fishman Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 I won't flog the dead horse too much on this issue, but many people in the Edmonton area have discussed the merits of the former Aviators franchise's alignment with the EMSA organization, in the hopes of drawing on the many thousands of players / parents regsitered therein. As part of that discussion, the EMSA / EIYSA debate arose; that is, the ongoing fight within the greater Edmonton area between two associations for control of Tier 1 and 2 play. Indeed, many people felt the Aviators / EMSA agreement was another power play in this ridiculous struggle. The EIYSA group is certainly not without its problems; however, if results are important to elite competitors, one need only look at the playdowns now being contested. The top 2 teams qualify for the provincial championships...for a look, go to either homepage (www.eiysa.com OR www.edmontonsoccer.com) and peek at the stats. Some groups are finished, while the others are to play their final matches in the next day or two. As it is, it seems very likely that 11 of the 16 teams to advance to provincials are EIYSA clubs. This post's intention is not to go over the Aviators failures again; rather, it is to get some chit-chat about the political problems in amateur soccer. It is just very frustrating to see the cannibalization occuring in the Edmonton area. Not only are competing clubs vying for players, competing associations are fighting the same fight. The losers? Elite players looking for the best competition...as it is, leagues are diluted. Too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Gate Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Watching the U-18 tier 1 playdowns this week I was struck by what a pity the 2 teams from EMSA didn't play the two teams from EIYSA until now. If they had all played each other regularly through the season in one league they would have all helped each other improve. Pretty silly really. After seeing Scotland get clobbered yet again this week I couldn't help but draw direct parallels between the EMSA situation and the Scottish Premier League. In EMSA the philosophy is to build a couple of super teams in each age category that slaughter all opposition during the regular season with players sucked from all over, thereby guaranteeing a certain passage to the drug of European competition playoffs every year even though the domestic league is poor and very few quality players are actually being developed for the international side. Uhhhh, it seems the two situations become intertwined too easily!! Never mind the result is the same.....A reduced number of quality soccer players in the home league and humiliation at the higher representative level anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishman Posted August 20, 2004 Author Share Posted August 20, 2004 You mention the U18 T1 EMSA teams...well, they don't even compete in a youth league, if I am correct. It is, at least to me, obvious that the current Tier 1 and 2 situation is untenable. Allow for one league, please. Give the players a chance to compete against the best possible, week in, week out. While this particular issue is about the Edmonton problem, it surely isn't the only jurisdiction in Canada with this kind of political rubbish. And the trickle down effect? Fewer truly elite players from which to choose for our National teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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