Canadian Soccer News has learned that the Canadian Soccer Association has given the Quebec Soccer Federation until Monday to reverse its stance on banning the use turbans by their players, or face punishment.

The source within the QSF confirmed that the Quebec Federation has received the demand from the CSA on the matter and is now considering their next step.

The QSF source would not reveal what the threats could mean for provincial soccer in Quebec but did confirm that the CSA was furious over the debacle, especially considering this is not the example Canadian soccer wanted to set ahead of hosting the Women's World Cup in 2015.

CSA sources declined to comment on their handling of the matter but one did curiously note that it was strange that Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo had not taken steps to distance himself from the QSF's handling of the issue.

Earlier today, FIFA confirmed that their stance on the use of turbans in soccer games was already established and that the QSF must defer to the CSA on the matter.

Last night, CSN called for immediate resignation of Quebec Soccer Federation president and CSA board member, Martial Prudhomme, after he violated several CSA board of director ethical codes and put himself in a clear case of conflict of interest by allowing the QSF to uphold the ban.

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Stories like this are what make me miss Ben Knight’s reporting.

For whatever you thought of Ben, his work on the CSA reform and shining a light under the boulder of its bureaucracy really was unparalleled. He had a way of framing the debate, or seeing through the fog of opinion, and putting a finer point on issues that were often too complicated for even the keenest observers.

I also think he really took pleasure – even if it was just a little - in taking down those CSA bureaucrats who either stood in the way of moving our game forward or embodied the buffoon behaviour that we have come abhor.

And no behaviour has been more buffoonish than what has come out of the Quebec Soccer Association this week.

In case you missed it, here is the latest. The Quebec Soccer Association (QSF) has decided that it is, in their words, going to abide by FIFA law and continue to uphold a ban on turbans.

On their teleconference call the QSF claimed that the Sikh headwear were a safety issue but when questioned on how many injuries said headwear had caused in the past, they couldn’t name a single one. The incident has drawn international headlines and today, the Canadian Soccer Association finally responded with some pretty direct threats aimed at the provincial body.

“As an unequivocal majority of our membership agrees with our approach and has safe instituted it within their respective soccer communities, we expect the Quebec Soccer Federation to do the same,” said Victor Montagliani, President of the Canadian Soccer Association.

That’s the first step and it re-asserts the CSA’s position on the matter during this firestorm but it doesn’t go far enough.

The QSF president Martial Prudhomme, who is also a member of the CSA board of directors, must immediately step down from his board position. And if he has any desire to spare the QSF any further embarrassment, he should step down from the president’s post as well.

Here is why:
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That's a pretty nice picture above. Chris Hazard does good work.

In it, hundreds of crisp, Voyageur flags flying in the south end of BMO field. There too, a sprinkling of Support Local Soccer flags - brought from those who were there when this new wave of national team interest began a few summers ago. If you look up at the top, you can see the man in the red suit looking over it all - aka Jamie McLeod, the person largely behind the national team's growing supporters culture.

That being, specifically on this day, a sea of red in a sold out Toronto stadium, tuned into every play like it was the Olympic semi-finals.

All of it is framed in that photo by an advertisement for the World Cup 2015.

That's where the bottom drops out.
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The Canadian Soccer Association is hoping to level the playing field when it comes to Canadians in MLS.

And the Canadian federation have already made their feelings clear to the league on what they want.

According to CSA president Victor Montagliani, the Canadian federation met with the USSF and MLS earlier this year to begin formal discussions on having Canadian players considered domestic signings for U.S. teams. As it stands now, U.S. players are considered domestics on Canadian club rosters, but a Canadian player on a U.S. squad has to take up one of the coveted international spots. If you need a deeper understanding of the issue, the 11.ca did a fantastic series on the ins and outs on the matter.

But even prior to that series, the CSA was looking at ways they can give the Canadians a leg up in the league that now houses the three Canuck squads, which boast some of the best attendances in the league.
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Tuesday night we watched as an inexperienced but well organized Costa Rican side proficiently did away with a similarly staffed Canadian side 1-0.

With a number of the Costa Rican players playing full-time in their domestic league, like several other CONCACAF countries, it has become continually clear that they have a distinct advantage over the likes of Canada in terms of preparation. Their players can train year round together and their coach can keep a close eye on young developing players - knowing when the right time to bring a new player into the fold is, instead of just throwing handfuls at the wall to see what sticks for the national side.

The simple differences Costa Rica enjoys were on full display when watching their defence deploy organized offside traps and their attacking midfield and forwards performing in and outs eloquently around the offensive box with a certain calm fluidity.

It's these competitive advantages that opponents have held for nearly a geneation now that have spurred conversation within the CSA in recent years - forcing them to consider exploring similar options by forming our own national, professional league.

Since the Easton Report was released this spring, there hasn't been much talk publicly about what the next step is for the CSA, or even when this league might start. Hell, even if this league might start.

But speaking to Canadian Soccer News this week, CSA president Victor Montagliani gave a short update on where things stand on the Canadian national league and where he sees them going over then next two years.

"The semi-pro league structure is starting to crystallize," he said. "Quebec already has their league. And they’ve increased the number of teams that are participating in that league. Ontario will have something in 2014. Whatever it’s going to be called. But the standards are there. And they’re going to move forward with that."

After that, the CSA intends to set their sights on progressing the pro game in British Columbia.
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Coming on the heels of a Canadian Soccer News series showing how youth clubs here are missing out on major revenue, the CSA president Victor Montagliani has called on Canadian pro clubs to step up and do their part.

"Why do we need to look at the problems with European clubs buying our players (and not paying)? Why don’t we start with our own professional clubs? Why aren’t our own professional clubs, in our own backyard, paying some kind of stipend to the originating club for signing some of these players?" Montagliani said. "I think that’s something we need to put in place. It’s a balancing act. It doesn’t have to be big dollars. But I think it will change the culture beneath the pro clubs."

Montagliani drew on a local example to make his point.
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Last week, we showed how FIFA mandates that pro clubs must pay youth teams when a players signs his first contract. Not suggests. Mandates. We also told you how Canadian clubs are largely missing out. And that the main reason clubs here don't participate is largely based on false impressions that they don't qualify for that development fee.

Further, we heard from experts who explained why there is a concerted effort to keep that practice of not paying ongoing - one that sees our players continually mined for cheap - and that the onus is really on the local pro clubs to step up and support development.

Today, we hear from Costas Smyrniotis, an MLS agent, on how MLS is, in fact, paying for international player transfers and why they don't extend the same practice locally to development compensation. He also tells us how that practice may be changing in the U.S. and points to a recent FIFA document (released just this week) that shows in detail just how much teams are supposed to be paying these youth clubs.
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Everywhere else in the world, youth clubs benefit from a young player coming through their system and catching on with a professional side. The money that they receive goes back into their system and it further strengthens their infrastructure and helps to further professionalize the game.

That cash influx is what motivates them to spend the time and resources they do into developing young talent.

In Canada, that motivation is largely volunteer based. Things are changing, the game is being professionalized, but will the attitudes on monetizing change with it?

CSN spoke to Jason deVos, former national team player, TSN analyst and a member of the group organizing the OPDL on what clubs like Toronto FC should be doing to give back to the youth clubs.

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Why don’t Canadian clubs ask for transfer fees when youth players sign their first professional contract?

Yesterday we showed how FIFA mandates that transfer fees must be paid back to youth clubs. We also went into the details of why that practice isn’t more common in Canada.

Today, we’re hearing from Gary Miller, the head of Bryst Academy (a part of the SAAC private academies group) on why Canada has it so backwards with its professional development and why the idea of paying for players – a practice used everywhere else in the world – has never taken off here.
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On most days, Canadian soccer is generally a pretty backwards place. If we were half as good on the development side of the game as we are at playing the politics of it, we’d be giving the Germany’s and the Brazil’s of the world a run for their money.

And even when everyone agrees on something needs to be changed, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen. Some are afraid of upsetting the apple cart. Others are just too mired in their own bureaucracy to ever hope of pushing the game forward an inch.

But where the contrasts to the rest of the world are most obvious is in the money.

Everyone knows that we’re largely a recreational soccer country. And that’s fine. And everyone knows that we need to better professionalize what we’re doing. And that’s starting to change. But when you start to look at some of the other factors that come along with professionalizing the game – standards that exist everywhere else in the world – people here get a little sensitive.

Primarily I’m talking about parents and administrators getting uppity about the idea of clubs buying and selling players.

For a second, lets put aside the misnomer that MLS does not pay for players. They do. Publicly they say they don’t. But that’s becoming a harder and harder truth to tell in the face of so many obvious lies.

Instead, lets look at what CSN found within FIFA documents last week.

FIFA mandates when one player leaves a youth club and signs with a professional club that professional club must pay a fee for that player. Not suggests. Mandates. You can find all the details in its Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

Here is a sample.
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The Canadian Soccer League has won their desanctioning appeal. Sort of.

The CSL had taken the CSA before Sport Resolution Canada, to protest the way the governing body cut ties with the league in January.

Sport Resolution issued its report today and it has ruled that the CSL can play as a sanctioned league in 2013, under CSA governance. However, it also ruled that the CSA’s original intent to desanction was just and declared that the CSA will not sanction the league in 2014.

As part of the proceedings, the mediator looked at three things.
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Integrity? CONCACAF? Who knew?

In a report released late Friday by CONCACAF they confirm what most already knew: Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer weren't exactly operating on the up and up. In fact, CONCACAF's report is the latest in a long string of media stories and reports that detail just how corrupt these two men were.

You can read the report here but you'll get the gist after the jump

UPDATE: CONCACAF has released the entire 144 page document. You can read that here.
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