FIRE HIRE SHELDON TO HEAD MARKETING DEPARTMENT: On Wednesday, the Chicago Fire hired Kyle Sheldon to be their Senior Vice President of Marketing. Sheldon will oversee all club marketing, advertising, creative services, and brand identity and will report to COO John Urban.
“Kyle is an important hire for our Club,” said Urban. “He’s a well-respected and well-known executive in our industry who has dedicated the majority of his career to help growing the sport in the United States and Canada. His knowledge of, and passion for, Major League Soccer, and his ability to manage multiple departments, will lend itself to our front office. Our Club wants to grow its presence in Chicagoland and Kyle will lead those efforts for us.”
Sheldon spent two seasons as VP of Marketing for Seattle Sounders FC where the club saw single-game ticket sales and local television viewership increase. His marketing team was named 2016 MLS Marketing Team of the Year and was a finalist for 2017 MLS Marketing Executive of the Year.
Sheldon has also had positions in marketing with NASCAR and DC United.
FIRE TO PARTICIPATE IN CAROLINA CHALLENGE CUP: For the first time since 2013, the Fire will participate in the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston. The Cup is a preseason tournament held in February by USL Championship side Charleston Battery. The Fire will host a yet-to-be-named opponent on Saturday, February 16th, following by FC Cincinnati on February 20th, and then the Battery on February 23rd. The Fire won the competition in 2013.
RED STARS TEAM UP WITH SKY, BANDITS: The Chicago Red Stars will team up with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and National Pro Fastpitch Softball’s Chicago Bandits for a #ChangingTheGame partnership. Fans can buy tickets to all three teams’ home openers in 2019 for $50 and receive a #ChangingTheGame t-shirt.
“The partnership that is being created between three powerful sports teams in Chicago is groundbreaking,” Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler said. “Fans are being given the opportunity to continue to grow the women’s game in three leagues through the NWSL, NPF, and WNBA with this initiative. This is just the beginning of an ongoing relationship between three aspiring organizations looking to change the game.”
FIRE 13th IN VALUE ACCORDING TO FORBES: Forbes magazine’s annual valuation of Major League Soccer teams has the Fire in 13th. The Fire are valued at $245 million with revenues of $27 million (15th), but at a operation loss of $12 million (21st). Only Toronto FC and New York City FC have bigger losses in operation income. Atlanta United leads the league in terms of value at $330M followed by LA Galaxy ($320M) and Seattle Sounders FC ($310M). Galaxy led the league in revenue at $63M and tied with Seattle with the most operating income at $6M.
NWSL, NWSLPA REACH VOLUNTARY RECOGNITION AGREEMENT: The NWSL has officially recognized the NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA) as the exclusive bargaining representative of the NWSL Players.
The NWSL Players Association is an independent labor union run by and for current and future NWSL Players who are currently employed by and have current signed Standard Player Agreements with the NWSL.
“Our decision to voluntarily recognize the NWSL Players Association as the official representative of NWSL players marks an important step in the continued growth and development of the league and our relationship with our players,” said NWSL Managing Director Amanda Duffy. “We look forward to collaborating with the Players Association as the league continues to mature, to benefit the players, teams, our partners and our fans.”
The Players Association is led by President Yael Averbuch, Vice President McCall Zerboni, Treasurer Emily Menges, and Secretary Nicole Barnhart, and 32 Player Representatives across the nine teams of NWSL. NWSLPA is represented by former player and attorney, Meghann Burke, of Brazil & Burke, P.A. in Asheville, NC.
“We’ve now achieved official status as a labor union, but we intend to approach our relationship with the league in a very different way than what comes to mind with traditional labor relations,” said NWSL Players Association President Yael Averbuch. “The NWSLPA is glad to continue a collaborative relationship with the League, with the health and sustainability of the League central to the ongoing relationship.”
Players who are under contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation (i.e. allocated players) will continue to be represented by the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) with respect to their employer, the U.S. Soccer Federation. The NWSL, NWSLPA and USWNTPA will continue to work closely with one another to achieve goals common to all players in the NWSL and women’s soccer in general. The NWSLPA has also enjoyed strategic support from the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA).
