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    Lord Bob
    Link:: https://www.maple-leaf-forever.com/2019/04/26/2019-canadian-premier-league-preview/
    On October 4, 1992, the Winnipeg Fury tied the Vancouver 86ers 1-1 and won the Canadian Soccer League title on aggregate. The next match in a Canadian national soccer league comes 9,701 days later, tomorrow, April 27, 2019. Forge FC versus York 9 (10 AM Pacific, CBC television). We’ve waited long enough.
    Nobody knows how this league is going to shake out, and unusually for Canadian soccer, nobody pretends they know. We’re all excited. We’re all smashing rosters with the hammer of criticism on the anvil of looking players up on Wikipedia. I am trying to track publicly-made predictions, because that should be good for a laugh; in fact I can’t remember the last time I had this many laughs just reading about and listening to Canadian soccer takes. There are well-respected veteran pundits who were not alive the last time a national Canadian soccer league played a game and they’re gushing with the best of them. Enthusiasm is more contagious than measles in a Montessori.
    This is Maple Leaf Forever!‘s official 2019 Canadian Premier League preview. Like all the others it is insane in spots, biased everywhere, and probably wrong more than it’s right. But who cares? Our hopes are unblemished by the scars of experience. Here’s the one prediction you can take to the bank: there won’t be many better years to be a Canadian soccer fan, ever, than the year 2019.
    For more: https://www.maple-leaf-forever.com/2019/04/26/2019-canadian-premier-league-preview/
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://www.northernstartingeleven.com/cpl-fantasy-games-three-options/
    Among the many questions that have consistently been asked everyone watching the development of the Canadian Premier League: will there be a fantasy game?
    We briefly outline three options: the official CPL Centre Circle Q&A "Fantasy" game, our NSXI Score Prediction Fantasy Game, and @GuillermoDelQuarto's FanPL.
    Learn all about it on the NSXI Network.
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://www.northernstartingeleven.com/young-gaffers-the-ultimate-definitive-canadian-premier-league-prediction-episode/
    Wherein Our Heroes participate in a panel, co-ordinated by the Northern 90’s very own Pat Sweet. Together with Pat, TSN 1290’s Ryan Brandt, and YouTube sensation AFC Curtis, we offer up our Canadian Premier League predictions based on nothing but sheer conjecture.
    The Young Gaffers are proud members of the Northern Starting Eleven Network. 
    Lord Bob
    Link:: https://www.maple-leaf-forever.com/2019/04/25/power-ranking-the-canadian-premier-league-mascots/
    The Canadian Premier League kick-off this coming Saturday will be our biggest event in some time. The entire domestic soccer community will be settling down at 1 PM Eastern, either in Forge FC’s stadium or in front of CBC television, to witness a new and hopefully more positive era in our nation’s game. This otherwise quite ordinary league fixture is making hearts across the Dominion beat a bit faster, like an Olympic semi-final.
    Nothing could better herald this dawn than our mascots. Four of the Canadian Premier League’s seven teams have, in recent weeks, introduced us to new mascots who will stand as symbols for all time, representing the Canadian Premier League to ourselves and to the world. Canada’s national coat of arms is supported by a unicorn and a lion, representing the British heritage of our governance and our culture that goes back way before Confederation. Perhaps, in a couple centuries, some new country will bear arms supported by Bolt and Stewie the Starfish. It is scarcely less probable than the existence of the Canadian Premier League itself.
    In honour of this joyous week I have decided to rank all of the league’s mascots so far, from best to worst. These ratings are entirely objective and based off a proprietary statistical algorithm developed by the Prince of Wales and tested by Maple Leaf Forever!‘s secret nerd hive in Sudbury-Thunder Bay. As a result its decisions are not to be argued with, only agreed on and amplified.
    https://www.maple-leaf-forever.com/2019/04/25/power-ranking-the-canadian-premier-league-mascots/
    Rintaran
    Link:: https://www.northernstartingeleven.com/interview-with-vancouver-island-fc-inaugural-signing-alexis-mckinty/
    New WPSL expansion club, Vancouver Island FC announced their first three signings in club history on April 19th. Three players were named to the roster: Liz Gregg, Mariel Solsberg, and Alexis McKinty. Coached by Neil Sedgwick and Wes Barrett, the first tryouts were held on April 1st and the club has two more tryouts scheduled for late April. 
    Liz Gregg joins VIFC with a wealth of professional football experience including multiple seasons abroad with Doncaster Rovers Belles.
    ...
    Continue reading on the NSXI Network.
    Duane Rollins
    We don’t like life getting in the way of our sports.
    Sports are supposed to shield us from the day-to-day irritations and stresses. They are our escape. So, when “real life” sneaks its way onto the playing fields many get angry.
    “STICK TO SPORTS,” is the cry when someone tries to start a conversation about more serious topics. That’s a best case response. Worse?
    “YOU’RE LYING/EXGGERATING/NEED TO SUCK IT UP.”
    Often the voices calling to be heard are shouted down by those that just want to cheer.
    We see this in soccer all the time, especially as it relates to racism. And, of course, as always, anything that has to do with women. It’s toxic when fans do this. It destroys lives when institutions do it.
    Such is the case of Bob Birarda and the accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment made against him by, so far, 12 different women who were coached by him while part of the Canadian u20 program and Vancouver Whitecaps elite women’s team. The alleged incidents took place in and around 2008.
    The 12 women came forward after Ciara McCormack published a blog detailing the abuse of power she witnessed while at the Whitecaps at that same time.
    I won’t go into the details here as it is better stated by the 12 women and McCormack, but suffice to say it was horrific.
    It also wasn’t a surprise to anyone that has been around Canadian soccer over the past decade. I first heard a version of this story about nine years ago. It’s been whispered by those “in the know” for years.
    Yet, nothing ever was said publicly. Worse, nothing was done privately either. Prior to the accusations finally becoming public Birarda was still coaching women’s soccer for the club Coastal FC. He’s since been suspended by the club pending review of the accusations.
    Over the past while, I’ve been thinking about why I never wrote or talked about these accusations publicly over the last decade. A fear of being sued likely played a role, but I was involved with a show in It’s Called Football (along with this website) that went after matchfixing (Ben Rycroft’s reporting leading the way), corruption in minor soccer (hello, Ben Knight) and talked openly about potential improprieties in Mo Johnston’s relationship with certain player agents.
    In a previous job, I wrote a story accusing the Northern Ontario Minor Hockey Association of systemic racism against aboriginal players.
    So, I’ve pushed the boundaries as a journalist before. Why didn’t I here?
    I should have. And, I apologize for not doing so. 
    The question is one that I don’t yet know the answer to. But, it’s one that I, and everyone who heard the same whispers, needs to keep asking themselves so that it never happens again.
    Ciara McCormack will be a guest on SoccerToday on Monday, live at 11am ET @SoccerTodaySPN
    Duane Rollins
    It’s been 9,305 days. 310 months. 223,320 hours.

    The Toronto Blue Jays were 20 days away from winning their first World Series. Bill Clinton was running for President.

    And Canada had just lost its professional soccer league. When the Winnipeg Fury finished off their upset of the Vancouver 86ers on Oct 4, 1992, that was that. The dreams of the 1986 generation were dead and the dreams of the next were dead on arrival.  

    Although the game lived on at the D2 level and, eventually, MLS came to fill a tiny part of the void.

    In exactly one month the long, hopeless, depressing walk in the woods will end.  When Forge FC kicks-off against York 9 we can finally stop talking about what we don’t have and instead focus on what we might become.

    In honour of the final 30 days without a pro soccer league here are the top 30 things I hope to see in CanPL over the next 5 years.


     
    In 2019

    30. A wonder goal makes the sports packages.

    I don’t care who or what team, but in a year where building recognition is the most important thing I hope to see a goal or play crossover into the mainstream.

    29. Someone dislikes someone

    Sports aren’t fun without conflict. The league will arrive the day there’s some true anger and rivalry

    28. I’m (or other neutral reporter) is accused of bias

    I don’t have a horse in the race, but I look forward to being accused of it. That will mean fans are being irrational and fans should be irrational.

    27. Barrett’s Privateers is sung in Halifax

    I mean, come on.

    26. The Fury get humbled

    Sorry, Ottawa fans but the Fury represent every negative person out there who tells us its silly to care about this league. It would be great to put a few goals past them in the V-Cup.

    25. Fury and CanPL make up

    …and then see the two groups make up for the good of the sport

    24. A mostly CanPL u23 team excels at Olympic Qualifying

    Now, wouldn’t that be nice…


     
    In 2020

    23. The Fury join the fold

    And all is forgiven

    22. Quebec gets in

    The league needs to be in French Canada and, especially, Quebec. Adding Ottawa and Montreal would be huge

    21. A coaching change happens

    I don’t wish to cheer for someone to lose their job, but the first coaching change that happens will be a sign of a healthy league – winning should matter.

    20. Lower Mainland in

    Three expansion teams might seem like a lot, but they brought seven in this year. Having a presence in all three major metros is important

    19. A young player leaves for MLS

    Establishing the league as a natural part of the player pathway is vital. It would be a huge success if a young player is poached by MLS in just the second year.

    18. A V-Cup upset

    One of TFC, VWFC or IMFC gets embarrassed in one leg of a series. It’s a bit early to hope for more, but that would be a great day for the league.


     
    In 2021

    17. CanWPL announced

    Planning to start a women’s league begins in earnest

    16. Full D3 coverage

    The League1 Ontario concept is extended to all 10 provinces, with a national D3 championship determined

    15. A rival for Winnipeg

    One of Regina or Saskatoon joins to bring the league to 11

    14. A rival for Halifax

    One of Moncton or Quebec joins to bring the league to 12

    13. Al-Classico featured in some cheesy ultras profile

    It shouldn’t matter, but we’re lying if we don’t admit that we want the rest of the world to notice

    12. WE QUALIFY TO QATAR!!!!!

    Not fully CanPL related, but let’s allow ourselves to dream a little


     
    In 2022
    11. Kitchener-Waterloo joins

    As one part of a SW Ontario expansion that hits the biggest population area still without a team

    10. With London

    And the 519 derby is born (just don’t call it that)

    9. The women get a cup

    Using the D3 teams along with a few CanPL senior women’s teams that are up and running the first women’s Voyageurs Cup is held

    8. A player is sold to a Big 5 league team

    This is what it is all about

    7. Qatar

    We score a goal and compete with honor. There are players on the roster that played in CanPL

    6. CCL Fever

    A Can PL wins the qualifying tournament and gets a shot at the region’s big boys


     
    In 2023
    5. Coast-to-coast

    Welcome St. John’s!

    4. The first 16 round out

    The 16th team joins – lets say Mississauga or Scarborough to round-out the GTA

    3. First evidence the league is part of our culture

    “16-year-old Dave Smith said ‘I always dreamed of playing for Forge. My dad used to take me to the games.”

    2. The Canadian Women’s Premier League kicks-off

    To a stable and successful future…

    1 – The plan to launch CanPL2 and Pro/Rel is announced

    And we smugly hold it over US soccer Twitter’s heads.  

    Duane Rollins
    It almost seems blasphemes to openly worry about CanPL popularity at this point. Suggesting that the league will struggle to find relevance in a crowded sports market is something grumpy old sportswriters, clueless hockey fans and (some) Ottawa Fury fans do.
    The rest of us are all in. True believers in this wonderful project. Planning has been ongoing for five years now. Everything has been put in place to make this thing work.
    But…
    It’s failed before. Twice. First when the NASL blew up in 1984 (although that was more top do with American teams – OK, the New York Cosmos – overspending and ultimately misreading the market. Once the stars left so did the fans. The second time was all on us though. The CSL died on the vine in the 1990s and with it the hopes of nearly two decades of Canadian soccer.
    Those failures are not viewed with nuance by most. Rather, it’s just proof that trying again is foolish and that it’s only a matter of time until it all comes crashing down again.
    If you’re reading this you probably feel that things are different this time. You understand that two of the three NASL teams that didn’t fold (Whitecaps and Toronto Blizzard) were in Canada and both would have continued on if the league had not pulled the plug. It’s appreciated that the CSL was littered with owners who had far more good intentions than actual capital and that the CanPL owners are running in a completely different tax bracket.
    You get all that, but that doesn’t mean that the feeling will be held by the majority of sports fans in this country. Those grumpy sportswriters and broadcasters still hold a lot of influence. The most listened to sports radio show in the country has featured two segments on the latest attempt to start a spring football league in the USA, but not a single word on CanPL.
    We in the soccer community can dismiss the importance of this, but the reality is it’s an obstacle that is going to need to be overcome for the league to thrive.
    Note, I said thrive, not survive. It will survive just fine. The demographics have shifted. The soccer-hating generation is literally dying off. Twenty years ago it would have been inconceivable that the three MLS teams would have become as important to their market as they have. Now, it’s silly to even suggest that’s going to change. Flash-forward 20 more years and it stands to reason that many of the current CanPL markets, and some we have yet to even conceive, will feel the same way about their soccer team as Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal feel about theirs now.   
    But, there will be struggles initially. Struggles to get attention and to get butts in the seats.
    And, make no mistake, those that want the sport to fail – and their remains a few who do – will glory at any struggle the clubs face.
    Hell, even MLS still faces this in certain places. To the point that they had the research firm Boston Consulting research the market in 2015 so that they could grow their fan base. This is useful to CanPL fans in that they also included Canada in the research. Although they did not separate the data, you can draw conclusions of what CanPL will be facing when it comes to getting people to care.
    What they found was that 66% of MLS fans fell into one of two broad categories. The “Soccer enthusiasts”--  highly engaged, soccer-first fans – and the “Hardcore Sports Fan – basically the crazy guy at the end of the bar that can talk in detail about the 1996 Western Regional final in NCAA basketball while filling out his fantasy NFL line-up and watching the Sens play the Hurricanes on a Tuesday night in November
    That guy also likes soccer now. That’s a change over last couple decades.
    The thing is those two groups only account for 32% of all soccer fans. So, MLS is missing out on 68% of its potential market.
    Therein lies the biggest problem for CanPL. How do you avoid the same resistance to MLS that more than 2/3 of American soccer fans have?
    It starts by understanding why that 68% aren’t watching their local team. There the numbers are a little less obvious.
    The inclination of many would be to assume that those fans are so-called “Eurosnobs,” – fans only interested in watching the highest levels of play. However, the MLS research suggests that only 2% of fans fit that description. Related, that 2% account for 98% of the posts on BigSoccer’s US abroad forums.
    Where, then, do the rest fit in? We can only speculate, but it stands to reason that a good chuck are “MexiSnobs” and a good number don’t have a local team to relate to.
    You can’t do much about the ____Snobs fans. They have made up their mind for the most part. But, on the latter point you can absolutely address it. You need to be doing all in your power to make sure that the clubs are extensions of the community they represent.
    MLS does a lot of things right, but they often default to the business side of life. If you talk to a lot of MLS fans they will tell you that their loyalty is to the stand that sit in and the friends that have made at the game over the years more than it is to the franchise that they watch.
    Even as MLS teams do things to become true “clubs” they can’t ever totally shake that “franchise” label. The CanPL has the great advantage of being able to look at everything MLS has done right and everything that it has done wrong.
    And that might allow them to tap into the missing 68% more effectively.  

  • CANMNT_CNL_Toronto_Carousel.jpg

  • Posts

    • narduch
      The Road to Qatar.

      By narduch · Posted

      Concacaf could cancel the Gold Cup and use that window if they are desperate. By the way there is already talk of UEFA making contingency plans to host this year's Euro in one country.
    • canadianbacons
      Antoine Coupland

      By canadianbacons · Posted

      It's more likely, given the CPL has increased the minutes requirements for U-21 players. He also didn't get much time this year because every game meant so much with their season being a month-long tournament instead of a 6-month-long season.
    • Club Linesman
      CPL Division II - Pro/Rel discussion

      By Club Linesman · Posted

      There will be no pro/rel in the CPL.  Full stop.   And frankly if by some hell freezing over type situation it happened, it would be to the detriment of Canadian development because no owner would put out massive cash to buy/keep top developing talent with the threat of relegation and dropping down to a second tier that is seen by a couple hundred people at best.  Better to have a strong first division that pushes the level of the Canadian player as high as possible and gives the owners some level of financial security.
    • Bdog
      Weekly Schedule of Our Top Players and Prospects

      By Bdog · Posted

      Yeah that's a fair shout, a few years ago we'd probably be way more excited about a young player starting every game in the SPL. I'll add him to the list. Edit: also if anyone's wondering why I left Borjan off the list, Red Star hasn't lost a game all season and I doubt he faces many shots lol. Only 7 GA which is very impressive.
    • Shway
      Weekly Schedule of Our Top Players and Prospects

      By Shway · Posted

      I guess this was always going to be subjective based on who should be here.  But I’ve watched Paton at Ross County considering it’s top flight football/easily accessible, and has been a bright spot on his team. He definitely is a top prospect for Canada regardless if our midfield is clogged and he hasn’t been called up yet. 
    • Bdog
      Weekly Schedule of Our Top Players and Prospects

      By Bdog · Posted

      JANUARY 25 - 31 Scott Arfield - Rangers FC Wednesday Jan 27 vs Hibernian (SPL) 2:45 PM Theo Corbeanu - Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C./U23 Wednesday Jan 27 vs Chelsea (EPL) 1PM EST - DAZN Saturday Jan 30 vs Crystal Palace (EPL) 10AM EST - DAZN Sunday Jan 31 vs Stoke City U23 (PL2) 12PM EST Jonathan David - OSC Lille Sunday Jan 31 vs Dijon (Ligue 1) 11am EST Alphonso Davies - FC Bayern Munich Saturday Jan 30 vs Hoffenheim (Bundesliga) 9:30AM EST Stephen Eustáquio - FC Paços de Ferreira No game this week Junior Hoilett - Cardiff City FC Wednesday Jan 27 vs Barnsley (Championship) 2PM EST Saturday Jan 30 vs Millwall (Championship) 10AM EST Atiba Hutchinson - Beşiktaş J.K Sunday Jan 31 vs Trabzonspor (Super Lig) 11AM EST Scott Kennedy - SSV Jahn Regensburg Wednesday Jan 27 vs Nurnberg (2. Bundesliga) 2:30PM EST Saturday Jan 30 vs Darmstatd (2. Bundesliga) 7AM EST Cyle Larin - Beşiktaş J.K Sunday Jan 31 vs Trabzonspor (Super Lig) 11AM EST Liam Millar - Charlton Athletic FC (On Loan from Liverpool) Tuesday Jan 26 vs MK Dons (League One) 2PM EST Saturday Jan 30 vs Portsmouth (League One) 11AM EST Harry Paton - Ross County FC Wednesday Jan 27 vs Motherwell (SPL) 1PM EST Steven Vitoria - Moreirense FC No game this week
    • Bdog
      Weekly Schedule of Our Top Players and Prospects

      By Bdog · Posted

      I'm starting this so we can easily keep track of when our top and most hyped guys play, in case anyone is looking to catch one of their games live. I'll try my best to include if their game is being shown on Canadian TV, DAZN, or OneSoccer. I'm going to keep the list smaller, most of the players on the list either play a big role for top clubs, or have a chance of breaking into the first team in the next season or two. I'll include MLS teams when the season starts. I'm open to suggestions on who else to include, as situations change players will be added/removed.    
    • Ansem
      2020 Voyageurs Cup Format

      By Ansem · Posted

      I hope for the league's safe. What they are asking of the players looks reasonable but when you look closer at what the players might be giving up IF things goes back to normal...it's pretty outrageous.   If there's a deal - I don't doubt that the owners are willing to lock them out - they are adamant on the CBA being extended by another 2 years while the players have zero sense of urgency. It's really the league's move at this point. Forge will keep most of their core and they still have time to sign players. They were training the entire CONCACAF League season way beyond the Island games. We know CCL starts beginning of April and that the CanChamp must be played before then - I'm sure they'll be prepared for it even if it means starting earlier
    • aloyol
      Where are they now? - 2001 Canadian U17 team

      By aloyol · Posted

      In 2011, he was playing with Lakeshore in the LSEQ 1st division. Don't know what happened to him after that.
    • costarg
      Manjrekar James

      By costarg · Posted

      I really hope so, but he's got pretty good competition with 5 other CB's in the roster: Struna, Binks, Camacho, Waterman, Yao and Miller. Henry will surely be playing with a back 3.  
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