First off I hate soccer with a passion...well not really the sport but the people associated with it and the attitude you get when you say you don't like it. With that said I gotta step in here from a rules side in having been working with the state of Alabama in getting a sport recognized (lacrosse) to be played at the high school level.
From what I know FIFA does not allow government to run the teams that go to the World Cup. As for the US putting "some capital into youth development and schools for the club level" I do know that in many states; if not all state high school athletic associations; do not allow more than a few kids from each high school and middle/junior high to play on the same club teams outside of the regular season.
Locally kids aren't playing soccer when they get past 6th grade...they are going back to playing other sports like baseball, lacrosse, football, basketball because the soccer queens are burning these kids out with travel tournaments all over the US before they even get old enough to be "discovered".
The other reason for this is they don't want inappropriate funding and other such things happening because then that will cause these players to not be allowed to move on to the collegiate level. AND the local schools could get fined up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This recently happened to several high schools for baseball and basketball around the USA. Simply because of AAU basketball and travel baseball teams playing entire high school teams year round.
Yeah if I had $500 million laying around I damn sure wouldn't waste it on some dipdunk soccer queen.
I am not talking about funding public schools for soccer. I am talking about soccer schools inside a professional club of soccer, ie DC united and Galaxy ect... The whole idea of the school, which by the way is the norm in developed leagues (Italy, England, Brazil, ect...) is not just the physical side of it but the tactical and strategic side of the game of "how it should" be played. It is no different that professional baseball team who happen to have their own junior professional leagues from ages 16+ to bridge them from youth to pro levels (AAA, AA, A, big leagues). Fact is, the University/college system of advancing sports does not work like basketball, hockey and football. From the ages of 17-21, the prospect at the European leagues when they step on the pitch are already well versed on field tactics, as well as physical skill.
American soccer players for the large part have the physical gifts but lag behind the tactical side by an average of 5-7 years because of the university system.
I do agree with you about the travel burnouts though. In fact, the youth academies have changed that part to less match play and travel to focus on more skill training and classroom instruction.
But I'd be careful on calling the sport of soccer a dipdunk queen sport. Lacrosse seems a bit silly to me in comparison to soccer and certainly is not remotely close in viability as a professional sportm ie corporate sponsors.
