New commissioner of CPSL is....Cary Kaplan

[Rocket Robin]

For Immediate Release

CARY KAPLAN APPOINTED CPSL COMMISSIONER

TORONTO—Tuesday, April 12--The Canadian Professional Soccer League has appointed a top Canadian sports business executive as its new Commissioner.

Cary Kaplan, previously with the CPSL as a management consultant following an impressive tenure with Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League, takes over from Vincent Ursini as head of Canada’s only complete professional soccer league.

Ursini resigned in February to dedicate his time to the Ontario Soccer Association and is seeking election to the Canadian Soccer Association board next month.

The Canadian soccer community first became aware of Cary Kaplan in 1995 when he staged the highly successful visit of Parma of the Italian Serie A to play an all-star team from the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL), forerunner of the CPSL. More than 17,000 tickets were sold for the Varsity Stadium event, the highest attendance for a soccer match involving two club teams for 25 years.

Cary Kaplan, 35, who graduated with his MBA from Dalhousie University, joined the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club as its marketing executive in 1996 and for three years in 1998, 1999 and 2001 was responsible for the Bulldogs winning the Tourism Award for Excellence—the best promotion and marketing campaign for any Hamilton event or attraction. In 1999 he won the Ken McKenzie Award for the most outstanding contribution to an AHL team by a marketing or public relations executive. In 2000 he was promoted to club president.

Upon spearheading the sale of the Bulldogs from the Edmonton Oilers to a group involving the Montreal Canadiens and local business people in 2002, Cary left the Bulldogs with his wife Amelia and began the sports management company that they currently manage, Mississauga-based Cosmos Sports.

In taking on his new role, Kaplan declared: “I believe strongly in the growth of pro soccer in Canada and I am optimistic that with a lot hard work and cooperation, the image and profile of soccer in this country can grow dramatically over the next several years. I am proud to have an opportunity to be part of this transformation.”

The appointment is effective immediately.

For more information, please contact Stan Adamson, Director of Media and Public Relations at

(905) 856-5439 or e-mail to stanadamson@cpsl.ca

The Canadian Professional Soccer League Inc.,

The Soccer Centre, 7601 Martin Grove Road, Vaughan, Ontario L4L 9E4

Tel: 905 856-5439 Fax: 905 856-9325 e-mail: cpsl@cpsl.ca www.cpsl.ca

[Richard]

Good luck to him.

[Luis_Rancagua]

with an MBA from Dalhousie University, this guy must be a man with a strong business vision for the future of the CPSL. With that being said, I am wondering if the new Commissioner is willing to go through a question-and-answer session whereby he describes his long-term goals for the CPSL. These goals should be the following: amalgamation of the provincial leagues, open-cup tournament from sea-to-sea, CPSL participation at the CONCACAF Club Championship, women's league W-CPSL, etc... It would be nice if the new Commissioner is willing to answer these questions.

[Richard]

You advocate a question and answer session then promptly list the answers you expect? I agree facing the press would be a good move for the new commissioner but let him answer the questions.

CPSL participation at the CONCACAF Club Championship? Why not have the Voyageur Cup winner represent us? At least the USLD1 clubs 'represent' three of Canada's ten provinces not just one and USLD1 is a division above the CPSL therefore surely a better representative.

[Guest HamiltonSteelers]

Mr. Kaplan worked wonders with the Bulldogs in the AHL as far as getting butts in seats. If he can improve the gate by even a small margin, then he's already done more than Ursini did when it comes to raising the profile of the game in the province.

[Elias]

I think he's a good choice. I think he used to work for the CPSL before the Bulldogs. At the very least it will at least improve the image of the CPSL...like it can get worse.

His company http://www.cosmossports.com/ focuses on ticket sales and marketing related jobs so it should only help them.

His company also runs http://www.canadiansportsjobs.com/. The Whitecaps are looking for a Coordinator, Stadium Operations, if anybody is interested.

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by Elias

I think he used to work for the CPSL before the Bulldogs.

It was after the Bulldogs, in 2003 to be exact:

quote: Cary Kaplan, previously with the CPSL as a management consultant following an impressive tenure with Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League

[Luis_Rancagua]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

...CPSL participation at the CONCACAF Club Championship? Why not have the Voyageur Cup winner represent us? At least the USLD1 clubs 'represent' three of Canada's ten provinces not just one and USLD1 is a division above the CPSL therefore surely a better representative...

In fact Richard, the CPSL 2 weeks-ago through a press conference announced that they are serious of studying the possibilities of sending the CPSL Open-Cup champ to the CONCACAF Club Championship. This is only in the works, and in all likelyhood this may be a simple pipe dream from the CPSL. For this reason I am asking the question to the new Commissioner, given the fact that the CPSL is studying the whole idea.

[Richard]

Good, I'm glad its being studied - the more people thinking about elevating Canadian soccer the better - but I don't think it is valid to chose a Canadian team for CONCACAF Club Championship from a group that doesn't include our top flight professional teams.

[Luis_Rancagua]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

Good, I'm glad its being studied - the more people thinking about elevating Canadian soccer the better - but I don't think it is valid to chose a Canadian team for CONCACAF Club Championship from a group that doesn't include our top flight professional teams.

Richard, I am certain that a CPSL club could beat clubs from Trinidad, Jamaica, and perhaps Honduras and El Salvador. These are the most inferior clubs that participate at the CONCACAF Club Championship. Nevertheless, I do expect that a CPSL club will get slaugther by clubs from MLS, Mexico's Primera Division and quite likely by clubs from Costa Rica's pro-league. But the very fact that we are there means a-lot.

[Richard]

I am sure the top CPSL teams would be competitive at some level of the CONCACAF Club Championship but why send a third division club unless all you're really interested in is just having any Canadian based team show up? If that's all you care about then take the winning amateur club from the CSA nationals, they would be much more nationally representative.

I think it would be a mistake to exclude our USLD1 teams from consideration, I would be more comfortable having the Montreal Impact represent us than Toronto Croatia. For this to make sense some way has to be found to include our USLD1 clubs and more regional leagues than just the CPSL in the Open Canada Cup or some such tournament to select the top Canadian club with some degree of confidence that they are the best we have, otherwise what's the point in competing?

[Guest HamiltonSteelers]

Trinidad, likely. Jamaica, perhaps. Hondurdas and El Salvador... a CPSL all-star side might keep it close.

[hamiltonfan]

This is great for the league. This guy knows what he is doing and does know how to get fans in the stands. We'll all have to wait and see if he does that.

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

I am sure the top CPSL teams would be competitive at some level of the CONCACAF Club Championship but why send a third division club unless all you're really interested in is just having any Canadian based team show up? If that's all you care about then take the winning amateur club from the CSA nationals, they would be much more nationally representative.

I think it would be a mistake to exclude our USLD1 teams from consideration, I would be more comfortable having the Montreal Impact represent us than Toronto Croatia. For this to make sense some way has to be found to include our USLD1 clubs and more regional leagues than just the CPSL in the Open Canada Cup or some such tournament to select the top Canadian club with some degree of confidence that they are the best we have, otherwise what's the point in competing?

Luis is not explaining this well. The CPSL's idea is not to have the CPSL champion go to the CONCACAF Champions Cup, it is to have the CPSL Open Cup winner do so. The CPSL Open Cup is already open to all senior clubs in Canada (yes, including all the USL D1 clubs), so it could already be a proper national championship. Of course, no one, not even the CPSL, really thinks that clubs from all across Canada are going to enter at this point, but their plan is to try to grow it. In the past they have even mentioned that they would hand it over to the CSA for them to run. While I don't think any of this will really happen, I applaud the CPSL for trying to do something that I feel is required and no one else is seriously trying to do.

Here is what the CPSL most recently said about this (bold emphasis added by me):

quote:The CPSL Open Canada Cup, the one single competition open to all senior men’s teams in Canada, amateur or professional, will kickoff with the Preliminary Round on May 21.

It’s the third season of the popular competition which is aimed eventually to provide Canada with a total club championship.

The competition would be a stepping stone to the CONCACAF club championship for qualifying teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

[Richard]

A laudable objective for sure, perhaps the new CPSL commissioner can make more progress expanding the scope of the Open Canada Cup than has been made so far but he really will have to persuade the Canadian USLD1 clubs to buy into it if it is ever to be anything other than just another regional tournament with a grandiose name. Bringing the USLD1 clubs on board is much more important than any CSA involvement, the CSA can exert little influence over the day-to-day operations of professional clubs. Thanks for the clarification.

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by Sigma

Are you serious?

My reaction is the same. My mind is open but I'd have to see it to believe it.

IMO, unless our USL sides take part in the Open Cup, sending the champion to CONCACAF is not only a waste of time, it is an invitation to embarassment.

db

[Rocket Robin]

quote:Originally posted by Sigma

Are you serious?

It happened last summer. CPSL Metro Lions beat Portmore United (Jamaica) 1-0. No return leg though but who needed one at Birchmount Stadium as it was a pro-Jamaican crowd anyway.

[bmac]

Perfect two Dalhousie graduates with senior soccer portfolios, first of all our beloved Kevan Pipe and now Cary Kaplan [smile]

[Richard]

Maybe Caplan has his eye on taking over Pipe's job and he's moving up the ladder padding his resume

[Michael Crampton]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

A laudable objective for sure, perhaps the new CPSL commissioner can make more progress expanding the scope of the Open Canada Cup than has been made so far but he really will have to persuade the Canadian USLD1 clubs to buy into it if it is ever to be anything other than just another regional tournament with a grandiose name. Bringing the USLD1 clubs on board is much more important than any CSA involvement, the CSA can exert little influence over the day-to-day operations of professional clubs. Thanks for the clarification.

I think you're being rather unfair Richard.

Whenever someone suggests that the Voyaguers Cup champ be granted entry into CONCACAAF tourneys people always say that it's impossible because they don't keep their squads together during the off-season. So if the USLD1 clubs aren't interested and the CPSL is shouldn't we at least let them have a go?

Furthermore, one could argue that since the USLD1 clubs play in an American sanctioned league they should have to qualify for regional competition via the American slots (which is obviously impossible since that is limited to MLS sides and Lamar Hunt entrants). It's just like the situation in Wales where crappy League of Wales clubs get into the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds while Cardiff City, Swansea, and Wrexham (all mush bigger clubs) get passed over because they play in the English pyramid.

Finally, if the PCSL champions were to be ambitious enough to keep their squad together into the fall to play the CPSL champs I don't think anyone would have an objection to the winner of that series representing Canada in regional tournaments but as you've stated in outher threads that's not feasible for PCSL teams.

Basically all I'm saiying is if they're willing to take a stab at it and no one else is then who is anyone else to tell them not to?

Mike.

edit - my quote of you was terrible Richard. I apologize as I meant to quote your objections based on the CPSL not being the highest level of play in Canada and thus not eligible to send a representative to regional tournies. I hope the general idea still got through though.

[Richard]

I'm not telling anybody not to take a stab at it, I just feel I would prefer that our best teams be put forward, not our second tier teams. Also, do the CPSL clubs keep their teams together during the off-season any more than the USLD1 clubs?

[Guest HamiltonSteelers]

I understand that with the Thunder, they started training in December-January at an indoor facility, so it cannot possibly be that far off from feasible, no?

[T5]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

I'm not telling anybody not to take a stab at it, I just feel I would prefer that our best teams be put forward, not our second tier teams.

I take it then that you won't be bitching and moaning when and if Toronto gains entrance to the MLS and demands the right to represent Canada at any club international tournaments including the right to demand financial support to such tournaments from the governing soccer bodies.

No Vancouver, no Montreal, no any other teams in Canada, simply because the Toronto group is at a higher level of sanctioned play.

I disagree, there should be a "Canada type FA" if you will, to make that determination.

And yes, the CPSL Canada Cup is regional.

[Richard]

No, I did not say that a Toronto MLS team should automatically represent Canada by default. I said that if a tournament is to be held to select a club to represent Canada at the CONCACAF club championship, that tournament should include our top professional clubs otherwise we will end up being represented by nothing better than a third division team. Is that what you really want?

I said above that I'm glad the possibility of sending a team to the CONCACF Club Championship is being studied - the more people thinking about elevating Canadian soccer the better - but I don't think it is valid to chose a Canadian team for CONCACAF Club Championship from a group that doesn't include our top flight professional teams which means the CPSL Canada Cup tournament in its present format is not an appropriate selection method. More work needs to be done to bring at least our USLD1 clubs into the mix. If the new CPSL commissioner is willing to do some work to move forward with this then I wish him well.

[T5]

For Canadian soccer to be moving forward, we should already be sending a team to the CONCACF Club Championships, not now, thinking about studying it someday.

The new CPSL commissioner has neither the responsibility nor the authority to make this happen. He has more important issues to pursue with his own administration and league.

It's the CSA, the national governing body, that must mandate such. Without their approval and backing we both know this tournament to be held to select a club to represent Canada at the CONCACAF club championship will not happen.

The easy way out for the CSA is to stand back, watch Toronto get a MLS franchise, and give them free-reign to represent Canada. And that's what their going to do.

The CPSL Canada Cup, without the USL D1 teams and for that matter, the rest of all Canadian men's soccer teams, shouldn't represent Canada in CONCACAF Club play.

Procrastination by the rest of us will be our own undoing. The CSA is counting on it.