Caribbean Teams in North American Professional Soccer: Time for a New Direction? Glen ME Duerr Department of History and Government Cedarville University 104 HRS, 251 N. Main Street Cedarville, Ohio, USA 45314
[email protected] RASAALA, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2014) 1 Caribbean Teams in North American Professional Soccer: Time for a New Direction? Abstract This paper examines the interrelated issues of time and money in club and international football. Specifically, the focus is on small Caribbean countries and territories that are rich in talent, but poor in opportunities. In the past decade, several professional teams in the Caribbean have played in the minor league system in North America, but have been stifled by several factors. This paper argues that the creation of a ‘Caribbean division’ that plays in either the North American Soccer League (NASL) or United Soccer League (USL)-Pro league would enrich and develop teams and players from all parties involved, and they would be more competitive in FIFA World Cup qualifying. The key ingredient is correctly timing such a venture. Keywords: Caribbean, soccer, North America, USL-Pro, NASL RASAALA, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2014) 2 Introduction Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), the regional governing body of soccer in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, sends three and a half teams to the quadrennial FIFA World Cup. The fourth-placed CONCACAF team plays a home and away playoff series against a team in another region, either in Asia, South America or Oceania, depending on the rotation. On every occasion since the number of berths was expanded to three in 1998, the United States and Mexico have taken two of the berths.