{"podcast":{"title":"The Best Soccer Show","slug":"the-best-soccer-show-744760","podcast_index_feed_id":744760,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/RPPSG8719704371","website_url":"https://www.thebestsoccershow.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/db8cd422-f915-11ef-a5ff-c7623cc576f4/image/1f2f57b676a27257837f4e8ca7070cbe.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Davis & Dubois","episode_count":289,"summary":"Hosted by the voice of the American fan, Jason Davis (SiriusXM), and the clown prince of soccer, Jared Dubois (JD & The Rod), The Best Soccer Show is dedicated to all things American Soccer, covering Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, the US national teams, Americans around the globe, and more. The show features a who's who of American soccer in an energetic, call-in format that gives fans a voice while never taking itself or the game too seriously.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760"},"episode":{"title":"MLS Next Pro Investment With Eben Novy-Williams","slug":"mls-next-pro-investment-with-eben-novy-williams","published_at":"2026-05-07T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760/mls-next-pro-investment-with-eben-novy-williams","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/RPPSG2965058852.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/RPPSG2965058852.mp3","summary":"Special Edition: The Future of MLS Next Pro Jason is on the road to Pawtucket, Rhode Island for a live Morning Kick Around at Centreville Bank Stadium — so rather than leave you hanging, he's crossing the streams. This episode features the full Morning Kick Around interview with Eben Novy-Williams, deputy editor at Sportico, on KKR's blockbuster investment in MLS Next Pro through the newly formed Hometown Soccer Holdings. Jason and co-host Rob Kerr dig into what it all means for the soccer wars, lower-division soccer in America, MLS valuations, the Vancouver Whitecaps crisis, and what the World Cup might — or might not — do for the game's long-term trajectory. TIMESTAMPS: [0:00:28] — Welcome & road trip intro: Jason heads to Pawtucket for Morning Kick Around live at Centreville Bank Stadium, Rhode Island FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies, May 9th [0:01:02] — Check out Morning Kick Around on YouTube: youtube.com/@MorningKickAround [0:03:35] — Support the show at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow — World Cup content incoming for Besties, plus Wednesday office hours and the Bestie Slack [0:05:00] — Interview begins: Eben Novy-Williams, deputy editor at Sportico, joins Jason and Rob Kerr [0:05:46] — Why KKR? MLS launched Next Pro in 2022 with a minor league baseball vision — teams in non-MLS cities building a full pyramid. Four years in, most clubs treated it as a sunk cost, not a business. KKR changes that calculus. [0:07:12] — The moat strategy: MLS wants to control the entire pro soccer pyramid in the U.S. — and this deal widens the moat against USL considerably. [0:09:03] — KKR's timeline is likely five years. They want to build the commercial structure, prove the concept, grow the league, then find a successor. From MLS's side, this is Next Pro 2.0. [0:11:25] — The real estate ang…","meta_description":"Special Edition: The Future of MLS Next Pro Jason is on the road to Pawtucket, Rhode Island for a live Morning Kick Around at Centreville Bank Stadium — s…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2242,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-best-soccer-show-744760/episodes/mls-next-pro-investment-with-eben-novy-williams/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760/mls-next-pro-investment-with-eben-novy-williams.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}