Skullfire Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Hello I'm Skullfire and I'm From Bosnia.I am interested in Canadian soccer.So a friend of mine told me about this forum.I was wondering about the Canadian leagues.What leagues do you have in Canada?I would like to know this and uh I'll ask for other questions later when i think what should i ask next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soju Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 No high profile leagues in Canada. We have the Canadian Soccer League but it's not big money or high level professional. Vancouver and Montreal play in United Soccer League 1 (the Lynx are in USL 2 now right?), which is made up of mainly American teams and is the second tier in North America behind MLS. Toronto plays in Major League Soccer, the top league in North America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Soju No high profile leagues in Canada. We have the Canadian Soccer League but it's not big money or high level professional. Vancouver and Montreal play in United Soccer League 1 (the Lynx are in USL 2 now right?), which is made up of mainly American teams and is the second tier in North America behind MLS. Toronto plays in Major League Soccer, the top league in North America. Well I disagree. We have two professional leagues in canada: MLS and USL. As long as there are Canadian business entities ( through club ownership) that are partner in these ventures, then these leagues are much canadian as the CSL or any other. Furthermore, the Canadian partners in these leagues are the most stable, best run and in the best financial health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Free kick Well I disagree. We have two professional leagues in canada: MLS and USL. As long as there are Canadian business entities ( through club ownership) that are partner in these ventures, then these leagues are much canadian as the CSL or any other. Furthermore, the Canadian partners in these leagues are the most stable, best run and in the best financial health. Well I disagree with you Free kick. Those are american leagues with canadian teams participating in them, they are based in the USA and they are cosidered USA leagues by the media, but we hope to have something like that here though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto7 Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Wow, let's confuse the poor guy some more why don't we? To simplify the picture for our Bosnian friend, here is the pro and semi-pro situation in Canada in a nutshell: Toronto FC play in Major League Soccer(MLS) along with 12 American teams in major American markets(including Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire, etc.) This is the highest level of soccer in North America. Toronto FC are the only Canadian team in MLS.This is Toronto FC's first ever season in MLS. Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps play in the United Soccer Leagues(USL) 1st division, considered the second tier of soccer in North America. There are also 9 American teams(small and medium sized US markets: Rochester, Charleston, Atlanta, Miami, etc.) and one team in Puerto Rico in this league. Both Montreal and Vancouver are top teams in this league. Montreal(founded in 1993) won the Championship in 1994 and 2004. Vancouver (founded in 1986) won several titles in the old Canadian Soccer League and recently the USL championship in 2006. The new Canadian Soccer League is a semi-pro league with teams in the province of Ontario and one in the province of Quebec. Most of the Ontario teams are based in and around metropolitain Toronto. The Quebec team, based in Trois Rivieres ,(an hour and a half east of Montreal), is the reserve team of the Montreal Impact. This league is far below the level of the USL division 1 and salaries are very minimal. There are currently 10 teams in this league including The Serbian White Eagles, Portugese Supra, Toronto Croatia, Windsor Border Stars, Trois Rivieres Attak, etc. There are also leagues in Western Canada, the Pacific Coast Soccer league and others that are semi-pro but I know very little about them. There are some Canadian teams that play in the amateur Premier Development League(PDL, which is part of the United Soccer Leagues)These include, the Toronto Lynx (formerly in USL division 1), The Thunder Bay Chill and the Ottawa Fury. This is anamateur league with some 30 teams, most of which are in the USA. All the above mentioned leagues(except the PDL who only play until the beginning of August) play from about April to September. Toronto FC and all MLS teams play until November. Hope this helps explain the somewhat confusing soccer picture in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullfire Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 Aaah I see.I thought that MLS was a US league.But apparently the MLS if for All of North America,if I am not mistaken. I also see that most of the supporters in Canada are students am I right?Well thats good for the morale and all,but it seems that the fixtures are put in that way that most of u ppl can't watch them?Anything done about that? I read in one of the topics about this so I'm just wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto7 Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Skullfire Aaah I see.I thought that MLS was a US league.But apparently the MLS if for All of North America,if I am not mistaken. I also see that most of the supporters in Canada are students am I right?Well thats good for the morale and all,but it seems that the fixtures are put in that way that most of u ppl can't watch them?Anything done about that? I read in one of the topics about this so I'm just wondering. MLS is a US league. They decided it was good business to bring Toronto into the league because Toronto is owned by Maple leaf Sports and Entertainement who also own the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA's Toronto Raptors. MLS was looking for strong owners, which they got in MLSE. The hope in Canada is that Vancouver and Montreal will soon also be in MLS. This is at least a couple of years away as MLS will expand in 2009 or 2010 to probably Philadelphia and Seattle. There will probably be another expansion a couple of years later where Montreal and Vancouver might have a chance. Until then fans in those cities will have to contend themselves with the USL teams. Canadian supporters are not just students. Some of us old guys follow soccer just as passionately. I don't understand why you say that the fixtures are set up so that we can't see the games. The top 3 teams play most of their games on weekends and when they play during the week it is usually at 7:30 PM, giving people enough time to get to the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussoccerfan Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Alberto7 MLS is a US league. They decided it was good business to bring Toronto into the league because Toronto is owned by Maple leaf Sports and Entertainement who also own the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA's Toronto Raptors. MLS was looking for strong owners, which they got in MLSE. The hope in Canada is that Vancouver and Montreal will soon also be in MLS. This is at least a couple of years away as MLS will expand in 2009 or 2010 to probably Philadelphia and Seattle. There will probably be another expansion a couple of years later where Montreal and Vancouver might have a chance. Until then fans in those cities will have to contend themselves with the USL teams. Canadian supporters are not just students. Some of us old guys follow soccer just as passionately. I don't understand why you say that the fixtures are set up so that we can't see the games. The top 3 teams play most of their games on weekends and when they play during the week it is usually at 7:30 PM, giving people enough time to get to the games. I'm not sure if he's heard of those Toronto sports teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Champ Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Skullfire I also see that most of the supporters in Canada are students am I right? In my experiences travelling around the country to matches I have found this not to be the case. I can't speak for MLS and TFC or Montreal in USL which may have younger fans but most folks in the stands at World Cup qualifiers over the last 2 campaigns have been a bit older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Just guessing here, but I'm guessing he heard about the Toronto Lynx having school day games back in their USL-1 days hence the comment about most fans being "students" and having "fixtures at times when most people can't watch the games". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Champ Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 The Toronto V's I met were a bit younger... They are probably old and fat like the rest of us now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 I'll actually answer the question about fixtures. Nearly all games are in the evening. One team that no longer matters used to hold a couple of games each year midweek at noon and fill up their small stadium with school kids. That was the only way they could get crowds because they were a poorly run team that was really crappy. Supporters here have the same age variance as most places in the world. Perhaps there are more young people at games here because ticket prices aren't too expensive. Oddly enough most supporters you see online chatting about the game seem to be loaded with money (the suits and tie people) who can go flying off to other cities and countries to go watch games with great frequency, pay for the digital cable to watch more games, etc, etc, and are suprised to find that some people can't afford to do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soju Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Whoa hey lay off! I had a rough day today my Bentley got a flat tire on my way to the Spa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Champ Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Bus ticket to Hamburg... 80 Euros 2 nights in a hooker hotel on Reeperbahn ... 140 Euros Being slagged off by Krammerhead.... ...priceless:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 CSL is not that far behind the USL-1 toronto crotia, white eagles, shooters and the attack would all be able to play in the USL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Except none of them have a stadium that meets the USL-1 minimum standards nor ownership that could afford the travel of USL-1. So in that reality the CSL is way behind the USL-1. There's more to it than just having a few teams that could possibly play in the USL-1 (and I'm skeptical of that as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Champ Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Travel costs are surely the biggest obstacle for Canadian sports leagues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 quote:Originally posted by hamiltonfan CSL is not that far behind the USL-1 toronto crotia, white eagles, shooters and the attack would all be able to play in the USL 1 ...and to top it off, we are among the few countries in the world that do not have a national cup competition, so the teams at the various "levels" never compete against each other to answer these types of contentious issues. The USL is closer to the MLS than the CSL could ever be to the USL, in my humble opinion. Many of the USL teams in the States have beaten MLS teams often in the national cup competition in the US, and many players from the USL make the jump to MLS quite comfortably. The MLS is a good world class league. They perform almost up to par with the Mexican teams in the CONCACAF Champions League, and these same Mexican teams are extremely competitive in the Libertadores Cup, whose Champions have won more world competitions that the Euro Champions over the years, including the last two World Championships. Eurosnobs would make excuses about this, but this is reality. It is good that we have the CSL, and its equivalent on the west coast, but let us not get too unmrealistic in the name of national pride. Canadian teams in American Leagues, like the Welsh teams in the English Leagues and Monaco in the French top league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettermirror Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Heya Skullfire - what's the nature of your interest in Canadian soccer? My girlfriend is from Kakanj ... so I have more than a passing interest in Bosnian and Croatian soccer these days (the National teams moreso than the leagues) Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Krammerhead Except none of them have a stadium that meets the USL-1 minimum standards nor ownership that could afford the travel of USL-1. So in that reality the CSL is way behind the USL-1. There's more to it than just having a few teams that could possibly play in the USL-1 (and I'm skeptical of that as well). Just to add to this comment, according to the USL-1 minimum standards even Swangard Stadium doesn't meet them. http://www.uslsoccer.com/docs/aboutusl/franchise/Min%20Standards.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 kammer is right..i was talking about the level of soccer. However, the white eagles and the attack do have the ownership group and stadium that could make it in the USL1.. obviously the attack are owned by the same owners of the impact... the CSL is a great level of soccer but must gain more credibility..and they are doing that now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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