While I do not think it is a scam, anyone involved in club soccer(me included) knows that there are some people getting very wealthy. Look at Cal South, their 2015 financials that are posted on line. Close to a $9,000,000 budget. $1,750,000 in salaries and wages, $837,000 in contract labor, $628,000 in professional services. That totals - $3,215,000. Dig a little deeper, and it appears that they purchased the State Cup Sweatshirts that you see every player wearing for $497,000 and sold them for $876,000, or a $379,000 profit. I am sure that the original $500,000 purchase came from a "related" party or a "related" party made a commission.
Their 2016 Financials should be posted in then next few weeks, should make for an interesting read.
The problem is the mission statement is so vague, and the vision statement is so bad that you can'e even really complain about it - what is Cal South supposed to do?
Mission - "Cal Souths mission is to advance and improve soccer"
Vision - "Our goal is to have one million players, coaches, referees and administrators by 2027. In fulfillment of our mission, we will provide opportunities for growth, development, and advancement through innovative programming and leadership, that embraces all skill levels and all formats of the game." I think they left out "and enriches those at the top"
The History of Excellence page has not been updated in at least 10 years, they talk about growing from a $25,000/year budget to a $3,000,000 budget. Well guess what, in 2010 they had more than a six million dollar budget.
Why are US Soccer/MLS and the SCDSL pretty much the only soccer organizations in the world to not follow promotion/relegation standards? To protect the investment at the top, so the big clubs can say we have all these Tier 1 teams and charge more money. The guys that originally invested in the MLS can protect their investment, make their billions. If you don't think these people are in it to make money and lots of it, you are crazy.
Why does FIFA have the 3 substitution rule? Because at the time the club owners said they were not making any money, they wanted to curb spending and an easy way to do that was limit the number of "good" players you had to pay, because if you can't sub them and get them in the game what is the use of carrying them on your roster?
As I stated at the beginning of this rant, I have a child in club soccer. She is on a competitive team, we have a great situation, with very few crazy parents, a great coach, and players that support each other. Club soccer has been a great experience for my daughter, she has developed many friendships, become a better soccer player, and has learned many life lessons. However, I know that some people are making money off that experience.