Re-initiate the CUSL idea???????

[Danny Boy]

quote:Originally posted by Alex M

I'd just like to add my two cents to a national soccer league. Why? There is no need for a "national league". In all honesty, what we need are regional "professional leagues" to keep the costs low. why can't the east just play the east, the central play the central and the west play the west? We're an enormus country with a small population. Keep costs low and maybe have a cup to decide the national champion.

Vancouver playing Halifax for 3 points just doesn't make sense to me.

Alex

I realize your sentiments....but a budget league tends to produce budget results. A regional league will not capture the support of many sporting fans across this country.

[Alex M]

I don't agree with that. Rivalries are what make a league great. Ottawa vs. Toronto, Calgary vs. Edmonton, Montreal vs. Quebec..No one really gets up for the Ottawa vs. Calgary rivalry or the Vancouver vs. Montreal one.

There is also no reason why it has to be a 'budget' league. It keeps the players a little more fresh and frankly, if it's good enough for junior hockey, it's most certainly good enough for a Canadian soccer league. I think the best we can ever hope for is 5000-12000 fans per game which is about average for the Scottish premiere league (sans the old firm...Actually, 5000 is a little on the low side but I still think that should be a reasonable expectation with "important" games maybe bringing in 15000-20000 people. If you can get these league up off the ground, then you can think about merging them.

Let's face it, there are very few countries our size that can sustain a professional league, USA being the only real exception and I don't know enough about the Australian or Russian leagues to comment on those.

Alex

quote:Originally posted by Danny Boy

I realize your sentiments....but a budget league tends to produce budget results. A regional league will not capture the support of many sporting fans across this country.

[Danny Boy]

So now you want to compare our national league to the junior hockey system? Do we want to be at their stature too? They don't get paid to play, should the soccer players not get paid as well. The numbers you are suggesting are beyond junior league status. With those types of numbers for attendance it is a greater possibility for national sustainability. I'm sure if the Whitecaps or Lynx averaged 10-12,000 a game, they wouldn't mind going cross country a couple times. Secondly only the possibility of a Vancouver-Toronto match or Calgary-Montreal match would have the potential draw of those numbers. Durham versus Hamilton will never get the exposure you are talking about.