Brotherly Game Daily Links: MLS extends training moratorium again

MLS News

Major League Soccer Extends Team Training Moratorium
Major League Soccer has extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, April 24.

Project-40: The story of the original MLS youth super team
The project wasn’t dependent on winning matches or producing immediate returns, but instead the focus was first on developing players for the 2000 Olympics and then the slow and steady march to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, when Hankinson’s players would be in their primes.

ESPN2 to air eight-hour MLS marathon on April 6 anniversary of first game
ESPN2’s programming marathon will anchor MLS-themed content across multiple ESPN platforms, including on-demand streaming of a collection of historic matches on ESPN+, a special edition of Banter with Taylor Twellman digital show, and two classic matches on ESPN Deportes.

U.S. Soccer News

Spanish Flu, severe weather, Olympic Games: 2020 US Open Cup isn’t first tournament to be delayed
The start of the 1919 competition was set back nearly a month when the Spanish Flu pandemic swept through the country. Many times play has been stopped anywhere from two to four months due to winter weather conditions making games unplayable. In 1948, it took 11 months to complete the tournament due to weather delays and the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Rest of the World News

FIFA extends men’s age limit for Tokyo Olympics due to virus
It means players eligible for the intended under-23 tournament in 2020 can still play in Japan at age 24 next year. Men’s soccer kicks off ahead of the July 23, 2021 opening ceremony in Tokyo.

CONCACAF postpones Nations League semifinals, final
The CONCACAF Nations League matches were scheduled to be played in Houston, Texas on June 4, with the third-place match and final set to take place three days later in Dallas. The U.S. and Honduras comprised one semifinal with the other to be contested by Mexico and Costa Rica.