GPS – Massachusetts (Global Premier Soccer)
[Formerly known as Mass Premier Soccer (MPS); this club was rebranded in November 2013, along with the new logo in January 2014.]
GPS FRAUD SCHEME CONVICTION
Global Premier Soccer (GPS), once a prominent soccer club, was implicated in a significant legal controversy leading to its closure in June 2020 due to allegations of a visa fraud conspiracy. The core of the scandal centered on the club’s former Chief Operating Officer, Justin Capell along with other executives and employees. The charges were brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts.
The fraudulent activities, as detailed in court documents, were said to have occurred between 2016 and October 2019. During this period, Capell and his associates within GPS and an outside counsel conspired to deceive multiple federal agencies. The deception involved the submission of fraudulent visa petitions, which aimed to obtain work visas under false pretenses for hundreds of individuals employed by GPS.
To facilitate this fraud, the conspirators crafted fake employment contracts between the visa applicants and professional soccer teams. Additionally, they are accused of manufacturing counterfeit coaching licenses, which were then submitted as part of the visa application process to support the applicants’ credentials.
Despite the complexities and multitude of documents and emails evidencing the various allegations, the essence of the case is straightforward: GPS and its leadership, whether intentionally or not, engaged in deceptive practices to bypass immigration laws and subsequently faced the legal consequences, leading to the organization’s dissolution.
Great experience for my son who is now on U16. Been with MPS (GPS) for 4 years and have had terrific coaches, especially our current coach (on his 2nd year). Couldn’t ask for a better role model and skilled soccer coach.
The central GU12 program is a total and complete mess. I know some reviewers think that the parents are to blame if your experience is sub-par, but let me tell you that the parents on our mess of a team have been nothing but positive. Our GU11 experience last year was fairly positive so we decided to stay in the the club for this year. They were supposed to have a GU12 Elite and Select team (they had two such teams in GU11 so that would have been natural) but they ended up losing so many girls from last year (bad sign there) that they ended up with about 6 rostered players for an 8v8 team. That is how we began the fall – every week our poor coach had to scramble to find players (some playing for free – kind of annoying there for those of us who actually paid) to get us up to 8. So our “team” never really was a team since the girls never got the chance to even play with the same group of players (and practices usually just had the 6 rostered girls). Our coach then left at the end of the fall season so we entered winter training without a coach. It appears we then lost some of our core players (our winter fustal league was a mess where we basically had to borrow players just to field a 5v5 team). So here we are about to enter the spring season and were are pretty much in the same spot as the fall with a player shortage but now we don’t even have a coach. I am sorry but this clearly is a club management issue. GPS is not cheap and I cannot believe that we have paid money for such a poorly managed experience (we have better consistency with our town soccer program). Some folks here may love GPS, but the experience we have had in the Central GU12 group is something that can only be labelled as utter and complete incompetence. We will definitely be leaving GPS after this season and will never return. Any club that can at least field a full team is better than what we are living with right now.
Agreed my kid plays on a Select team. We started our season with 12 kids on the roster. For 11 v 11, no subs. We have even played a game with 9. For this weekends tournament we borrowed kids from a U12 team who have never played 11 v 11. Lost today, Lets say the score was out of hand 5 minutes in. We have been with Gps for several years and it has only gotten worse. The name of the team should be GPS- Subsidy. Unless your kid is a top notch talent in the upper age groups. Look elsewhere.
Its funny how the people with the most complaints never seem to report back that they found the nirvana thery were looking for. MPS is a small business and as a small business they experience growing pains and challenges like all small busineses do. It is frustrating at times but on balance their mission to develop all of their players to the best of their potental is real and I have experienced positive growth and improvement with all of my 3 kids (2 girls and 1 boy).
A big variable in the “team” experience is being fortunate enough to be part of a group with a common goal who are all willing to work hard for it. The parents job doesn’t stop when they write the check. It is an active involvement where the moral and comraderie on the sidelines and at home either fuels the team to do well or stifles their forward progress.
I have a daughter who started in the academy program at U11 and together we worked through the challenges, injuries, struggles and she has perservered to a starting spot on the High School Varsity team in her junior year. MPS has been her development channel all the way along especially when the town youth program was a very bumpy ride.
My point, you can take your opportunity and make the most of it focusing on the positive or you can gripe, quit and badmouth. It all depends on what you are trying to demonstrate for your kids.
MPS is a great club that is certainly not perfect but working hard to do their best.
It is a great avenue to connect with other high energy motivated families with similar goals.
And if you are not convinced that their patient development approach brings results in the long run then look at which clubs are winning Mass State Championships in the most age brackets from U15 -U18 when it counts for college recruiting.
GPS \ MPS is always in that hunt.
I hope this is helpful.
Scott
This post concerns GPS Milan. The GPS Milan site is still under development after a year under the new name.
Two basic rules exist for the u12-14 teams in GPS Milan
1) The kids and the parents ( AKA as customers) are always to blame
2) See rule 1
Stay away from this club
I have 2 kids in MPS (now GPS). One is BU14 Select. One is GU11 Select. I am extremely dissapointed with MPS. The Select teams are the 2nd level teams (below Elite) and the fees are still very high. I have become convinced (unfortunately) that the Select program exists purely to benefit the Elite (they pick us of players). They could care less about the Select program as an actual team and really do nothing to benefit the Select team itself. They actually have used the Elite vs. Select arrangement to threaten kids on the Elite team that if they don’t play well they’ll send them down to the Select. The coaching is inconsistent (my BU14 experience has been horrific) and they do not rotate players among positions at all (which is ridiculous at these age levels) and they don’t seem to have any plan to actually find goalies for any of the teams we’ve been involved with (which makes seasons just painful). If you are considering joining a Select team, save your money and go elsewhere (or take a nice vacation – money better spent that way). This whole program just seems like a pyramid scheme to make the parent company loads of money.
Actually, after having thought it over, I would add that if your child is a ball hog who refuses to pass but thinks he/she can get around 3 defenders and get a shot off then GPS is probably the spot for you. My son’s BU14 team has a complete line of fowards who play this way and nobody ever seems to say a word to any of them. Our defense works hard to get the ball up to the midfielders who manage to get it up to the forwards when then try to do it alone and turn the ball over. Then when we lose (primarily because our offense does nothing which puts so much added pressure on the defense), the defense always gets the blame. But our hog forwards never get talked to, never get pulled, and never get blamed. Funny, I always thought soccer was a team sport.
Just a money machine. If you’re from the South Shore and have a daughter who wants to play you’re better off taking her out in your backyard. Inconsistent coaches, South Shore second fiddle to North Shore in every aspect. Coaches show up late, front office is ridiculous and now they call themselves GPS. Nothing good to say about MPS or GPS on the South Shore of Mass.
Great Club. It really gives kids a chance to progress to the highest level of soccer.
Soccer is big business in MA. MPS is an over priced football(soccer) money machine. Only handful of fully qualified coaches, others are brought in from the UK, paid very little and inexperienced, leave after 1-2 years. Fees are $3800 a year unless you can negotiate a scholarship or show you are low income
Even the elite teams are not balanced, putting together mediocre players with talent and often not developing kids.
My advice as a development club, reasonably priced with focus on building skilled players is Valeo in Newton, or combination of good town team and club.
Very poor club. Lacks of organization
Mps is a great club, one of the fastest growing in the nation!
I have been very disappointed with the MPS coaching the last few years. Our current coach is not a good judge of talent. He puts players in certain positions when it would be better for the team to be in a different position.
I have been frustrated since i only get to play one position. i do not feel that our coach tries to develop all of the players and is often unfair and overall not vey nice.
I play for MPS at the premier level bu14. I have seen a lot of negative reviews. I love my coach and every training session is taken seriously. I dont even consider other clubs.
Very disappointed with MPS. The coaching is very poor. Not sure the coach of my sons team know much about soccer at all. The most disappointing aspect was that the coach did not even motivate the players.
Totally disappointed with MPS. Our sons coach is one of the owners so there is no one to complain to. He is a horrendous coach. Completely lacks judgement as to the game of soccer and skills the players have. The coach/owner is incompetent. If he was a nice guy and encouraged the kids it would be disappointing but OK however this coach is mean, incompetent, unfair, disrespectful and should not be a soccer coach or allowed to be near kids.
i would encourage anyone to stay away from MPS……pick any other soccer club as this club is not worth the money and is completely frustrating and unfair.
Being around the bend, and watching and seeing many different clubs, MPS is nothing short of disappointing. I’ve witnessed too many times in which the basic responsibilities the coaches should have are not met including one that just left the team alone in the middle of a game. I concur that these are just underpaid coaches recruited from UK. They may know their stuff, but the ability for them to teach it to the kids and their motivation to coach a successful team is something else and can vary from coach to coach. In a nutshell, there are better options out there, even at the same or lower cost.
MPS is a major disappointment. I am sure the elite level is well taken care of, but I do not know; however, the lower level development is a farce. I do not know what the term “lower level development” means, but that’s where my daughter was and she was not with a group of like skilled players. She was lumped with whatever group had paid, and the skill level went from leadfoot to OK. My daughter was an OK, but needed guidance and help.
I can only comment about u11/u12 girls, but the overall team was a sham. MPS do a great job of show-casing their coaching staff, but when it comes to what happens in the academy teams it is a lot of money for very little if any reward. They took a motivated and determined girl player into a barely interested weak participant. Yes, of course its the players fault. NO! The “team” did not turn up for practice, because players had to come form too far way or put their town team first. Through 1 fall season, if 6 girls turned up for practice- that was a lot. Many games were set with insufficient players or no subs. The coaches did what they could, but overall when compared to other coaches for opposition teams, especially Newton FC, they were uninvolved. Overall there was just a lack of professionalism. The first game my daughter played was off barely 1 practice. At the end of the season practices stopped because the clocks changed, apparently no-one noticed this occurs every year. We really tried to give it a go, but they failed my daughter. I know football really well, and the MPS Academy teams is not how to do it. I have learnt that it varies, but that just makes ne more annoyed. The hierarchy should develop a consistent standard. You pay your money- you lose it. We expected to get our daughter into a better team, but no, the girls were generally weak. I refuse to have my daughter play Town and Club- she’s too young for that, and it snot needed.
If we get through the disorganization of the academy team, we can look at the team winter program, which was futsal. I watched, and I suspect the coaches had been given a 15 minute training session on futsal. Despite spectacular facilities, the coach was using water bottles as goals for the session and allowing shots from over the half way line, which in reality should not be a problem. However, I am paying to have a coach organized and planning and a club that identifies what should be worked on for the team. The last game of the regular season where my u11er was playing with better girls in u12, played a game and through the whole game if they strung 3 passes together I would want a recount. It was just appalling.
Caveat emptor. Just because you are paying a lot, does not mean you get a lot. Once you pay, you lose the lot. No refunds. No recourse, and a general acceptance that there is disorganization.
Football (soccer) should be about fun- MPS managed to take a committed and interested u11 girl, and make her a disinterested spectator. She is now in a great and dynamic club, has had a winter of phenomenal futsal, and is back smiling and competing again. You do not know her, but all her friends were amazed that she almost quit soccer.
MPS needs a consistent package- they do not have it. The clinics that I have seen an had kids participate in look great and well organized, but the coach you get is not good just because they have a cute English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh accent. If you buy in, look at what your exit options are.
Also, MPS is not alone, in discussing the issues of club teams with other parents, other clubs have similar issues.
I am a Brit, I know (football) soccer, I also coach, and I have done licenses, and the way they do academy is rubbish and it is sad to see the kids not develop how they could.
In hindsight, on the day of the first game and its conclusion, I wanted to complain- my boss said, no. I did not, but it never improved. If it smell like a rat- it is a rat.
Bottom-line- get your kid in on some form of trial and only commit after you have seen the entire system.
I wish you good luck with your player, and I hope you have a better shot at the MPS lottery. FYI, the current team has taken my daughter on her nascent skills and waived costs- if I get money back from MPS they will get it, but good luck on getting a returned e-mail or phone call from MPS.
It was a sad experience, because as a father, I want my princess to be happy- they made her fret and fail.
G Robinson PhD
PS I hope this is reasonable and balanced- that was my intent.
Thank you. My daughter is in the same boat. Loves the sport but needs more work. She’s getting discouraged. What program did you find worked and helpful?
Hi- E-mail me separately and I will discuss. I think its inappropriate to comment on that here.
Great dialogue folks; hope it can be mutually beneficial!
I have a few questions. Can you email me where you went to play instead?
Great Coaches ! They love the game but Jerry summes it up well “Office is unbelievaby disorganized”.
Have to keep the same coaches for a longer time so they can understand the system.
unorganized office, unorganized tryouts, poor competition at the recreational level. cheap uniforms that fall apart. pay a lot of money and then asked to pay more in their own-sponsored tournaments. makes me wonder what else is out there. my son loved it. i did not.
A different rookie coach each year that has been recruited from a UK college to come to the States, get paid poorly, live with families here and get treated like slaves. Their practices don’t do anything with fitness. Office is unbelievably disorganized due to fact that office workers are also the same young coaches that come here for a year and then go home (if they don’t leave earlier, upset at their treatment). They have a good website.
I think you summed it up well Jerry. I tell my wife at least our son is getting more touches on the ball but lots of concerns as they seem to be growing faster than they can handle
agreed about the coaching being a revolving door and disorganized and no concept of families making them drive 2-3 hours out of the area for practices and regularly scheduled non-tournament games!some coaches leave kids on the sideline more than half the game when there is only 1-2 subs~why not rotate!
MPS is a great club. The camp is pretty good, the coaches are hilarious. Tournaments could be far away but worth it.
We’ve tried out several clubs at the elite level and MPS is by far the best club for developing a soccer player. Coaches and program are excellent. Their Elite player camps are great!
sorry forgot to rate the coaching part…
Better coaching, better development and a better overall experience than the first club we were affiliated with.
Totalyy agree with you. MPS is better than all club soccer teams in massachusetts!
Greatest club. We love it! Great coaching. Tons of tournaments that we dont pay a dime for. The girls love it. They will even work with you with cost and a payment plan
I’ve done some research because I plan on putting him at the club level because he wants to go pro, and do you really not have to pay for tournaments ?
There are two tournaments that you do not need to pay for, but you will need to pay abput $200 extra for tournaments in the spring. This club is expensive and the coaching is very good. However, there is lots of inconsistency. Your coach is not at all games because he coaches multiple teas and you often have a revolving door of coaches in the winter when many need to return home to renew their visa. The staff is friendly and helpful but the communication is poor. My child did grow a lot as a player and really enjoyed her team. There are pros and cons to every program and you need to find the one that works best for your child and family.
I agree with coaching. There were 3 or 4 games where coach did not show for game or was late because they were spread thin or coached to many teams
My son just loves Mass premier soccer and finds the coaching much better than the Scorpions – he was with them for more than 3 years and just did not like them for some reason. I think it was they took the game way too serious and could not focus on the soccer player as an individual and we sw no improvement in his play. he’s happy with mass premier soocer – for now?!
this club is ok
I have 3 kids playing all at the premier or elite level.with MPS across 2 of the 4 geographical branchs of MPS..
Very few kids will be lucky enough to go on to D1 college with scholorships or move up to professional play.
For all kids, including those talented and lucky ones reaching higher levels, the real life lessons learned in club sports is what they take with them to help them be successful as people, employees, team players, family members, etc.
I have found that MPS consistently works to develop all players through great focus on training fundamentals.
A great understanding of soccer, sportsmanship, professionalism, hard work, commitment, patience, fitness and team work are all things my kids have experienced consistently.
The young coaches are energetic and passionate about the game.
You meet some great families along the way too.
Bring your positive attitude and good work ethic and great things will happen with MPS.
It has been great for us.
Scott