The Urge to Merge

As you select a soccer club in Massachusetts, you cannot dismiss rumors of good old fashion M&A (rumors and acquisitions, that is).

Do you want to select that nice small and user-friendly club only to have it merged with a much larger club that negates every reason you selected your club in the first place? What follows mergers is usually administrative changes, coaching shuffling and departures, facility changes, locations of games/practices, and more money (and you were expecting a decrease?).

Whether merger rumors actaully bear fruit or not you should at least know about them and keep your ears and eyes open so the potential impact to your player and you is minimal. Play “what-if” scenarios… If we select the Scorpions and NEFC “buys” them then what will that mean to us?

Ask, ask, ask – and not just of the clubs, as they will not be overly forthcoming (no? shocker) but ask of other perhaps more connected soccer parents and see if you can piece it together. You’re not going to have an impact either way – it’s more of the merger having an impact on you.

Current club soccer scuttlebutt has it that some variation of these are possible: