The National Christmas Soccer Bowl of 1916

On Christmas Eve, 1916, a fierce American soccer “rivalry” reached its breaking point. It became one of the defining games of the early 20th century. This week, we look back at the story behind the Christmas derby to determine the best team in the US at the time. Plus, we kick off our 4th Annual North American Soccer Photo Contest, examine shocking new developments coming out of MLS, and more.

This week’s stories:

• 📸 4th Annual Soccer Photo Contest

• 🏖️ “The Most Interesting Man in Soccer”

• 🎄 The National Christmas Soccer Bowl of 1916

• 🤯 New MLS Divisions?

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

CLUBELEVEN
4th Annual Soccer Photo Contest

We’re looking for the best soccer photos of the year!

Beginning today, we invite photographers in the North American soccer space to submit their best photographs from 2025 for the following five categories: Soccer Fandom, Match Action, Celebrations, Growing the Game, and From the Stands.

A guest panel of judges and an open community vote will determine the winners.

Check out the prizes, rules, and how to participate right here!

CLUBELEVEN
“The Most Interesting Man in Soccer”

Most days, you’ll find Alessandro Canale skating and juggling a soccer ball (at the same time) up and down Venice Beach. For over a decade, he’s played almost every version of soccer there is, while primarily representing the US through the Beach Soccer National Team.

As Alessandro puts it, it’s not only been a way to satisfy his creative nature, but more importantly, it’s his way of inspiring the next generation of athletes in our country to try new endeavors and step outside their comfort zones.

Check out Episode 3 of our new series “Driven,” presented by Volkswagen, HERE.

COVER STORY
The National Christmas Soccer Bowl of 1916

The year was 1916, and the soccer landscape in our country looked much different from what it does today.

Back then, the most prestigious competitions in the U.S.—like the Open Cup and the American Football Association’s American Cup—were largely confined to the Northeast, despite claiming to crown a “National Champion.”

And this wouldn’t have really been a problem (since most of the best teams in the States did hail from that region), except there was one major soccer city that was excluded from all the fun: St. Louis.

Since the late 1800s, St. Louis had been a hotbed for soccer in our country, even if it was far removed from the East Coast scene that seemed to dominate the headlines.

Notably, it was also a city where most of its soccer teams were comprised of American players, a significant difference from many of the clubs in Northeastern cities, which often relied on signing foreign talent to bolster their squads.

As far as St. Louis was concerned, they were the best soccer city in the country; they just hadn’t really had the chance to prove it.

But that would all change on Christmas Eve of 1916, when the best players in St. Louis came together to face off against the mythical Bethlehem Steel, holders of the Open Cup and the American Football Association’s American Cup at the time.

In a way that almost mirrored/predicted the Eastern Conference Champion vs Western Conference Champion format that’s so common in our leagues these days, Bethlehem Steel faced off against a picked team from St. Louis.

The match took place in front of some 7,500 spectators—“the largest crowd that has seen a soccer exhibition here since the invasion of the Pilgrims,” according to the wire report published in a local newspaper the following day. It was, by all means, a momentous occasion. Their chance to finally take that chip off their shoulders and prove to the country what they were made of.

And the result? Well, it shocked the nascent American soccer world.

INNOVATION
New MLS Divisions?

Fresh off the announcement that MLS will be switching to a summer-to-spring schedule, it seems the league has more changes in store.

The likely plan appears to be introducing a “division system” similar to the NFL, which could end up breaking up some historic rivalries.

The five new divisions would look like this.

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

Let us know your takes! We’ll highlight your best answers next week.

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

One in a Million: The great Sophia Wilson will be back with the Thorns next year, to the tune of a record annual salary for an NWSL player. Deserved!

Best PL Pub: Our trip to LA last weekend helped us find this gem. If you live in the area, you have to stop by.

World Cup Fan Zones: Some important updates regarding World Cup Fan Zones in New York.

Colorado Rebrand: It seems the Rapids are exploring an update to their branding. Crossing fingers for a Caribous revival!

GOTY: Yeah, this one deserved it. Check out the best goal of the 2025 USL season!

ART
The Beautiful Dance

Our friend and talented artist, Zach Kovan, unveiled some wonderful artwork he completed for his alma mater, Michigan State, this past week.

“The Beautiful Dance is a visual representation of the magical connection between player & ball. It silences all the other noise,” said Zach. “Inspired by Diego Maradona’s iconic pregame warmup for Napoli in 1989, these juggling sequences create a dance that grounds us in that original and wonderfully simple joy.”

The Beautiful Dance will be on display in the men’s soccer lounge at MSU, and he might still have some additional prints available (if they haven’t sold out yet)!

You can reach out here to inquire about those or submit any soccer art commissions you may have 🎨

EXPANSION
Boston Legacy in Rhode Island

I swear, right after leaving the Rhode Island FC home opener earlier in the year, a few of us said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if the Boston Legacy played a couple of games here?”

Well, somehow, it’s gonna come true.

The Legacy will, in fact, play a handful of select games at Centreville Bank Stadium during their inaugural season in 2026! We will be there no matter what…

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you: Do you think soccer will be bigger than basketball in the US someday? Here are some of your answers:

• “Yes. It will take a few more decades but soccer has the highest ceiling out of sports like baseball, basketball, and hockey today.” - JD

• “No. Basketball will always be basketball in this country, but we don’t need to compare the beautiful game to other sports to love it.” - Ben

In the poll, “Yes” won with 62.5% of the vote!

UP NEXT
Festive Fixtures

The whole visiting-PL-bars-across-the-country thing finally went too far 😅

It was an honor to get an invite from the Premier League to come out to New York this past weekend, and we had one of our favorite adventures of the year! It was a really fun way to get into the holiday spirit… but more on that soon.

And before signing off, from all of us at CLUBELEVEN—Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and best wishes to you all!! Make sure to spread some soccer cheer this week!

Enjoying This?

Make sure to forward this email to a friend and help us spread the soccer gospel far and wide! We’ll see you next week with even more untold stories of soccer.

Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo