Football today is full of opinions.
Pundits.
Consultants.
People explaining what clubs should do.
But in football there are only a few things that truly earn respect.
Building a club.
Selling out a stadium.
Launching a league.
Signing a star player.
Raising serious capital.
Those are the things that separate talkers from builders.
And that is exactly what I intend to do.
Foundations Come First
Building anything real in football takes time.
Before a ball is kicked there are foundations that must be secured.
Identity.
Structure.
Partners.
Supporters.
For the past four years much of my focus has been protecting and securing the trademarks and heritage behind the clubs that will form the foundation of this project.
Anyone who has dealt with football trademarks knows these processes move slowly, especially when they are contested.
Yes, those four years have delayed the launch.
But they were necessary.
Because football clubs are not just businesses.
They are cultural institutions with history and identity.
And if you want to build something that lasts, you protect those foundations properly.
The Founding Clubs
The next step is preparing four founding clubs for launch.
Clubs that carry real football heritage.
Names such as:
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Los Angeles Aztecs
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Chicago Sting
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Washington Diplomats
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Boston Minutemen
These clubs were part of a period when football in America captured imagination.
They deserve to exist again in a way that respects their history and the supporters who remember them.
This year the focus is clear.
Secure the trademarks.
Prepare the founding clubs.
Build the media platform that will support them.
Foundations first.
Build the Audience First
Before stadiums are filled, audiences are built.
The modern stadium is digital.
That is why building the media platform behind Football Is For The Fans is such an important step.
Supporters gather around ideas long before they gather inside stadiums.
Build the audience first.
The institutions follow.
A Different Model for Football
The model we are building is different from the traditional league structure.
Instead of relying solely on fixed clubs in fixed cities, the vision is to create international soccer events that bring the game directly to supporters.
Touring matches.
Football festivals.
Events that combine sport, culture, and entertainment.
Across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The inspiration comes from organisations that understand how powerful live sport becomes when it is also entertainment.
Groups like the Savannah Bananas, who turned baseball into one of the most entertaining live sports experiences in the world.
Promotions like Ultimate Fighting Championship, which transformed combat sports into global spectacles.
And the storytelling power of WWE, which understands that fans connect with personalities, rivalries, and unforgettable moments.
Football has the greatest culture in sport.
But sometimes the modern game forgets how powerful the spectacle can be.
We want to bring that energy back.
Football Needs Mavericks Again
Modern football is incredibly professional.
But somewhere along the way the game lost something important.
Personality.
Too often today the game feels controlled, cautious, and predictable.
Players are media-trained.
Systems dominate creativity.
Individuality is often smoothed away.
For many supporters the modern version of football has become safe.
Corporate.
At times, a little boring.
But the greatest players in history were never boring.
They were originals.
Players like Diego Maradona, Eric Cantona, Ronaldinho, George Best and Matt Le Tissier captured the imagination of supporters not just because they could play.
They had swagger.
They took risks.
They played with freedom.
They entertained.
Fans didn’t just follow teams.
They followed characters.
That is the type of player Football Is For The Fans wants to showcase.
Players with personality.
Players who build rivalries.
Players who create moments.
Because football has always been at its most magical when genius and personality meet on the pitch.
Talent Exists Outside the System
Over the years I have seen many incredible players.
Players with real talent.
Players capable of entertaining supporters.
But modern football systems can be rigid.
Not every talented player fits neatly into the pathways created by academies and professional clubs.
That doesn’t mean the talent isn’t there.
It simply means the system sometimes overlooks it.
Football Is For The Fans will give those players a platform.
Because sometimes the most exciting players are the ones just outside the system.
Choosing the Right Partners
Over the past few years I have spoken with a number of potential partners and investors.
Some conversations have been encouraging.
Others have made it clear how differently people view football.
Football Is For The Fans is not a venture capital experiment.
It is not a private equity flip.
I am not interested in taking silly deals or short-term structures designed to build something quickly and sell it just as fast.
This project is about building something that lasts.
An institution.
The partners I am interested in are long-term builders.
Family offices and patient investors who understand business beyond spreadsheets.
People who understand culture.
Brand.
Legacy.
Because football clubs, when built properly, should outlive the people who start them.
Ownership Matters More Than Ever
We are entering a period where technology will reshape the economy.
Artificial intelligence and automation will change industries and the nature of work itself.
In a world like that, ownership becomes more important than ever.
People who own institutions, brands, and communities will have far more security than those who simply work within systems they do not control.
Football clubs once belonged to communities.
Over time many drifted away from that idea.
Supporters became customers.
Clubs became financial assets.
Football Is For The Fans is built on a different principle.
That the future of football should reconnect clubs with the supporters who give them life.
Fan ownership is not nostalgia.
It is alignment.
When supporters have a stake in the club, the institution becomes stronger.
The Work Ahead
Right now we are still in the building phase.
Securing the trademarks.
Preparing the founding clubs.
Building the media platform.
Bringing together the right partners.
The foundations are being laid.
The next chapter will not be about talking about football.
It will be about putting teams back on the pitch.
Because in football, respect is not given.
It is earned by building something people believe in.
And with the right partners and supporters behind it, that is exactly what we intend to do.
Join the Journey
Building something real in football takes time.
Clubs are not created overnight.
Leagues are not built with a press release.
They are built step by step, long before the wider world notices.
This Substack is where that journey will be documented.
The strategy.
The challenges.
The thinking behind building clubs, events, and a new model for football.
The free articles will always be here.
But for those who want to go deeper, the paid tier will open the door to the inner workings of this project.
The thinking behind the clubs.
The plans behind the events.
The players, partners, and ideas shaping what comes next.
Football Is For The Fans is not just something to read about.
It is something we are building.
And the people who join early will be part of that story from the beginning.
Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels