{"id":924443,"date":"2026-07-10T01:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T01:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/924443\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T01:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T01:34:16","slug":"dan-patrick-show-producer-refutes-alexi-lalas-claim-about-free-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/924443\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Dan Patrick Show’ producer refutes Alexi Lalas’ claim about ‘free soccer’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The voice of American soccer, Alexi Lalas, appears to have no interest in reducing youth soccer costs to improve the talent pipeline for the USMNT.<\/p>\n

After another tough World Cup exit<\/a>, the conversation around the growth of the sport turned again toward the price of youth participation. Lalas, debating with his followers on X, went to bat repeatedly this week in favor of a free market in the sport, even arguing that allowing club soccer to price some children out will make the country\u2019s soccer culture \u201cproudly unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a response on social media, longtime Dan Patrick Show producer Seton O\u2019Connor offered a thorough example from Spain, where his son has competed in the youth system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer is right in front of Alexi Lalas\u2019 face and he somehow never sees it,\u201d O\u2019Connor said in a video. \u201cWith the USMNT crashing out of the World Cup, people are talking again about fixing youth soccer in the United States, so the conversation has turned to free academies. Alexi Lalas usually replies with, \u2018Who\u2019s going to pay for all this free soccer?’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The answer is right in front of @AlexiLalas<\/a> and somehow he doesn\u2019t see it pic.twitter.com\/tP5dwDoeAo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Seton O\u2019Connor (@HiMyNameIsSeton) July 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The model put forth by O\u2019Connor is CF Damm in Barcelona, run by the Damm brewing company. Damm, which O\u2019Connor said was similar in size to that of the parent company of Samuel Adams beers, funds and operates its own football club, dedicated solely to the development of Spanish soccer talent.<\/p>\n

Players recruited to CF Damm compete in the top division of Spanish youth soccer, where phenoms like Spanish national team star Lamine Yamal still play.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor suggested that rather than running out the tired \u201cno such things as free lunch\u201d arguments that Lalas relies on, the conversation should shift toward asking why no major American corporation values something like youth sports development.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow let\u2019s think about American companies. Apple, Google, Amazon, Nike, Tesla, SpaceX, their resources dwarf Damm\u2019s. And several of them have also benefitted from stuff like government contracts and tax incentives and other forms of public support over the years,\u201d O\u2019Connor explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if public policy can be used to support already-successful companies keep growing, why couldn\u2019t some of that success be reinvested into developing the next generation of American soccer players? Just a portion, just a small piece of it. Damm already proves that the model works. Why are we asking who\u2019s going to pay for all this free soccer rather than asking, \u2018Why hasn\u2019t a single American company stepped up that youth soccer is a cause worth backing?’\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor then imagined what spending power would be possible if these huge companies moved even a portion of their advertising for this year\u2019s World Cup to giving resources to kids who want to play soccer.<\/p>\n

Because much of Lalas\u2019 argument online revolved around a capitalist belief that companies should have the right to \u201csell\u201d soccer at whatever price the market will pay and that executives and coaches in the system deserve to be paid whatever they are worth in that market, O\u2019Connor tried to speak that language in his final point:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do companies think that buying 30 seconds of advertising creates more value than building the next generation of players? I feel like that\u2019s something that a proud American and a proud capitalist who also loves soccer, like Alexi Lalas, could speak to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strangely, Lalas reposted O\u2019Connor\u2019s take on X without any added context or rebuttal, as if to endorse the idea \u2014 despite the fact that it runs completely counter to his take.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this is just further proof that, while Lalas clearly has firmly held beliefs, his mission, above all, is to troll rather than to spread these beliefs or convince others of his perspectives.<\/p>\n

\t