Arsenal invade Denver...What Does The Partnership Mean???

The dust is settling on the big announcement out of Denver. For the past week rampant speculation had the Rapids changing their name to Arsenal, Kroenke Sports buying a piece of the historic club and the Rapids signing some really high profile player for their vacant Designated Player spot. Well my friends, none of these things happened. However, the Colorado Rapids and Arsenal FC of London did sign an historic partnership agreement.

The partnership agreement has three main points. 1) Inception of a Center of Excellence (COE) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park 2) Development of the Arsenal Cup 3) Arsenal building their brand in the US.

If I am connecting the dots correctly, points 1 & 2 could be very big for the development of the game in the US, especially at the youth level.

1) Inception of a Center of Excellence at Dick's Sporting Goods Park: This will no doubt be multi-faceted and can either be great or a disappointment. I see it being great if coaches from London come over and help the Rapids with coaching techniques for all levels. Since MLS is starting youth teams at each club this season, now is the time for international help coaching the youngsters. If this COE is successful the Rapids could have a couple home grown players joining the senior team in five years or so. Arsenal has one of the top youth systems in England and the Rapids will do well taking that system and adapting it here.

The COE will also have an impact on college soccer in the US. If the Rapids youth system graduates one player a year to the senior team, there are going to be ten or more other guys going to college. Training at a professional level will no doubt benefit the college programs signing Rapids academy players. In some ways it will be like another Bradenton is opening up in Denver, but the best from the region will join the Rapids, not the best from the entire nation.

After a recent conversation with Rapids coach John Murphy I was shocked at the level of competition for young players in Denver. Hopefully having Arsenal knowhow in the Rapids Academy, more and more players will be interested in joining the club as opposed to staying with their current clubs.

2) Development of the Arsenal Cup: This is going to be great. Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado will host a youth invitational tournament under the name of Arsenal. The winner of the tournament will go to London to play against the Arsenal U-17 team. This makes the tournament seem focused on U-17 clubs but who cares. I've been waiting for a Dallas Cup type of event in Denver and now we're getting the start. Hopefully this is something that can grow into a great soccer event.

On the youth development side of things it will be exciting for these kids to play at a great complex with the prize being a trip to London. The winners of this cup will have an amazing life experience which will serve as motivation for teams from around the US. A great prize!

There are some Rapids fans out there who are disappointed with the result of the big news we waited over a week for. At first I was surprised to hear Jeff Plush say, "Colorado Rapids." I really had gotten used to the new rumored name of Colorado Arsenal or Arsenal Colorado. As a Tottenham fan I didn't want to, but I had been in Arsenal territory the day they won the Premiership in 1998, so I could get used to that name. Since the dust has cleared on the whole deal I am excited to keep the Rapids name and gain the things I wrote about above. Overall I do think this is the dawning of a new age of the Colorado Rapids. Here's hoping some of this sharing will equal wins on the field and more fans in the stands.

Cheers Arsenal, you're going to help the Americans catch up to your high level of football and I am thankful for it.