“One of the parents who has a child that plays in our club works for the Fort Worth Parks Department and he was seeing the growth of Liverpool. He was seeing a lot of things that he liked and actually set up a meeting with their Parks Department,” Brody explained. “They’re going to allow us to train teams out there, to run tournaments, and to help promote the Liverpool Way, the Liverpool brand out of Rolling Hills. We pay them a fee for usage of the field.”
Any clubs or players, Trevino said, “in the United States that [have] interest in being part of Liverpool [have] to come through us.”
Unlike the dozens of other soccer clubs and academies in North Texas, some also with major club affiliations, the LFCA folks believe their superior curriculum differentiates them from the rest. Technical Director Armando Pelaez also feels LFCA is more integrated with its parent club than its North Texas competitors are with theirs.
“We are part of Liverpool directly,” he said. “As you can see, we are called ‘Liverpool.’ It’s not ‘Solar’ or ‘Texas,’ and then they have the little logo that says, ‘Manchester City’ or ‘Chelsea.’ We are Liverpool.”
Brody explains further. “A lot of clubs will create kind of what we call a ‘patch on the sleeve’ relationship, where you’ll maybe do a camp or you’ll pay some money to one of the big England Premier League clubs.” He indicated that those sorts of relationships don’t typically go much further, and he feels the Liverpool relationship runs much deeper.
The last time a North Texan got involved with Liverpool soccer ownership, it turned out poorly for everyone involved (except for maybe some lawyers).
In February 2007, Tom Hicks bought half of Liverpool FC in England, splitting the purchase with partner George Gillett. At the time, Hicks owned the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars and Gillett the Montreal Canadiens. The Americans generated goodwill early on by authorizing sizable spending in the transfer market, roughly equivalent to the free-agency period of the big four American sports. But the good feelings soon dissipated as the debt-burdened ownership fought among themselves, alienated supporters, and failed to break ground on a promised new stadium. Hicks and Gillett unwillingly sold the club to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry in 2010, and the legal fallout lasted until 2013. By then, the Rangers and Stars had gone through bankruptcy and Hicks no longer held his once-significant sports empire.
The LFCA’s aspirations differ from the ones Hicks failed to realize. Brody made his mark in the soccer business by setting up Blue Sky Sports Centers in 1999. He now has locations in Keller, Euless, Allen, and The Colony.
Through the Liverpool partnership, he hopes to create a nationwide system of clubs in the United States that all bear the Liverpool brand name.
Dan White, Liverpool FC’s head of soccer schools, said he has reason to expect solid results from this Texas collaboration.
“The most important thing [about LFCA] was the quality of the overall program, ensuring that the very best environment is in place for the players to thrive,” White said via e-mail. “It was also important that they share the same values as LFC and are continually looking to improve the way they operate.”
Brody began the Liverpool affiliation while looking for a superior training program for his two soccer-playing children.
“I started looking around to potentially create something that was very kid-focused and kid-friendly and was also going to be focused on the development, and yet I wanted a strong enough brand that would help us really drive forward in a very crowded market. And so I started reaching out to Premier League clubs, because the brand is probably one of the best in the world. And one of the clubs that was at least willing to hear what I had to say was Liverpool.”
Brody began the relationship by working with supporters groups.
“After two to three years of trying to build the club and build the relationship with Liverpool, they came back and said, ‘We really like what you guys are doing, we like how you are doing it, let’s go ahead and make this an official relationship,’ ” Brody recalled.
The affiliation comes through Liverpool’s International Academy program, which works with local clubs in a dozen countries.
Curious where the first image was acquired from? It is not the Warriors, but a U13 Liverpool D1 team that my son plays on. I took that photo. I was credentialed through a national sports wire for the Dallas Cup matches and all of my images were to be licensed through them. I own the copyright and do not have a problem with you using it for the article outside of the wire. However, I was never notified or asked for permission. If you’d like a link to the original file, please let me know.
Thanks.
Very interesting article on LiverpoolFC America. I’m a soccer parent who dri ves from the 817 to 972 constantly for games. Wish the story told more about other programs in North Texas. FCDallas has a youth development program. Dallas Texans has a partnership with Manchester United. Solar has a partnership with ChelseaFC. These local clubs have already produced players for the US MNT, MLS, and the Premier League.