Look, I am the absolute last person to say soccer is perfect. There's a lot wrong with the system and the way things are run, but complaining that travel is stupid and no one gets anything out of it aren't effective ways to find a solution.
My parents practically broke the bank to let me play and I appreciate every penny they spent on me. I've paid my way through college AND medical school and I'm putting money in the bank to save for my little sister's education, so I'm not an upper middle class elitest by any means.
It's hard to say without looking at the exact allocations, but club costs and coaching fees could probably be pared down and there should definitely be a lot of use of scholarships. But travel costs, aren't something you can really pare down without eliminating the travel or having extra income to cover scholarships for all travel. That doesn't mean that travel is stupid or useless or not productive, because it can be wonderful and it can be awful.
Those of you that know me on here know I don't tend to make blanket statements and I tend to dislike them in general. Soccer is expensive and we should work hard to lower the costs, but it is unnecessary to be making blanket statements that x or y is stupid or pointless.
