Doug Sershen Durham, N.C. The recent trade of Junior Agogo from Chicago to Colorado once again brings up the confusing and illogical “system” MLS employs for the classification of its players. By my estimation Junior should be a Junior … International, that is. Clearly, Agogo is not a Transitional International since he’s too young. But he clearly meets the requirements for Junior International status. Yet numerous sources, including Soccer America, have reported that Agogo will fill Colorado’s fourth foreign player slot. Junior Internationals, as the above quote clearly states, do not count toward that limit. Nor are they supposed to count toward the maximum roster size, yet the Rapids cut a player to make room for Agogo. To be fair, the Rapids may have been carrying its full compliment of roster and non-roster players, thereby necessitating the cutting of a player to make room for Agogo. I haven’t had the opportunity to look into that possibility. Also, I find the league’s definition of Junior International status to way too vague regarding the salary cap. While the rules clearly state that Transitional Internationals count toward the cap, all they say about Junior Internationals is that their status is “similar to Project-40 players” who, of course, do not count toward the salary cap. In short, this whole system is a mess, Please explain. Ridge Mahoney: You’ve taken on a tough topic. I hope this helps you understand: Through an agreement with U.S. Soccer, MLS can sign 12 junior and transitional players this season. They were assigned slots in the order they were acquired, with several “carrying over” from the 1999 Project-40 class, which was expanded to include non-U.S. citizens who had attended school in the United States. The remaining slots were filled with 2000 draft choices, and a special exemption for Costa Rican William Sunsing, who was allocated to New England as compensation for the loss of Giovanni Savarese, whom the league sold in February. Several slots opened up during the spring. San Jose waived Adrian Narine, and Los Angeles had to cut Tomas Serna and Jose Retiz when it was discovered they did not hold U.S. citizenship nor green cards, and thus could not obtain work visas. (Retiz was already in the original 12, Serna was on a waiting list.) But other players were in line ahead of Agogo and Gary Glasgow of Kansas City; the slots were filled by Yuri Lavrinenko (Chicago) and Angel Rivillo (Dallas). Since only Narine and Retiz were in the original dozen, just two places needed to be filled. A story in the Soccer America issue of April 17 covers this topic, as well as that of Agogo, who at the time of publication was still with Chicago. But the article should state Agogo would not count against the Fire’s salary cap if he was a junior international. He is incorrectly designated as a transitional international in the story, so as you can see, confusion is not limited to the fans. The junior international classification is clear enough: JIÆs are in effect P-40 slots for non-U.S. citizens. They do not count on the main roster of 20, they do not count against the four-foreigner limit, and they do not count against the salary cap. Transitional internationals do not count against the foreigner limit, but they do count against the cap. Where the league has been somewhat remiss is emphasizing the JI/TI limit of 12. If Agogo could be classified as a junior international, he would not count against the cap. As a player with English League experience, he is earning approximately $60,000, far more than most P-40 players. Hope this clears up the confusion somewhat, and if you read the article in our April 17 issue, I hope this correction further clarifies the situation. THE CLASS OF 2000 Roland Aguilera (JI) Columbus — Drafted) Peter Byaruhunga (JI) Kansas City — Drafted Jason Bent (TI) Colorado — 1999 allocation Aleksey Korol (TI) Dallas — Drafted Dema Kovalenko (TI) Chicago — 1999 P-40 Travis Mulraine (TI) San Jose –Drafted Marvin Quijano (TI) Los Angeles — 1999 P-40 Maurizio Rocha (TI) Miami — 1999 P-40 Keyeno Thomas (TI) Colorado — Drafted William Sunsing (TI) New England– 2000 Allocation Yuri Larvinenko (TI) Chicago –1999 P-40 Angel Rivillo (JI) Dallas– Drafted (JI) – Junior international, aged 22 and under. (TI)- Transitional international, aged 23 and 24. Deleted from original list Andy Williams (Miami) Upgraded Adrian Narine (San Jose) Drafted-waived Jose Retiz (Los Angeles) Drafted-cut Tomas Serna (Los Angeles) Drafted-cut Williams was re-classified as a senior international when he signed a long-term contract with MLS. Narine, Retiz and Serna were all junior internationals. Currently classified as senior internationals Gary Glasgow (TI) Kansas City (Discovery) Junior Agogo (JI) Chicago (Drafted) (If you have a question for a Soccer America Magazine editor, click “Q&A with SA Editors” in the left column of the home page under “Interactive.”)