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    Shway
    It’s the year 2021, the CMNT are ranked the best they have ever been. The CPL is in it’s 3rd season, and has their champion qualifying for the Champions League. We got a world class kid from Edmonton part of the winning culture at Bayern Munich, a kid from Ottawa leading Ligue 1 in goals off the back of leading his team to their first championship in 10 years, and two Brampton boys lifting trophies in an Istanbul. 
    What do these guys/clubs have in common other than being Canadian? They all developed their game on Canadian soil.
    But what does that mean going forward. Is this “golden generation” more than an anomaly - how do we really take control of our future? It starts by changing the overall perception of the game in Canada and maximizing the potential of our league - the Canadian Premier league, and here’s how that looks.
    “Breaking news Toronto FC, Montreal Impact, and the Vancouver Whitecaps will join the CPL prior to the 2026 World Cup.”
    Now you’ve probably read that and thought “this guys smoking that lala land stuff” or “the MLS has done so much for the development of Canadian mens soccer, this would be a setback”….but wait, hear me out. 
    Here’s why, let’s look at Player Development: 
    There is a massive contingent of active national team players that are Canadian developed. (I.e they’ve played their developmental years in Canada, and went pro in Canada or USA. Miller, Waterman, Laryea, Davies, David, Buchanan, Johnston, Crepeau, Adekugbe, Henry, Kaye, Osorio, Fraser, Shaffelburg, Akinola) some are TFC, Impact, Whitecaps academy trained, some are Sigma, Vaughan SC trained, some are your regular local youth club. However a lot of these guys have “randomly” burst onto the scene just based on being given an opportunity, and I don’t believe some of these guys are who they are today solely because of MLS. We have homebred talent, we just don’t have the overall product to suffice. Which goes to my next point. 
    Perception
    Yes the CPL is considered CAN D1 to the “in-the-knows”, but to the average person it is perceived as amateur, doesn’t exist or the “so do they play in the same league as Toronto FC”…Fan perception has a massive effect in our biggest metros, and it’s  important piece of this league to make it more than just a developmental league. Not having the countries biggest cities, and biggest teams in it will always be a huge detriment to the overall look of the league, no matter how much it evolves. So what does the league look like if they are there. 
    Infrastructure/Competition: 
    Currently there are 8 CPL teams, with a future 2 clubs in Saskatchewan, and the Vancouver proper. Add Quebec City team because we all know there needs to be a team there. You add the 3 MLS Teams and it equals to 14 teams. 
    A great base to solidify the first division footprint. The D3 leagues are building out, which will naturally facilitate with the development of building the pyramid upwards. 
    The leagues salary rules could be a hybrid of MLS & CPL (2M + 3 Luxury Players)
    Here’s some of the positives: 
    The former MLS teams can still be competitive Increased options for Canadian players  An expanded Voyageurs Cup More CCL slots Argument to  play in the Concacaf regional Leagues Cup. More Canadians tested on the regional stage (As of 2024, there will be a 10% chance that our “best”Canadian teams can qualify for champions league through MLS Cup. A 6% chance at qualifying through Leagues Cup)
    In the current & future state, our Canadian representation will be heavily affected or heavily skewed due to the fact that our “top” (MLS) teams will have a lower chance at qualifying over the likes of the CPL teams. Every iteration of the tournament will potentially have 1 MLS team, and 3 CPL teams baring a miracle if the 3 Canadians teams win one of the Supporters Shield, MLS Cup, Leagues Cup or the Voyaguers Cup - the odds will always be stacked against us.
    So where’s the consistent chance at testing our guys against the best in Concacaf before they reach the national team. Development will be bottled if our alleged best, most financially backed clubs aren’t consistently able to test themselves with homebred talent against the continental powerhouses. 
    Some will say “I would hate for our league to be like La Liga or the Bundesliga, where the same one or two teams win all the time (ahem Forge) but it won’t because of the baseline parity these teams would have. We have to navigate through the hype and success of the men and woman’s national team successes, and solidify ourselves as Concacaf  powerhouse.
    This era isn’t an anomaly. This is how we control our future.
    This is our USA 94 moment.  
    Shway
    Link:: https://24thminute.substack.com/p/canpls-problem
    By: Duane Rollins
    Let’s start this by making something abundantly clear: No one – literally no one – wants the CanPL to fail.  
    Not me, not you, not the players, not the MLS teams, literally no one. We waited far too long for a league of our own and only want it to be successful.
    The CanPL is the ultimate underdog story. It shouldn’t work. In fact, many people told us it wouldn’t work. Yet, here it is.
    That love, combined with the league’s try-hard status, makes people feel the need to protect the league from criticism. It’s as if any negative word is going to cause the whole thing to come tumbling down.
    That’s a dangerous attitude, as independent and engaged media is both a sign of a league’s health, as well as being useful to driving the league to make improvements to areas where they are failing.
    So, if you are uncomfortable with negative information about the league becoming public you should give that some thought. Those of us that are hard on the league are doing it from a place of love.
    As stated, no one wants to the league to fail.
    Caveat to justify what I’m about to write out of the way…
    The CanPL has a money problem. And, it’s far worse than anyone thought it would be when this thing launched. To be clear, I’m not talking about there being a danger of the league folding. The owners went into things with an understanding that they would lose money for a few years. Getting it to 2026 and seeing a World Cup bump after is what the league is working towards and there is no indication that they won’t get there.
    However, a lot of the players currently in the league will not. That is, they won’t without a significant bump in the average pay. Without that, you will see a lot of younger players shooting their shot for 1-2 years before “retiring” to pursue jobs that won’t require them to eat Kraft Dinner every night with their 6 roommates in a 550sqft apartment.
    A couple pieces of news today really drove that home. First was the announcement that Island Games standout Aboubacar Sissoko forgoing a return to Halifax to instead go to the USL to play for Indy 11. It was reported that Halifax made a decent offer, but it is also clear that Indy could afford to make a better one.
    But, the real kicker came later in the day when Valour’s Dylan Carriero announced his retirement. At just 26, it’s awfully young to be stepping away from the game when there isn’t an injury involved. However, Carriero went to university and with a top end salary in CanPL for a player at Carriero’s level, at best, $35,000 it suddenly it becomes very difficult to justify putting off “getting a real job.”
    And, that’s the best case figure. In talking to several players over the past few months, I’ve learned of some truly terrible salary figures. As always, the league is tight lipped about the money, but the numbers I consistently hear are as follows:
    ·       U-Sport player: $10,000
    ·       Domestic rookie: $10,000 to $12,500
    ·       Player with some previous pro experience:  $15,000 to $20,000
    ·       Established player: $18,000 to $25,000
    ·       Star domestic player: $30,000 to $35,000
    ·       International player $35,000 + Housing
    As with any list like this there will be some outlier numbers on either end, but by in large those are the ranges that I have heard. (Note to the league: I’m happy to print any disputing figures that you wish to send.)
    Look, everyone understands that this is a start-up league and no player was deluded into thinking that they were going to get rich playing in the CanPL.  They are chasing their dreams and are more than willing to accept salaries that are reasonably modest in exchange for the opportunity to play their way into a better salary, either in the league, or elsewhere.
    It’s also understood that the CanPL is always going to be a league with a high churn level. Players are either going to move on or move up pretty quickly. However, the players do feel that it’s reasonable to expect a living wage. A significant amount of the league is not on that.
    Sure, you might be able to live on that money for a year or two in your early 20s while you scratch the itch of trying to be a pro player. But, at those numbers – even at the higher end – it is very difficult to justify staying on for much longer that that. In practical terms, that means it’s going to be nearly impossible for a “lifer” class to emerge in CanPL.
    As I’ve written before, having players that make up the core of teams and stay for several years is vital to the long-term success of the league. You need older players, like Carriero, to push and challenge the prospects that everyone is excited to see. As much as fans want to see the young guns, that middle class is arguably more important to cultivate.
    And that won’t happen without an increase in salary.
    It won’t be easy – no one is suggesting it will – but to start that process the league needs to first acknowledge that the need exists. Since they won’t even recognize the Professional Footballers Association Canada right now, it’s unclear if they can take that tiny step to acknowledge the problem.  
    And, you know what they say: The first step is always to acknowledge that you have a problem…
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://northernstartingeleven.com/five-players-atletico-ottawa-should-chase/
    The evolution of pro soccer in the nation’s capital will take a new step forward on February 11th with the new Canadian Premier League club backed by Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. From there, owners and key figures in the club will have as little as three weeks to get a manager, coaches and a full roster of players ready for pre-season camp, which is scheduled to start at the beginning of March for other CPL clubs. In the words of Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s squeaky-bum time for those building Atletico Ottawa.

    Many of the league’s top players and prospects have already signed elsewhere in the league, and much of the former Fury roster has found new clubs in both the CPL and USL, but there are still many players Atletico Ottawa can to look at and potentially sign before the regular season kicks off in April. The roster will likely include some loan players from the Atletico program, as well as some L10 and PLSQ players, however there is also a chance for Atletico Ottawa to pick up some fairly well-known names in the Canadian Soccer community. Here are five players that I think Atletico Ottawa brass should seriously consider making their first grouping of signings.
    --
    Find the list & analysis on the NSXI Network.
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://northernstartingeleven.com/b-c-league-1-approaching-critical-moment/
    The Canadian soccer landscape is going through a serious metamorphosis. The last decade has seen the launch of regional Division 3 leagues Première Ligue de Soccer du Québec and League 1 Ontario in 2012 and 2013 respectively. In 2019 the Canadian Premier League played its first season. For male soccer players wishing to play professionally, these are encouraging developments. Prior to the existence of these leagues, the odds were significantly stacked against players trying to make the leap from youth to professional as the gap in playing level was simply too large.
    It is a gap that long time soccer broadcaster and current Marketing and Communications Officer for BC Soccer Peter Schaad knows all too well. Over much of the past year, Schaad and his BC Soccer cohorts have been working steadily to address that issue for BC players.
    The idea of a Division 3 regional league like PLSQ and L1O was included in BC Soccer’s 2016 strategic plan. However at the time the ‘Regional Tier 3 League’ as it was called gained insufficient interest from potential participating clubs and the idea was shelved. But the start of the Canadian Premier League breathed new life into BC League 1 and it was revived.
    ---
    Read more on the NSXI Network.
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://northernstartingeleven.com/in-depth-player-analysis-joel-waterman/
    Langley-born Joel Waterman officially made history on Tuesday afternoon, as he became the first player to make the jump from the Canadian Premier League to Major League Soccer, joining the Montreal Impact for a fee reported to be in the $100k region. Waterman also became the first player sold by a CPL team for a transfer fee, giving us an example of how beneficial the new Canadian first division can be for young footballers in this country.
    Despite being the only player to make the jump to MLS so far, Joel Waterman wasn’t necessarily considered one of the best players in the CanPL. In fact, OneSoccer ranked him just 43rd on their year-end list of the top 50 players in the league. Waterman has many strong qualities though, and if an MLS team was convinced by his quality, then maybe he was somebody we were overlooking all season long.
    Let’s take an in-depth look at what Waterman does and doesn’t bring to the table for the Montreal Impact:
    His versatility is very impressive, and is certainly one of the main reasons Montreal signed him.
    Joel Waterman is a centre-back first and foremost, and while he can play other positions on the pitch, his versatility within the centre-back position on its own is rather impressive. As you know, there are multiple different formations used regularly in all levels of football, and pretty much all of those formations use either 2 centre-backs (a back 4) or 3 (a back 3). The roles played by centre-backs in these 2 formations vary quite a bit more than you’d expect, as do the areas of the pitch that they cover.
    ---
    Read more on the NSXI Network
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://www.northernstartingeleven.com/canucks-abroad-interview-series-episode-2-with-adam-hemati/
    Thomas Nef has an indepth interview with Adam Hemati, an Iranian-Canadian who plays as a midfielder for Iranian club Persepolis. Learn his story.
    Available in both audio & video formats for your convenience.
    Find it here: https://www.northernstartingeleven.com/canucks-abroad-interview-series-episode-2-with-adam-hemati/
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://www.northernstartingeleven.com/ottawa-furys-legacy/
    Ottawa Fury announced last week that they have decided to suspend operations following issues regarding their CONCACAF sanctioning for USL in 2020. There is much to debate about decisions by those involved, however I  want to take this opportunity to look back at the 16 years that Ottawa Fury were operating in the capital region, and all the Canadian players, coaches and managers that this club gave opportunities to, and helped guide along the way.
    Ottawa Fury began in 2003 through John Pugh (current Canada Soccer Association board member), bringing women’s soccer to the capital region in the form of a USL W-League. Between 2003 and 2014, the Ottawa Fury W-League team managed to win nine division titles, made the national finals on three occasions and were league champions once. Over the course of its eleven seasons the W-League team featured such players as Kadeisha Buchanan (now with Lyon and the Canada women’s side) as well as Ashley Lawrence (currently with Paris Saint Germain and also the Canada women’s side).  
    --
    Read more on the NSXI Network.
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://www.northernstartingeleven.com/canucks-abroad-interview-series-episode-1-with-aramis-kouzine/
    On Canucks Abroad with Thomas & Juan, our host interviews Canadian Soccer Players from around the world.
    In this inaugural episode, Thomas interviews Aramis Kouzine, who played a year of futsal with CSKA, was cut from Philadelphia Union, and now plays in the Ukrainian Premier League.
    Catch the whole episode & subscribe on the NSXI Network.

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  • Posts

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      Jesse Marsch: CanMNT manager

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    • Mihairokov
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      By Mihairokov · Posted

      Forge have only hosted two league matches so far and their average is similar to last year's through two matches despite also hosting a CCL match in February (11K). I will call the two CC matches each season a wash but need to mention the 14K for the one CC match lest I get burned at the stake for not mentioning it.   ATO through three league matches are down roughly ~400 compared to the same point last year but hosted two CC matches compared to none last year. Adding those two additional matches brings the total crowd out to being identical to last season.   Similar to Ottawa, Cavalry have hosted two additional CC matches this season which they did not host last season, including getting 4K+ out against Whitecaps.   Pacific admittedly are noticeably a bit lower, but their first two league matches averaged out to the same as last season's which had a VFC bump for their first match in Victoria. This season's CC match against TSS outdrew last season's equivalent against Cavalry (2,161 v 2,099). I think it's a bit premature to assume teams are going to be declining compared to last season midway through May.
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      By Gian-Luca · Posted

      Neil Davidson's article doesn't mention anything about the bizarre Laryea suspension, which Tom Bogert is doubling-down on Twitter as saying is happening. For the life of me I can't see Richie in any of the videos of the post-match brawl and if he's done something worse than chasing a player halfway across the field (Johnson) or being so threatening that two opposing players had to tackle him to the ground (Owusu), it's a bit surprising that nobody has seemed to notice it or that it was not caught on camera. But more bad news - Davidson is reporting Osorio is out with a thigh injury: https://www.sportsnet.ca/mls/article/toronto-fc-missing-players-in-wake-of-ill-tempered-melee-after-new-york-city-fc-loss/
    • Obinna
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      FWIW....I don't think that's because Biello is terrible, it's largely down to the fact he's an unknown commodity in Europe. I am sure there are plenty of League One managers in England who'd never be considered for MLS, whereas Mauro would probably be able to land another gig in MLS with a moderate amount of effort. It's simply because he is/was part of the ecosystem over here, but not over there. So that more than anything is probably why you'd never see Biello in League One, let alone the Championship, then obviously even much chance he'd ever get a Bundesliga job and certainly never a Premier League job, since the higher you get the more you find clubs with resources to move heaven and earth to find excellence, regardless of where that guy is or came from.  And on that final point, Nancy is exhibiting excellence right now, so he'll transcend this North American ecosystem before long.....my guess is to Ligue 1.   
    • phil03
      2024 CanPL attendance

      By phil03 · Posted

      NGL, the attendance do worry me a bit, in a ''the league is going to the ditch'' way mind you but definitely in a ''we need to figure out what's going on and rectify course'' way. Basically, slow progress is fine as long as there is indeed progress but we are, in many ways, seeing the opposite Forge was the second club to get over the magical 5K bar and now they are set to fall below it again (their average is still above it but its progressively going down as the statistical importance of their home opener is further diluted) and ATO, who was almost there last year, is also taking a step back. Much of Cavalry's great strides, which gave me hope we could have four clubs above the bar this year, seem to have disappeared and Pacific is once going in the wrong direction too... I suppose its not all bad news, as three clubs do still do better but IMO only VFC is truly a meaningful good news for the league here. HFX was and is still going great while York is only somewhat less disastrous then last year... Lets not draw hasty conclusions, as this Spring has been pretty miserable weather wise at their is still time to make up lost ground, but it is worrisome IMO... In Ottawa ATO does not have near the presence in the public space as I'd like them to have and from comments of others I gather other clubs are in the same situation so, in spite of the financial situation, it might be worth it for the owners to at least think of pulling all the spots and rolling the dices on a big ad campaign... 
    • kacbru
      Jesse Marsch: CanMNT manager

      By kacbru · Posted

      For me, it has nothing to do with MLS vs. CPL - the CPL Canada Men's National Team Head Coach would still have the potential for perceived conflict.   I would have no problem if the three ownership groups came up with a clever name to reflect their contribution - the Kerputo Leafs Canada Men's National Team Head Coach.  But they didn't - it is the MLS.  And MLS (as far as I'm aware) have not put anything in - yet they are branded as the sponsor.  So while the money may be coming from Canada, the perception is the #1 league in the US pyramid is sponsoring the CMNT head coach.  Completely unnecessary own goal in my opinion. 
    • Mihairokov
      CPL new teams speculation

      By Mihairokov · Posted

      Right, that's more what I was referring to. The "pipeline" thing doesn't begin until at least one player, or a couple, have successfully moved on after being developed. It's a big retrospect thing, truthfully.
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      By BearcatSA · Posted

      Not surprising.
    • Watchmen
      CPL new teams speculation

      By Watchmen · Posted

      I was going to say, it feels like Tahid is one of the first test cases of this.  So far, he doesn't seem to be bringing in additional fans (or if he is, that would almost be worse).  I do think that an interesting scenario might be if VFC is able to sell him to a bigger club in Europe but then retain him for the remainder of the CPL season.  That might actually draw fans out, as you'd be able to promote it as "see him now before he's off to X club".
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      Vancouver FC - 2024 Season Thread

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      Have heard (after some fan backlash) that VFC is now offering refunds to the Jun 16 game.  Have also heard they're offering a free bus up to Kelowna for any season ticket holders interested.
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