Toronto FC President Bill Manning said he believes winning is the "No. 1 priority and if you win on the field, the ticket sales and the sponsorships and the merchandise will follow suit," according to a Q&A with Ridge Mahoney of SOCCER AMERICA. TFC is coming off its first MLS Cup victory, and Manning said, "It’s a model we used in Salt Lake under [former Owner] Dave Checketts and it’s the model they’ve given me to run with. My two priorities are win first and make the budget second." Manning said the team for the first time is "going to have a full-time scout to find players here in the Toronto area." Manning: "Most of the MLS teams have made big investments into the academy system, and I think the next step for the academy system is to reach out more." Manning on the state of U.S. Soccer said, "I don’t think U.S. Soccer is broken. It’s come a long way." He added the governing body "can be better synchronized with the MLS clubs," and there "has to be a better identification process of the youth players along with the adult players." Manning came into the president role in late '15, and since then said he has "had the opportunity to sit down with my counterparts at the Raptors and Maple Leafs, and with the sponsors and community leaders and you just get a feel for where TFC is." He added, "It’s so easy to clean house and get rid of everyone and that’s the last thing I wanted to do. I felt Toronto FC needed stability" (SOCCERAMERICA.com, 1/30).
