Ottawa MLS

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by Luis_Rancagua

If this new league is NOT associated with the CSL, then this whole project is a DOA from the start.

Why do you say that.. a Quebec league semi-pro might be very viable, for many in Quebec being in involved in CSL is not the top of their hit parade.

Especially with the closer relations the Quebec federation is developing with France.

It is part of a long incremental process to have the Quebec association field their own international representative teams. Like it or not thats the plan.

[Richard]

quote:Originally posted by Luis_Rancagua

If this new league is NOT associated with the CSL, then this whole project is a DOA from the start.

Why? The CSL is essentially an Ontario provincial league, why not a Quebec provincial league? Anyway, why would the Quebec owners want to pay the large sums of money the CSL demands for the right to use its name, it provides little else for the money. They'd be better off and save a pile of money in the process doing their own thing as they are quite capable of doing.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium

It is part of a long incremental process to have the Quebec association field their own international representative teams. Like it or not thats the plan.

Like it or not, that plan can't happen (within FIFA anyway) unless one other really big thing does first. And if that really big thing didn't happen in 1995, when conditions for it were about as perfect as they ever will be, then it's difficult to see how it ever well.

[/political thread drift]

[Obinna]

I like that Quebec is moving forward with this, but why do we keep creating teams out of nothing in Canada? We could always "professionalize" the top amature clubs, wouldn't that be more authentic than what the CSL, or this new league, would be doing? We already have existing senior clubs, so lets keep the core, and find/sign better players to fill the gaps. The players not good enough, along with up and coming graduates from youth teams, can form the reserve team, because after all, plenty of senior clubs are affiliated youth clubs. Now you instantly have a youth-reserve-first team set up! Let the reserve team compete against the other amature clubs that haven't went professional yet. This will ensure the top amature leauges like AMSL(alberta) and LESQ(quebec) do not dissolve. The big question is, how do we launch our amature clubs to semi-pro status?

[michaeltfc91]

So now were going to have a BC provincial semi pro league (PCSL with a few American teams). A Ontario semi pro league (CSL) and a Quebec semi pro league. Can they not all combine to one big national league? Then add Saskatoon, Winnepeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and St.John's. That would be a great league.

[Cyrus]

quote:Originally posted by michaeltfc91

So now were going to have a BC provincial semi pro league (PCSL with a few American teams). A Ontario semi pro league (CSL) and a Quebec semi pro league. Can they not all combine to one big national league? Then add Saskatoon, Winnepeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and St.John's. That would be a great league.

At the semi-pro, limited revenue level, it may be much better to have regional leagues that look almost exactly like this. Cuts down on travel costs involved in flying teams from Halifax to Saskatoon to BC for league games. This is the model of Junior Hockey and CIS. We can't ignore the geography and transport issues of our country, especially with leagues that have very limited revenue streams. Even England has a regional structure for non-league football, and England is only the size of the Maritimes, with much better transportation links.

Three regional, 'third division' leagues could actually be quite successful, and leaves the door open for combined playoffs or cup competitions. One giant, national semi-pro superleague, with no TV revenue and sub-1000 attendances, would end up giving all its money to Air Canada, leaving nothing for the clubs involved.

[piltdownman]

quote:Originally posted by michaeltfc91

So now were going to have a BC provincial semi pro league (PCSL with a few American teams). A Ontario semi pro league (CSL) and a Quebec semi pro league. Can they not all combine to one big national league? Then add Saskatoon, Winnepeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and St.John's. That would be a great league.

Travel costs thats why. Just look at the PCSL schedules. The away games look like tour dates for a part time bar band.

http://www.victoriaunited.com/seniors_schedule.php

[Richard]

quote:Originally posted by michaeltfc91

So now were going to have a BC provincial semi pro league (PCSL with a few American teams). A Ontario semi pro league (CSL) and a Quebec semi pro league. Can they not all combine to one big national league? Then add Saskatoon, Winnepeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and St.John's. That would be a great league.

Just stop, think and do the money math and you'll see why not.

[michaeltfc91]

I meant like, get all these teams affiliated under CSL. Like 10 teams in 4 divisions (BC, West, Ontario, East) who only play within their own division. The only times the teams would play eachother is when they join the Voyageurs Cup with Toronto Montreal Vancouver

[BrennanFan]

quote:Originally posted by michaeltfc91

I meant like, get all these teams affiliated under CSL. Like 10 teams in 4 divisions (BC, West, Ontario, East) who only play within their own division. The only times the teams would play eachother is when they join the Voyageurs Cup with Toronto Montreal Vancouver

having all the top semi pro leagues under one umbrella organization is the logical thing to do.

i dont get why the PCSL and CSL champs dont have a super cup type game every year.

[Guest HamiltonSteelers]

^ I don't believe it is all that logical, at least not yet.

As much as I would love to see a national league, pro, semi-pro or amateur, I'd rather see three or four regional leagues come about to survive rather than making long cross-country trips, which makes no sense when you draw only 100-200 per game.

Unless there's a way to drive gates up to 1000+, no one is going to philanthropically pump money into a club on a regular basis just for the idea of a national league.

If the CSL does expand west, I hope the western teams stay in the west until play-off time.

I wonder how much of the expansion fees will/would cover those long road trips? I can't imagine London stumping up the money to fly out to Saskatoon drawing 50 people a game... so it's gotta come from somewhere.

[Juby]

edit: sorry, just looked back at the topic title, this is pretty much all quebec semi pro league talk

I like the idea (although I'm obviously opposed to any separate Quebecois team), if all the provinces and regions (East Coast?) had semi pro leagues, give it a few years, a few big dogs might appear (averaging good attendance, developing a brand, decent(for the love of god approriate) stadium deals being worked out) then make a nation wide CSL, I'm pretty sure just going through that process would create a base to give a new league a serious boost (I would expect the fan base to focus on the obvious, possibly at a cost of the provincial/regional leagues attendance but if there was a promotion tourney and one team gets relegated (or if it were viable, maybe its not, a second division), it would give the fans of the teams left behind a reason to keep supporting the local small team too).