Today, it’s all about the game’s future, the youth. As we know, MLS signed a new initiative in November requiring each of its teams to have a youth system in place starting next season. Each season, the league will allow teams to sign two players from their development system, though the first group of players won’t be eligible to join the senior teams until 2008. Chivas USA has been one of the pioneers, beginning its youth program in 2005, along with Chicago, D.C. United, FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls. Included in the league’s mandate is the possibility that each team would establish a squad with a coach in the Under-14, -15, -16, -18, -20 and Under-25 age groups. To be sure, it’s a progressive idea-one of many MLS has come up with recently. “You’re seeing a lot of new investment in soccer and in MLS,” said Ivan Gazidis, the league’s deputy commissioner. New money should be arriving shortly in the form of shirt sponsorship and television contracts. Private and in some cases public money is helping build soccer-specific stadiums for each of MLS’ teams. Then, of course, there’s the new “Designated Player Rule” allowing each time to sign one star outside of salary cap restrictions. The new youth mandate could help solve some of the problems with player development in the USA. The Bradenton Residency program, for example, focuses only a small group of elite players. “I think the next step is to give more of those players opportunities,” he said.