The MLSPU (Major League Soccer Players’ Union) was named in a class action lawsuit by three US youth clubs on July 1, 2016, involving three big name defendants – Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley, Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey and Tottenham defender DeAndre Yedlin.
Vice Sports exclusively reported that the case was brought up by Sockers FC, Dallas Texans and Crossfire Premiere in a bid to gain a share of the profits generated by their respective youth player’s international transfer fees.
While the practice of youth clubs receiving training and solidarity fees is one that has been officially sanctioned by FIFA, the US Soccer Federation has forbidden any US based youth clubs from receiving any fees courtesy the judgement of the 1998 Fraser vs MLS anti-trust suit. This also applied to the MLS and NASL.
Solidarity Contribution

According to Article 21, Section VII of the FIFA Regulations on Status and Transfer of Players, a professional player’s youth team will receive a small percentage of the compensation paid to his former club if he transfers before the expiry of his contract. This ‘solidarity contribution’ is provided to any club that has fostered the soccer education of the player in his youth.
The compensation percentage is calculated by two factors:
- Number of years at the club
- Age of the player during his time at the club
If the above article from FIFA is taken into consideration, then there must be thousands of players in this category, and plenty of clubs who have yet to make any money from the future international transfers of their youth products.
DeAndre Yedlin controversy

The three US youth clubs teams strongly believe that a win for them in the lawsuit would clear any doubts regarding solidarity contribution for youth clubs in the country and that in turn could lead to the overhaul of the soccer youth system. This is why Sockers FC named Michael Bradley, Dallas Texans named Clint Dempsey and Crossfire Premiere named DeAndre Yedlin as co-defendants in the lawsuit.
Dempsey and Michael Bradley are currently plying their trade in the MLS, although both players have previously spent time in Europe. The former previously played for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur in England, and the latter featured for SC Heerenveen in Netherlands, Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany and Chievo and Roma in Italy.

Despite things being pretty quite in the individual cases of Michael Bradley and Dempsey, DeAndre Yedlin has certainly attracted a lot more attention after his move to the Premier League last season. The wing-back moved to Tottenham from Seattle Sounders following his participation for the USMNT at the 2014 World Cup. The transfer fee was believed to be around $3.5-4million and also included a compensation of up to 5% for Crossfire Premiere for being his youth team.
After reconfirming with Tottenham about the compensation fees and realizing that the MLS might be blocking their payments, Crossfire sent a petition to FIFA’s Executive Committee on June 29, 2015. Their permission to lodge a complaint in FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) was eventually accepted by the Organization, making it the first time a US youth team had ever challenged the guidelines of the Fraser case.

Three players not needed to maintain this action
The three USA internationals were included in the lawsuit solely for the legal reason of maintaining a complaint. They will be dropped from the lawsuit only if the MLSPU stipulates the necessary, as the youth teams had no desire to ‘sue their own kids’ and didn’t really believe that the players needed to be involved.
A statement from a spokesperson for the three clubs said:
"“The US Youth Clubs had to name the players, Dempsey, Yedlin and Bradley, as well as the defendant class of players, solely for a legal reason to maintain the Complaint. Our clubs have no desire to, in essence, sue their own kids and don’t really believe the players are needed here to resolve this, but the law is what it is. The US Youth Clubs have asked the MLSPU to stipulate that the players are not needed to maintain this action and if they agree, the US Youth Clubs will immediately drop the players.”"
Considering that the claims of all three clubs are well within FIFA’s guidelines, the three plaintiffs should most definitely be confident about their case. If the appeal works out in their favour, many youth clubs will finally be able to cash in on a percentage of the transfer fees their foreign-bound talent generates. This will spur them on to improving facilities, coaches and training methods as well as continually inspire them to give their best when it comes to honing the future talent of the MLS and the US Mens National Team.
To put things into perspective, imagine this.
MLS Players Union Statement on Youth Soccer Club Lawsuithttps://t.co/9LhDkjrcxt
— MLSPA (@MLSPA) July 2, 2016
If everything checks out, Crossfire Premiere could be able to make a potential $100k from Yedlin’s transfer, although Dallas Texans and Chicago’s Sockers FC stand to make a lot more money from their youth products. Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey, in particular, have both commanded multiple transfers worth millions of dollars during their endeavours abroad, which translates to a lot more moolah in the end.