Yes and they have colleges producing players. But with only 28 professional teams that's what maybe 60 a year at most can make a living out of it? They also have to have graduated college before making the draft (22-24). The rest will find other careers.
Also not sure what soccer-led development/coaching means? Does that include schools? Most kids in england will play in school.
But again it's the pathway. England has 763 clubs that participate in the fa cup. That are pro or semi pro.
In terms of total number of clubs, that's only true if you're only counting MLS sides, though. Which would be like if you're only counting PL sides and saying that only 500 English footballers can make it (25x20).
Below the 28 MLS teams are roughly 30 USL teams (their Championship equivalent), 8 NSL teams (their L1 equivalent) and about 152 teams split between the NPSL and the PDL, which are sort of an amalgam of L2 and conference/non league.
All are professional except for the roughly 72 teams of the PDL, which are quasi-professional (our version would be semi-pro). So, in total I'd say there are about 218 teams in the US to play for at a professional or semi-pro level - not comparable to English football infrastructure, but not nothing either, and certainly more robust than a whole lot of continental European setups.
As for the way they count to reach that 3,000,000 figure, again, I'm not sure. It could be they count school football as part of it, but the source I'm thinking of specifically stated kids in 'US Soccer coaching programs', which is a more organized and professional thing.
Basically what i'm saying is that kids in england will get a better football education than in the us. They will join professional clubs at an earlier stage and interact with senior professionals. Even if they are late bloomers they have the chance to move to better clubs. So basically our homegrown players are much more likely to be of better quality. Meaning the product will be better quality.
For now, absolutely, although I've always been uncomfortable with the fact that English footballers (and European footballers/South American footballers) pay for this by being less educated and well-rounded than their American counterparts. The US tendency to have their athletes go through university/college, even if only in uni/college sport programs, is, to my eyes, a lot more ethical since it opens other career pathways for those kids who can't make it in sport. We struggle with that, and it's part of the reason being released is such a harrowing experience for so many kids hoping to make it.
However, in terms of quality, again, we are superior now, but money has a way of evening the scales, and who knows what the standard will look like in an ever-richer American football ecosystem ten years from now? I'd point to the very recent emergence of top-flight American coaches in Europe (Marsch, Berhalter) and players at relatively established clubs (Aaronson, Adams, McKennie, Pulisic, Reyna, etc.) as evidence that they are getting better, and will continue to do so.
Also the prem has a lot more going on. You have the race for the title, the race for top 4, europa qualification, but also relegation. Nearly every team is playing for something.
Yeah, but you're comparing the MLS and the Prem now, not, say, 10 years from now.
I have it on good authority from talking to folks around my formerly-local club, Toronto FC, down the years that the MLS has always harbored an interest in joining the Copa Libertadores, with the major hurdle being the CONMEBOL-CONCACAF divide. If they can find an acceptable compromise, I would not at all be surprised to see MLS clubs drop the CONCACAF Champions League and join the Copa Libertadores by 2030, with qualification structured similarly to how we set up CL/Europa League qualification here in the sense of maybe playoff qualification guaranteeing a place in the tournament's qualification rounds.
It makes sense for both South American confederations and clubs (who will see a major influx of new money from the US and thus may be able to keep their players away from European clubs for longer) and for the US (prestige of playing in the Libertadores and better access to the South American football market and talent pools in Brazil, Argentina et al).
If and when that happens, they will have a competition comparable to the best in Europe, imo.
