Site Forum

Looking at all the different categories under Soccer and somewhat comparing to what we've done under Hockey and Basketball, has it been defined anywhere what a "Major Release" for Soccer is? Obviously a major MLS or NWSL card release from Topps or Panini or similar would go there (and maybe stickers, considering older sets from Panini??), but from what I understand:

-- Anything on-demand (Instant, Now, Knockout, Living, etc.) goes under "On-Demand" regardless of league
-- Any international events like FIFA/World Cup, UEFA/Championship, Olympics, etc. should go under "International"
-- Premier League cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under "English League"
-- Ligue 1 cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under "French League"
-- Bundesliga cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under "German League"
-- Serie A cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under "Italian League"
-- La Liga / LaLiga Santander / etc. cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under "Spanish League"
-- SPFL cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under "Scottish League"
-- IPL cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under "Israeli League"
-- Dutch, Japanese and Russian League cards and stickers (except on-demand) go under their respective league categories
-- College, Food, Team Issues (Major American) and Team Sets (Major American) should be treated the same as we do on the other major sports

Australian League doesn't appear to have its own category yet and they currently fall under Oddball instead. Do we need one, and has one ever been requested?

I see lots of FIFA and UEFA sets under "Major Release". Is that the correct place for them or should they go under "International"?


I'd like to hear feedback from the Soccer collectors and site vets. Thanks!

Just my thought here, I think doing away with the Major Release category would be beneficial.  If the release is for a specific league put it there, i.e. MLS, Italian League, English League, Scottish League and so on.  If the release contains multiple leagues as some of the Donruss releases do then put them under international.  If the set is for an International Tournament then it does belong in the International category.

Just my input but whatever the fine members here decide is okel dokel with me.

The other thought that just came to me is if the set contains multiple leagues then create a multi-league category for those sets.  Sorry for these random thoughts I shall get back to poaching my chicken legs and fried rice.

In other sports the Major Releases are limited to one league; MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL.  Basically, the top US league. Unless Admin wants to designate a single "major" league for soccer, then I agree with Gunny...remove the Major Release category.

That's why I was thinking the top US leagues would be under Major Releases here as well, but if we eliminate Major, would it be "U.S. League" or "American League" or "North American League"?

If Major is eliminated, the terms "North American League" would indicate US, Canada and Mexico; "American League" would indicate all the Americas (North, Central, and South). Both could still be confusing.

I agree with Gunny.

For the Big Four it makes sense. However with North American soccer being such a small part of our sports scene, I don't think it should be called the Major Release category.

Our international members, present and future, probably feel their country/league is the major release.

Thinking that way BigEd76 maybe break it down by continent.  Have categories for North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.  International Tournaments like the World Cup and UEFA Championships where players play for their country stay in the international category.

I have been working on soccer a great deal lately...specifically name validation/PID creation and adding sets we don't have listed yet (and there are thousands). The same thought as Gunny suggests has crossed my mind also. It would be a ton of work to go through each year and parse them out. I've requested a few new countries (Dutch league for example) to be added. If ADMIN wants to go this way I would gladly take this on. School is about to go out and I suddenly need something to keep me busy while my collection is still out of reach due to moves.

1) Each country has catagory (so MLS and all other outdoor leagues like NASL in the American. The Canadian based teams would go here as it is primarily an American league).

2) International for FIFA competitions

3) College

4) Multi-league for things like Champions league, Copa America etc...

5) Oddball for indoor leagues, futsall etc...

I like it!

I would say for 2 & 4 you'd have to watch out for the definition of FIFA competition. Technically, Champions League, Copa America, Nations League, etc., are FIFA competitions sponsored by specific federations. Though I'm sure the intent for 2 is more like Olympics, World Cup and that ilk.

Though I am all about splitting these out cause I get turned around from time to time. Other option may be for US (or North America) get its own category and Major Releases is reserved for those multi-league sets (Donruss, Prism, etc.) that are NOT tied to International competitions (regional like Champions League, to global like the World Cup).