North American Soccer League

Stephen A. Brenner, General Counsel

SSMT

NASL

Subj: NASL

[L.C.]

September 8, 1980

Dr. Henry Kissinger
Suite 520
1800 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006

Dear Dr. Kissinger:

Last December, I notified you that serious consideration was being given to the transfer of the Rochester franchise to Montreal. You indicated, by return letter dated January 2, 1980, that you had no interest in exercising your option at that time and no objection to the transfer.

In April of this year, it became apparent that our Philadelphia franchise would not be able to operate through the 1980 season. The League had no alternative but to find an immediate buyer for this franchise. We were able to consummate a deal pursuant to which Molson Breweries of Quebec, Ltd. agreed to purchase the franchise and relocate it in Montreal, effective October 1, 1980. The purchaser agreed to make payments prior to that date so that the Philadelphia franchise could complete its season. I apologize for not bringing this matter to your attention earlier. I hope that it is not of great concern to you.

In addition, serious consideration is presently being given to the transfer of the League's Memphis franchise to Calgary. While the city of Calgary is not among the designated cities, I thought you would be interested in learning of all potential franchise relocations.

SAB:pmp

cc: David Ginsburg, Esq.
Mr. Phil Woosnam
Mr. Derek Carroll

SEP 12 1980

1133 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036 / Tel: (212) 575-0066 / Cable: PROSOCCER NEWYORK / Telex: 12-6705

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REPORT ON THE USE OF THE 35 YARD OFFSIDE LINE BY THE
NORTH AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE, SUBMITTED TO THE
UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION, FEBRUARY, 1980

The 35 yard offside line was introduced into the NASL format
in 1973 as a result of an application to FIFA for permission
to experiment with such a rule change. The major problems
confronted by NASL clubs at that time were:

a. The width of many playing fields, using
the only available stadia built specifically
for American Football which requires a 55 yard wide
playing surface, was limited to 58-60 yards creating a
shortage of space, and hence producing an excessive
amount of physical contact.

b. An increasing influence of coaches and players
from England on the game in North America was
resulting in an increase in the use of offside
tactics, congestion of players in midfield and
tight marking of skillful players by extremely
physical defenders.

Furthermore, due to the scarcity of North American players of
professional quality at that stage of the development of soccer,
the North American Soccer League clubs were recruiting the vast
majority of their players from Europe and South America. As
a result, the league was experiencing all the problems which arise
from:

a. Difficulty in communication because of the number of
languages spoken

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b. Variation in temperament from country
to country

c. Difference in interpretation of the laws of the game, particularly in regard to physical contact

d. Variations in code of conduct which is established by players in professional soccer in each country.

The league had, therefore, gained first hand knowledge of the reaction of players from throughout the world toward,

a. Physical contact

b. Obstruction

c. Spitting

d. Use of foul language

e. Acceptance of decisions made by referees

f. Deliberate handling of the ball to stop an attack, and,

g. Various other forms of foul play and misconduct

All of the issues itemized above became factors in creating a potentially explosive situation. The league therefore felt it necessary to request permission to experiment with a change in the offside law to open up the game and in so doing, reduce

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the number of situations which were producing tension and frustration. The North American public, including the young Canadian and American players on whom the future of Soccer in North America depends, were seeing games where there was far too much physical contact and too little skillful soccer. It was believed that we would therefore;

1. Produce very few North American players with a high degree of skill

2. Establish a North American style of play with too great an emphasis towards physical contact

3. Have great difficulty in recruiting skillful players from other countries if the opinion was formed that the style of play in the NASL was too physical.

In 1980, the North American Soccer League still finds itself in the position of having 6 of its 24 member clubs with fields of 58-64 yards in width, compared with the normally accepted width of 70-75 yards for professional competition. More than half of our players are still being recruited from overseas, and although the level of individual skill has improved considerably, many of the problem areas listed above continue to exist.

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Two thirds of the coaches employed by the present 24 member clubs have had experience as players and/or coaches in the highest level of professional competition in England and Holland, two of the countries where physical contact and the use of offside tactics are very much an accepted part of the game. Recently, a survey of our coaches was conducted and it was somewhat surprising to find that those who had gained experience in those countries were the strongest in voicing their opinion in support of the 35 yard offside line as a means of curbing the amount of physical contact and the use of offside tactics. All coaches were requested to list the positive and negative aspects of the use of the 35 yard offside line and a compilation of their responses is as follows:

## ADVANTAGES OF THE 35 YARD OFFSIDE LINE

- Produces a more open, attractive and entertaining game for spectators

- Produces more midfield space enabling skillful players to better demonstrate the finer points of the game

- Results in fewer stoppages for offside calls

- Results in fewer number of teams using offside tactics

- Avoid the congestion of 20 players into a 20-30 yard midfield strip caused by both sets of defenders forcing players to the center line to avoid offside

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ADVANTAGES OF THE 35 YARD OFFSIDE LINE (cont'd)

- Reduces the amount of physical contact

- Reduces the number of opportunities for skillful players to be intimidated

- Accelerates the flow of the game from goalmouth to goalmouth

- Lengthens the career of skillful players

- Creates more action in and around the penalty areas

- Creates more space for the forwards

- Opens up more space for the entire team to join in an attack

- Encourages individual play

- Reduces the amount of time spent on prolonged midfield play

- Reduces effectiveness of physical players in midfield

- Encourages wing play

- Encourages greater variation in style of play

- Allows more time and space for players to be accurate with long passes and to change the point of attack

DISADVANTAGES OF THE 35 YARD OFFSIDE LINE

- Creates difficulties for NASL players when having to adjust to rules for international games

- Encourages too much long passing due to availability of space and time

- Increases workload on midfield players

- Over extends career of players

- Creates gaps in midfield

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DISADVANTAGES OF THE 35 YARD OFFSIDE LINE (cont'd)

- Limits attacking play by defenders

- Results in team being spread too much late in the game

- Results in slower build up of attacks

- Reduces the opportunities to use offside tactics

- Creates fewer opportunities for quick forwards to break through from midfield

From the negative point of view, the common thread running
through the majority of responses was:

1. The increase in workload experienced by midfield players until teams have learned how to redistribute the workload and control the pace of the game and,

2. The disadvantage suffered by North American teams in International Competition coupled with the belief that acceptance of a change in the law on a worldwide basis, even if beneficial to the game, will take considerable time and effort.

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The common elements from a positive viewpoint of the 35 yard offside line were;

1. The provision of a more attractive and entertaining game for spectators, and more space for the skillful players to demonstrate their skill, and,

2. The decrease in use of offside tactics, congestion in midfield, and stoppages in the game

In summary, however, the coaches, by a ratio of more than 2 to 1, were of the opinion that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

In checking the statistics of all of our regular season games for the 1979 season, consisting of 15 home games for 24 member teams for a total of 360 games, the average number of stoppages for offside was 6 per game. Our records show that if the two teams which occasionally use offside tactics are eliminated from consideration, the average number of stoppages for offside would be reduced to just over 5 per game. It is worthwhile noting that the opponents of those two clubs were called offside an average of 8 times per game so that the average number of stoppages for offside in their games was 11.

Had offside been applied from the center line, one could assume with a fair degree of justification that the number of offside decisions awarded against their opponents would have increased substantially, possibly raising the average to 15 per game. This opinion is based on the belief that it is in the first 20 yards over the center line

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that defenders are most comfortable in using offside tactics
simply because there is time to recover if their effort
to secure possession of the ball by an offside decision should fail.

Furthermore, we would suggest that a reduction in the number of
offside decisions to be made decreases the number of controversial
situations handled by game officials and this can only be beneficial
in regards to the overall control and spirit of the game.

Unfortunately, it seems that a law originally intended to impose
certain restrictions on forwards seeking to gain an unfair advantage
is now being used as a distinct tactical advantage by defenders
if sufficient time is spent on perfecting its use.

One other response requested from our coaches was their viewpoint
as to whether they feel the offside line should be measured:

a) 35 yards from the goal line to provide a standard
size 35 yard offside zone in front of each goal, or

b) 20 yards from the center line to provide a con-
sistent 40 yard offside free zone in midfield.

The responses indicated an evenly split opinion on this subject,
although in the view of many, because the approved dimensions for
the length of a field varies from 100-130 yards, it would be
preferable to have the offside line drawn 20 yards from the center
line so that the size of the offside free zone is consistent.

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As a practical matter, the majority of our playing fields are 110 yards long which provides identical placement of the offside line whichever of the systems suggested above would be used.

In some countries, changes in the offside law will not be considered necessary, and if a change such as the introduction of the 35 yard offside line is made, it will have little or no effect on their games. Their style of play, code of conduct of the players, quality of officiating and/or acceptance of the decisions of referees, does not create the problems which are apparent elsewhere.

In other countries however, an offside free zone in midfield would appear to be the best solution in;

1. Overcoming narrow playing fields.

2. Discouraging offside tactics.

3. Protecting skillful players from extreme physical contact.

4. Providing sufficient space for a more skillful game.

While acknowledging that there are positive and negative effects with any change, the net result from our experience in using the 35 yard offside line has been to provide players with better circumstances under which to demonstrate the skillful aspects of soccer. This has eased the number and complexity of player management problems faced by referees, and has not given the game officials any unsolvable problems from the point of view of fitness, positioning or cooperation. The overall effect has enabled players to experience greater satisfaction and less frustration from the game, and provide better entertainment for spectators.

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## SUMMARY

In recent years, the North American Soccer League has extended invitations to top officials from FIFA, Brazil, Italy, Germany and England including Dr. Joao Havelange, Dr. Helmut Kaser, Dr. Artemio Franchi and Hermann Neuberger, to come to North America to witness our games so that they could have first hand knowledge of the use of the 35 yard offside line. Unfortunately, in most instances, those officials have had other commitments which prevented them from accepting the invitation extended through the offices of the United States Soccer Federation.

Officials who have attended our games include Sir Stanley Rous, Sir Walter Winterbottom, Sir Harold Thompson, Ted Croker and Ken Aston and they were extremely positive in their comments about the effectiveness of the use of the 35 yard offside line.

This league would be delighted to have the opportunity to work closely with FIFA during the 1980 NASL season to conduct a more thorough study of the effect of the 35 yard offside line. With so many outstanding players in our league, the variations in size of our playing fields and the complexities of blending together players from so many countries, I feel certain that there is no better way to evaluate any proposed change in the laws of the game.

Phil Woosnam
Commissioner, NASL

SAN DIEGO SOCKERS

Professional Soccer Club

Dial: Area Code (714) 280-GOAL
San Diego Stadium • 9449 Friars Road • San Diego, CA 92108

February 28, 1980

TO: Phil Woosnam

FROM: Bob Bell

RE: VIP or "Gold Club" Ticket

As you may know, Phil, the California clubs accepted an idea of mine last season, and we incorporated a season ticket good for entrance to our park, the Surf, or the Aztecs. The "California Connection" seemed a good idea in theory, and from our standpoint, was a success. We realize that problems were experienced by the other clubs, but the overriding potential of this saleable item leads us to another thought.

Our suggestion is that the North American Soccer League offer a VIP season ticket ("Gold Club", etc.) good for entrance to every park in our league. We feel that the opportunity should be offered by personal letter from our commissioner to a selected number of people in each city. That list, of course, would be supplied by club owners to the commissioner. We see this as a most prestigious, high priced item, and a source of considerable income to each club. Perhaps each ticket could admit a party of four and include Soccer Bowl plus a special VIP banquet.

Please give this idea earnest thought and attention, as we are very excited about the possibilities and the potential good which the Gold Card Club can generate.

Attached please find a detailed procedure. Thank you.

cc: Club Directors

FEB 4 1980

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