In 2007, Major League Soccer launched a new initiative called the Homegrown Player Rule as a way to incentivize teams to invest in their academies. The purpose of the rule was to allow clubs that have developed players in their academies to retain the rights to those players rather than losing them to the whims of the MLS SuperDraft. With Orlando City having signed its fifth Homegrown Player in Benji Michel and news that it tried to sign Santiago Patino to a Homegrown deal, we look into the rules of what qualifies a player to qualify for the designation.
Understanding Major League Soccer’s Homegrown Player Rule
