nyx79 🫧

@IHateSoccerPod Why do we need all of that? We know turf is bad, fancy indoor facilities don’t provide the education. Use parks, backyards, street soccer, like when we were kids. The excess is not needed for a sport many cultures play barefoot on dirt roads. So until we stop selling a product

I get super annoyed when people complain about pay to play and they act like the money is going towards nothing. All of the perks you want, the 3 training sessions, the platforms, the indoor turf facility rentals, that all costs money.

@Dako777 @HartzellForKC @markalfordkc Thinking otherwise is obtuse and naive at best. It’s about who will give them $$$. Jackson county cannot afford to hand over billions of dollars. They can’t even provide for the people as is. And no, it doesn’t bring in tax revenue 🙄

@Dako777 @HartzellForKC @markalfordkc Local charities aren’t going anywhere. I’m fully aware of those programs and what they offer. Local is the metro area. Most of those employees are through Aramark. Not the organization. But, the point remains that the owners had long planned to go elsewhere.

Vice President JD Vance rolled into Kansas City today and guess who was waiting with open arms? Congressman @markalfordkc This is the same Mark Alford who apparently doesn’t even know (or care) what district he’s in… While working families in Missouri are drowning in rent, having their healthcare taken away, and watching grocery prices explode, Alford is busy playing celebrity escort for a wannabe strongman backed by billionaires and corporate extremists.

@nalhie As long as the primary focus is on $ and how much can be made off the back of athletes, it will never change.

I don’t know why I was expecting US 🇺🇸 fans to understand “soccer” culture. And that’s why the league is still where it is after all these years, and that’s sad 🙄

@EricGravesKMBC @kmbc At least we know who the racists, bigots, and pedophile defenders are in the city.

Vice President JD Vance welcomed to Milbank Manufacturing in Kansas City, MO. The crowd started a USA chant as he walked on stage. @kmbc

@Dako777 @HartzellForKC @markalfordkc I think the issue here is your priorities are upside down. Affordable living is paramount to billionaires play toys. The chiefs were always going to leave- you know that was worked out long before - same as Royals. Also they bring no fiscal gain to a community.

@HartzellForKC @markalfordkc Hartzell when you gonna realize you are a problem in kc not a solution or a voice or opinion we value. You ran 35 million dollars and the chiefs out of Kansas City for a woke group of renters.

@tomsan106 Yep. And private equity isn’t the answer. Especially for mls next. They won’t focus on developing.

There seems to be an escalating arms race happening in American soccer. USL recently brought in the BellTower Partners investment group, while MLS NEXT Pro partnered with global private equity giant KKR through Hometown Soccer Holdings. Billions are being raised and spent in a battle to grow professional soccer in the United States. But here’s the uncomfortable reality: you cannot buy culture. You cannot spend your way into creating a true soccer nation if the game is disconnected from the everyday lives of children and families. While billions are being poured into leagues, stadiums, media rights, and a one-month tournament, our children are becoming less healthy, less active, and academically weaker. In New York City, where the FIFA World Cup Final will be played in 2026, nearly 50% of K-12 students are failing reading proficiency standards, around 70% are failing math proficiency standards, and one in three children in grades K-3 cannot read at grade level. This is happening while NYC’s public school budget approaches $44 billion annually. In October 2023, I met with one of MLS’s top executives and presented research from a pilot study we conducted in Houston alongside Houston Dynamo and the University of Houston. We studied several hundred children and the impact Ball Mastery training had on academic performance and physical activity. The results were encouraging: improved mathematics scores, improved reading scores, and reduced sedentary behavior on weekends. More research absolutely needs to be done, but the findings suggested something important: simple soccer-based movement activities, supported by parents, teachers, and schools, may positively impact both learning and health outcomes. The Houston pilot was conducted with KIPP Schools, an organization widely respected for producing strong outcomes in underserved communities. Because KIPP operates nationally, the model has the potential to scale nationally as well. I suggested to MLS that, with the 2026 World Cup approaching, they should work with the New York City Department of Education to explore piloting this approach in NYC and eventually across the country. Unfortunately, nothing came from those discussions. To me, this should have been the true legacy project of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Not another sponsorship deal, celebrity investor, or billion-dollar valuation, but a nationwide initiative using soccer to improve childhood health, learning, confidence, focus, and family engagement. “Soccer Starts at Home” is simple, affordable, scalable, and inclusive. Several CONCACAF member associations have already reached out asking how a program like this could be implemented in their own countries. That tells you everything. The future of soccer in America will not be determined by how much money leagues can raise. It will be determined by what the game actually does for children. Right now, this feels like a massive missed opportunity.

@MLSMoves This is indicative of the lack of actual talent development in the US. pay to play has created this.

Is this years Sporting KC the worst MLS team of all time? I mean…. Holy hell

@BasmatiDeclan @MLSMoves New ownership isn’t really new. He was a minority owner and now is majority only because the illigs sold their shares. They still run the show though.

@MLSMoves Ownership group & Vermes killed the club, no ambition in the transfer market. Gutted the team last year and waiting for new ownership to take over after this season. Most know it’s going to be a horrid year, but it’s been 10 times worse.

@PeteMundo No. It’s on Trump. But it’s also on the hubris of the billionaires in this country AND FIFA.

I've said for weeks that IF the World Cup turns out to be a BUST, many will point the blame at President Trump. Why? It's too easy for them. You'll be shocked that that's the road The Kansas City Star is going down this week (see below). Here is some nuance to what's going on here: The U.S. government has implemented a "Visa Bond Pilot Program" requiring, for some nations, a refundable bond payment of up to $15,000 per person. This policy applies to visitors from 50 nations, targeting those with high visa overstay rates, requiring payments of $5,000–$15,000. Yes, there are two teams playing games in Kansas City on this list: Tunisia and Algeria. IF you were holding out hope that either of these countries were going to have a large presence in Kansas City, well, I've got some bad news for you: The median income in Tunisia in US Dollars is $2,300 PER year. In Algeria, it's even less, at $2,200. As for the countries subject to the Visa Bonds, they're not countries that were likely to come here in any kind of sizable numbers to begin with. And they're countries with folks more likely to overstay the Visa, hence the bond program. Countries like France, England, Brazil, Argentina, The Netherlands, etc. are no where to be found on this list. And THEY were always going to be the potential economic engines of this World Cup to begin with, if the economic engine was going to happen at all. I'm happy the World Cup is here, and believe it can be exciting for Kansas City, but if it doesn't meet the economic expectations that were promised by the politicians, who used those lofty numbers to justify spending millions in taxpayer dollars on the event, don't let them point the finger at the White House, because the real suckers were always staring at them right in the mirror.

Okay. I get that there is rain and grass will grow. But… when it’s seeding out in not even a week between mows, maybe mow a little shorter? Pretty sure this against “policy”. @KansasCity @KCParks2 @FWC26KansasCity @KCTV5 @KSHB41

@nytimes This affects service members kids etc. yall are punishing those you flail to support

Breaking News: The Justice Department wants to revoke the citizenship of hundreds of foreign-born Americans, part of a push to increase the pace of denaturalizations, according to a U.S. official. nyti.ms/3Qqk4yy

Youth sports isn’t ruined by kids, it’s adults chasing trophies, rankings, and highlight reels over growth. We’ve traded development for exposure, joy for pressure, and teamwork for ego. Fix the adults, and you fix the game. It’s that simple.

@theRealEJNorman @amnestyusa They weren’t. But as evidenced by *gestures wildly* @FIFAcom doesn’t care about anything other than $

@amnestyusa But Qatar and Russia were ok?

Fans, journalists and others traveling to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup risk encountering a deeply troubling human rights landscape. If the U.S. government and host cities cannot guarantee the rights and safety of all, this tournament risks falling far short of FIFA’s promise of a safe, welcoming, and inclusive event. amnestyusa.org/press-releases…

@VdotL Yes

Do people complain about parking when there is an event at T-Mobile Center?

@1_ChiefsKingdom Tax benefit for the billionaires? Sure. But the taxes would be better spent on actual needs of the city from education to healthcare to infra structure and actually caring for the people - yet instead the city is donating to something that will bring in zero dollars b

The State of Missouri, KC and Jackson County have a great window to sneak in and retain the Chiefs with the Royals news this morning. The incredible tax benefits from Hallmark's participation in the Royals stadium is one of the smartest moves I have seen in a long time. The Chiefs deal with the State of Kansas does have multiple exit provisions. The Arrowhead Village concept existed in concept where the current Royals stadium sits. They could put a package together that excites the Chiefs enough to vacate the move to Kansas. Question is...will they?

@KCGOAT87 @Ms_LilShadow True and not true. There is no fiscal benefit to funding a stadium or ultimately impacting traffic to two major hospitals, removing a park for retail, and influencing housing market in an area that is currently kkstly affordable. He’s right. You’re wrong. And I love my teams.

I like Hartzells policies a lot but man leftists have to realize sports are so fundamentally human and need to be celebrated.

@codybtapp The parking garage view is wonderful. I really hope they keep that … 🙄

How is everyone feeling

@nicksortor What’s it like to be this delusional and/or an outright liar

🚨 JUST IN: Democrats are STUNNED as voter turnout in rural Virginia counties is OUTPERFORMING turnout for the 2024 Presidential election With 43% of the vote in, NO on Democrat redistricting is ahead by TEN POINTS 55% NO 45% YES

@albert8768 @bbq_kc Guarantee they did and don’t care

@bbq_kc This is not last second at all. Things like this have definitely been planned for months, whether the city knew about these plans is the real question

Crown center is nothing special and I don’t hate it going away but what the fuck are they doing changing everything last second?