That's a problem. The club's say the USL-Pro teams are the solution. By giving kids a place to regularly play in their late teens, early 20s, it's felt that more will break into the first team plans. The CSA bought into this idea to the point that it was willing to wave its policy of not sanctioning more club teams playing in American leagues below the second level. But, it did so with strict quotas.
More than half the USL-Pro line-up must be Canadian and six of 11 starters in each game must be Canadian. There will be room for some flexibility at times, but the CSA is serious about forcing the Canadian teams to play Canadians.
This isn't the space to debate whether that's right. It's happening, so it's ultimately irrelevant if you disagree. However, the quotas alone won't necessarily ensure that Canada is prioritized. Players could be subbed off quickly to hit the starters quota on a technicality and Canadians could be avoided in key positions.
It's also possible that the club's could successfully lobby to reduce the quota after a year, claiming that it puts them at a competitive disadvantage. The CSA seems serious about this, but until they are in a position to enforce the quota we won't know how willing they would be to take on a MLS team.
It's no secret that I have been critical of the Canadian team's efforts to promote Canadians into their senior team. I've expressed concern over the Whitecaps in particular. Those concerns are often painted as being based on my partisanship, but in reality they come from conversations I've had with people close to BC soccer that have the same concerns.
I'm not going to belabour this again now. Rather, I'm going to commit to judging the 'Caps (and the other two teams) entirely on how they approach the USL-Pro team moving forward.
I want to be wrong about the Whitecaps. Truly. I want the game to be healthier in all parts of the country and the MLS teams have a major role to play in improving that health.
So, let's all move on now. Fresh start in a new reality and all that.
I plan on covering USL-Pro as closely, if not closer, than MLS in 2015. In that role, I will absolutely be monitoring and commenting on how the three teams are operating. I will be looking for evidence that they are being run in a way that is in the best interest of the game in Canada.
So, what does that look like? Here are a few ideas:
1- It's NOT all Canadian. Despite my position that the Canadian teams should be prioritizing Canadian play at this level, I recognize that it is neither practical nor healthy to completely restrict the line-up to Canucks.
2-Rather, what's important is to recognize what areas of the roster are appropriate for international spots and which should be reserved for domestics. For instance, there will be a need to provide some minutes to players from the first team roster that are coming off injury, or who are simply not getting minutes. However, if a 28 year old American isn't getting minutes it might be time to admit that player isn't in your plans. Even with non-Canadians, the goal of the USL-Pro team should be about developing pro players.
3-Along that line of thinking, the roster should be more or less a u23 side. There is next to no upside to a player older than that – either they are a MLS player or they aren't.
4-So, what we don't want to see is a journeyman, non-Canadian player that will never play beyond the USL-Pro level. Some might argue that it benefits young players to play with older vets, but they will be exposed to senior roster players in training and the quality of a USL-Pro journeyman isn't really going to be that influential. If you must have an older player without MLS prospects at least make it someone with connections to the community.
5-Winning is part of development, but winning should not be prioritized over development. If you're not letting kids learn from mistakes what the hell are you doing? Chasing all that USL-Pro glory?
6-Academy players should be constantly given a chance to play. Getting the teenagers time is vital. And potentially valuable. You're trying to find homegrown talent after all. No harm testing them young.
I strongly believe that Canadian teams in MLS, by virtue of being permitted to play in a non-Canadian system (and to profit nicely from it), have a greater obligation to develop domestic players than those club teams that play in their own system do. However, it's important to stress that a development focus not only benefits the national team pool, but also is what's best on a club level.
Why would you waste a spot on a player that isn't a prospect? Why would you not want to produce homegrown talent? Why would prioritize winning a division 3 league over the long-term health of the first team?
All this seems like common sense, but common sense has often been lacking in Canadian soccer.
So, we'll be watching.
Hopefully there will be nothing to see.