The Annapolis Blues have a new women’s team, and it’s led by a familiar face to Spirit fans:
Leagues Cup to continue in 2025 despite scheduling conflicts (ESPN)
Somehow, despite schedule congestion being this huge problem and floundering ticket sales, Leagues Cup is expected to be back in 2025.
MLS refs claim in-game interference means they are ‘no longer in control’ (The Athletic)
MLS refs are saying there’s too much interference with their calls during matches. Definitely something to continue to watch next season.
D.C. United close to signing Brazilian winger João Peglow from Polish league (WaPo)
DC United could have another winger under contract soon, this one a Brazilian who is playing in Poland.
Fiorentina confirm Edoardo Bove out of intensive care (ESPN)
Great to hear Bove is out of the ICU and may he continue to recover and get back to 100%.
Enjoy your day, y’all.
Darth Garber has been extended as MLS Commissioner through 2027.
https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/mls-commissioner-don-garbers-contract-extended-through-2027
Part of me wonders if that PRO interference was behind the controversial Orlando/Atlanta call at the end of the last regular season game that ended up knocking DC out of the playoffs. Not saying DC really deserved to be in the playoffs following that last game, but it seems plausible at least given how that call played out and how long it took
The front office must be seeing something I’m not in Joao Peglow. I’m not saying he can’t be useful. I’m just saying I wouldn’t be going out of my way to spend $1 million+ to add him to my team.
It’s not my money, but…
The one thing I hoped for this new team leadership was that we would stop spending too much on players for being an undesirable destination, to build back with value. It may well be that Mackay has decided that’s not possible in the present moment, and that’s a discouraging thought
Perhaps this the point where having no MLS Next and one of the worst academies in the East is starting to bite us in the gluteus Maximus?
I mean, it’s worse than that, but that’s certainly a part. The only piece or facet that is a proven winner for United is on the field, starts with B and ends with -eke, and just turned 34. Mackay and Lesesne are doing their best, and we’re locked into the rebuild, but there’s no clear indication it’s going to make us viable again at this point.
We have incredibly checked out owners, and that over the years has corroded every aspect of the club when a lot of others were adding strengths. To say things would be better with Next Pro and academy successes, yeah, no argument. But I’m increasingly convinced we’re not going anywhere till their fucking Audi Field real estate deal is eventually completed.