Once upon a time football belonged to the streets. It was the game of the poor, the sanctuary of the invisible, the voice of the forgotten. The rich watched it; the poor lived it. Dreams were free, the ball was freedom, and talent could grow anywhere a kid dared to believe.
But today the game has changed. Not on the field, off it. Football has slowly shifted into something unrecognizable:
A sport once played by the poor and watched by the rich has become a sport played by the rich and watched by the poor.
A sport once played by the poor and watched by the rich has become a sport played by the rich and watched by the poor. And that transformation is killing the very thing football once protected: possibility.
The reality behind the festival
MLS NEXT Fest is marketed as the ultimate showcase, the week where dreams meet opportunity. Every MLS scout in one place. Every top team on display. Every aspiring player under the brightest national spotlight.
But beneath the noise, there is a dilemma: Does the event create opportunity, or does it only create the illusion of opportunity?
Money talks. Talent gets lost.
In the United States, youth football is no longer shaped by talent alone. It is shaped by economics:
- Showcases
- Travel fees
- Academy memberships
- Private training
- Exposure events
- Tournament circuits
The more a family can afford, the more “opportunities” a player receives. And in this structure, talent often becomes secondary. Thousands of gifted players disappear before anyone truly evaluates their ceiling.
Not because they lack ability, but because they lack access.
The visibility trap
MLS NEXT Fest has the highest scouting density in America. But access to the stage is not the same as access to development.
Many clubs expand into B, C, D teams not for development, but for revenue. Kids float through the system without consistent guidance, without a real plan, and without meaningful minutes. A club logo replaces actual growth.
Football rewards the ones who play, not the ones who pay.
A talented player who sits on the bench in a big platform may regress more than a player who plays 80 minutes every weekend in a smaller environment. Football rewards the ones who play, not the ones who pay.
The illusion of the pathway
Every parent hears the same promise: “Join us and your child will be seen.” But being seen is not development. Exposure is not progression. A festival is not a pathway.
The real pathway lives in:
- quality training
- consistent minutes
- physical and mental development
- long-term coaching
- patience with late bloomers
Yet these are the very things the pay-to-play economy has weakened.
The game that forgot its children
Football was once the ladder out of poverty. Today it has become the ladder into expense. In the old game, hunger beat privilege. In the new game, privilege shapes opportunity. When money becomes the first filter, talent becomes the first casualty.
The responsibility of coaches
if we lose those kids, we don’t just lose players, we lose the game.
We cannot undo the economics overnight. But we can fight for the kids the system overlooks. We can build environments where development comes before branding. Where minutes matter more than marketing. Where a child’s dream is not measured by their family’s bank account.
Our responsibility is simple: Protect the ones who would be forgotten. Develop the ones who would be discarded. Believe in the ones who were never supposed to survive the system. Because if we lose those kids, we don’t just lose players, we lose the game.