Guest Ed Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Peter Montopli was gracious enough to grant me some time for an interview. After several failed hookups due to various snowstorms (Peter) and unexpected family diversions (me), we finally managed to get it done this past Monday. His time was limited so excuse the fact that I did not include every question that was put forward on our original thread about this potential interview. I focussed on what I think most Voyageurs care about, the national teams primarily and how we can help them and the Voyageurs Cup. Some chit-chat/patter has of course been removed (I do go on at times you know) but here the questions and their answers as is. Interview with: Peter Montopli, General Secretary Canadian Soccer Association. Interview by: Ed Swain, on behalf of The Voyageurs, Canadian Soccer Supporters. Interview Date: 05 January, 2009. Voyageurs: “Let’s start with focusing on the Men’s National Team. Looking back, how disappointing was the performance in our World Cup Qualifying Campaign?” P.M.: “It was very disappointing for everyone, the whole CSA. We expected much better results based on the performance of the team in the year leading into the semi-final stage.” Voyageurs: “What went wrong?” P.M.: “Our performance did not meet our expectations. We learned that we have match the effort and investment of the other countries in CONCACAF.” Voyageurs: “How would you rate the performance of our Women’s National Team?” P.M.: “We qualified for the Olympics which was a success although we did come up short there. The Canadian Olympic Committee was delighted that we made it to the games.” Voyageurs: “Looking forward to 2009, do you have any news on whether CONCACAF will be putting a group in Canada or not for the 2009 edition of the Gold Cup?” P.M.: “It’s too early to say, as we don’t have confirmation from CONCACAF. CONCACAF and their partners Soccer United Marketing run the competition and they will be making any announcements on that front.” Voyageurs: “Can you say whether Dale Mitchell be the coach of the Canadian Men’s Team at the Gold Cup?” P.M.: “Yes, Dale will be in charge.” Voyageurs: “On the Women’s National Team front, where are we in the process of hiring a new women’s coach?” P.M.: “We are in discussions with certain coaches.” Voyageurs: “Is that from a short list of coaches?” P.M.: “The initial interview process is done and we are now in more concrete discussions. The decision will be sooner than later, but I cannot provide an exact date.” Voyageurs: “For all our national teams, how do we get more red shirts into the stands to support them at home?” P.M.: “First of all, let me say that I feel that the game held in Toronto at BMO field was a real turning point in Canadian soccer in terms of home support. The work of the Voyageurs was great. The CSA and the players were very impressed and we hope to build on our relationship with the Voyageurs. Montreal was a disappointment of course.” Voyageurs: “ I understand that you had basically the same process in place for ticket purchasing at all 3 venues, but, in Montreal, not enough tickets were purchased by Canadian supporters?” P.M.: “The same ticketing methods were used for all the home venues. In Toronto, the tickets made available to the supporters groups were bought up. In Montreal, there was much less in the way of local demand and many tickets were bought by Honduran supporters.” Voyageurs: “How can we improve on that?” P.M.: “We hope to continue to grow our relationship with the Voyageurs and local supporters and build on the accomplishments from last year. Toronto has the advantage that the success of TFC has led to growth in the number of supporters groups that we can tap into. We hope to see more of that in Montreal and elsewhere.” Voyageurs: “Let’s turn to something the Voyageurs are very interested in. Can you tell us of any new developments with the Voyageurs Cup Competition?” PM: “You do mean the Nutrilite Canadian Championship?” Voyageurs: “Yes. The competition that awards the Voyageurs Cup, we are talking about the same thing. Can you give us any news?” P.M.: “It’s premature to talk about changes for 2010. The competition format was set for 2008 and 2009 and the first year was an outstanding success. We brought in a major sponsor for the tournament, Nutrilite. People from the MLS were very impressed with the last game held at BMO field. The level of excitement was extraordinary compared to that around the US Open Cup in the states. CONCACAF has also been impressed. We hope to build on the momentum of the first year and that the games will be even bigger events this year. Of course, it’s too early to say how the competition might change in 2010, as it is dependent, for one, on what happens with Canadian teams in terms of MLS expansion.” Voyageurs: “In terms of overall strategy for the CSA, you have produced your Strategic Plan which details where you’d like Canadian soccer to go from the present through to 2014. A big part of that strategic plan is the identification of the need for more money, money from the grassroots of the organization. I don’t think it’s any secret that the Budget presentations to provincial associations ran into a bit of a hiccup as most of them had their own budgets already set. Are you confident that you can increase funding?” P.M.: “We are optimistic going forward. The plan has now been presented across the country. We need to increase the player levy at the grass roots level to bridge the gap between the amount of money we need to meet our goals and our current financial situation. We will then look for a commitment at our annual general meeting this spring.” Voyageurs: “Not to nitpick too much, but your Strategic Plan has some nice graphics showing the CSA’s relationship with 'Non-Funding' & 'External' stakeholders. It seems to me that the Voyageurs (or supporters in general) would fall into that category and should be considered as stakeholders in the game here in Canada.” P.M.: “Well we certainly do think the relationship with the Voyageurs is important and we hope to work more closely together in the future.” Voyageurs: “Well Peter, I know you have limited time today. After less than a year on the job, how do you feel going into 2009?” P.M.: “I am very optimistic growing forward. The Nutrilite Canadian Championship has been terrific and we hope to continue to see it get even bigger. As I said earlier, I think the game at BMO against Jamaica was a real turning point in terms of Canadian support at home games and I would like to thank the Voyageurs and Dwayne Cole in particular for their work with us. The men’s team was a disappointment but our women had very positive results this year. We have a plan to go forward. All in all, I am very optimistic.” Voyageurs: “Well on behalf of the Voyageurs, thank you for your time Peter.” P.M: “Thank you. “ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 In the time honoured tradition of the Voyageurs, who do I skewer first, the interviewer or the interviewee...lol. Thanks Ed. Loved the Voyageurs Cup exchange...both that Peter M. was looking out for the sponsor (the CSA better damn well take care of its sponsors) and that you were insisting on naming the Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Excellent interview, Ed. Considering it's the CSA, and Montopoli seemed to offer the expected responses, it is worthwhile to note that the CSA considers working with the Voyageurs to be a positive experience. Perhaps these are first steps to effecting some changes to the state of our sport. I did find it funny when he remarked, "You do mean the Nutrilite Canadian Championship?" when referred to the Voyageurs Cup competition. Ah, marketing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Thanks Ed, very interesting interview. Thanks to Mr. Montopoli. Echo Gordon feeling about the Voyageurs Cup, funny how he found a way to highlight the sponsor name. And confirmation that Dale Mitchell will be the coach at the GC. Even if it's no suprise it's the highlight of the interview IMO. Good Job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 ^I would say lowlight. I can't take this guy seriously if he doesn't fire Mitchell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 What can you say? Thanks for the interview, but the fact that they are not going to fire Mitchell and start the WCQ process for 2014 now, offsets any positive work they are doing. They will let Mitchell go when his contract expires which means another year and a half of preperation will be thrown away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcl_19 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 ^ Agreed Good interview the bit about the cup was definitly funny. To be fair though about the Dale Mitchell bit, if they are thinking about canning the guy but havn't talked to DM it would have abeen less than professional to announce it in an interview before anything else. Maybe thats just my wishful thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I want Dale Mitchell fired as much as the next guy, but if improved finances are a priority leading up to 2014, and local associations are where some of that money is to come from, they are in a tough spot. I'd hate to be the CSA guy to go to a provincial/local association meeting asking for a levy increase while at the same time paying full price for two head coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Thanks Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Props to you, Ed, for the interview. Nutrilite: that's owned by Amway, right, or am I mistaken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Voyageurs: “Can you say whether Dale Mitchell be the coach of the Canadian Men’s Team at the Gold Cup?” P.M.: “Yes, Dale will be in charge.” - I see a lot of no shows for the Gold Cup happening. It is the only leverage the players have and I think they should use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph - I see a lot of no shows for the Gold Cup happening. It is the only leverage the players have and I think they should use it. I'm really curious to see how this plays out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA Props to you, Ed, for the interview. Nutrilite: that's owned by Amway, right, or am I mistaken? Correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Ed, you know I respect you a lot. I also appreciate the effort, the intent. There is stuff there that is useful. But I have to say that in the essential questions the interview lets the Voyageurs down, the only ones I can see might be happy about it are those who were looking for this sort of soft, easy on the CSA approach because it suited other considerations. The questions the vast majority of Voyageurs want to be asked are: -Why hasn't the CSA fired Dale Mitchell for his terrible results during qualifying? -On what basis has the CSA decided to continue with Mitchell? Are they only financial? What are the virtues the CSA sees in Dale Mitchell that the majority of Canadian fans do not see? -Has the CSA consulted with the veteran national team players on the results qualifying and future technical direction of the team? -You were elected as a caretaker president of the CSA when the previous president resigned. Do you intend to run for re-election? On what basis? There was no question on the legacy of Pellerud either, nor on youth development, nor on where they are going to spend their money, nothing on any basic policy concept coming out of the CSA. I know this criticism is hard, Ed, but I said it before and will say it now. If the Voyageurs have a chance to interview the CSA it should be done properly. By members with experience in journalism or in doing interviews, in person, with more than one Voyageur present, and not worrying if the guy is going to get mad if you ask a tough one. This is not too much to ask. Otherwise we are being weak and pandering, and I find the whole endeavour terribly disappointing. I feel sorry for Ed in saying this as I think he showed good will, and someone else in Canada could sure have stepped up and helped. And yes, I did comment on some of these things before, when Fury announced he was going to do an exclusive interview, but he and his CSA lackeys jumped on me for even suggesting that he was not going about it seriously. Which he wasn't of course. Next time I will continue to be a pain in the ass before the fact because now I realize I will be attacked for being so harsh after the fact. And probably with good reason, my mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi44 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 By what criteria do they evaluate Mitchell? He's not lived up to expectations twice in the last couple years (2010 WC qualifying, and 2007 U20 WC) and yet is still in charge. Shameful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Ed Voyageurs: “ I understand that you had basically the same process in place for ticket purchasing at all 3 venues, but, in Montreal, not enough tickets were purchased by Canadian supporters?” P.M.: “The same ticketing methods were used for all the home venues. In Toronto, the tickets made available to the supporters groups were bought up. In Montreal, there was much less in the way of local demand and many tickets were bought by Honduran supporters.” I have reason to believe that a sizable amount of tickets were that were bought up by Canadians were scalped ( on-line) to out-of-town Honduran supporters. At least, this is what i am hearing. It seems that the Cnd fans who bought tixs in the rest of the stadium didn't see the same value in them as the fans in the supporters section. Hence, if they were able to get 200-500$ for their ducats, they took the $$$ and ran. Preventing resale of tickets and manging the distribution effectively would solve this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Spiers Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S. -You were elected as a caretaker president of the CSA when the previous president resigned. Do you intend to run for re-election? On what basis? I think you are a little confused with this one! The interview was with Peter Montopoli - the Secretary General of the CSA - a paid staff position. In any event, the "caretaker" President - Dominic Maestracci - was elected to a full four-year term as CSA President at the 2008 AGM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Bill Spiers I think you are a little confused with this one! The interview was with Peter Montopoli - the Secretary General of the CSA - a paid staff position. In any event, the "caretaker" President - Dominic Maestracci - was elected to a full four-year term as CSA President at the 2008 AGM. You're right, my rant got the better of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillium Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S. You're right, my rant got the better of me. Rants often do.. but my questions to the Secretary General would have been .. what are you doing in your position to guide the volunteer board towards a more democratic CSA which allows all clubs to attend the National AGM and vote on the leadership. I would have followed it up with the explanation that in Peru, the sporting community and the government have made major sacrifices including FIFA suspension to ensure the Football Association of that country is transparent and democratic in its elections and operations, and that despite Mr. Blatters often stated we are independent of government, FIFA will now work together with the people of Peru to now reform the association...and has lifted the ban on Peru. Cause the only core question any Voyageur should have now is reform of the CSA, as its the only road to changing the "head space" of the old suits by giving the broader committed soccer community a way to elect and controld the CSA directors. Its the only real question to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 After reading that interview and seeing Peter Monopoli state that Dale Mitchell will still be in charge makes me feel sick. It just reinforces my feeling that we have no hope for Canadian soccer in the short term in this country. As said before, no self respecting nation can keep such a head coach after such a debacle in qualifying (and before at the U-20). If money is the only issue, fire the guy and put Hart in charge in the interim (who is already on the payroll). No disrespect to Ed, but I agree with Jeffrey. Tougher questions needed to be asked. This is a very poor interview from the Voyageurs in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Faaack! The Gold Cup is going to be painful under Mitchell. Thanks for the interview Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Free kick I have reason to believe that a sizable amount of tickets were that were bought up by Canadians were scalped ( on-line) to out-of-town Honduran supporters. At least, this is what i am hearing. It seems that the Cnd fans who bought tixs in the rest of the stadium didn't see the same value in them as the fans in the supporters section. Hence, if they were able to get 200-500$ for their ducats, they took the $$$ and ran. Preventing resale of tickets and manging the distribution effectively would solve this problem. I don't believe thi. Why would Hondurans buy marked up scalped tickets when there wereplenty of face value tickets available at the box office the day of the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Ed P.M.: “The same ticketing methods were used for all the home venues. In Toronto, the tickets made available to the supporters groups were bought up. In Montreal, there was much less in the way of local demand and many tickets were bought by Honduran supporters.” Simply untrue. While similar (access to presales by season ticket holders and passwords for Vs), the whole setup - especially tapping into the Impact's season ticket holders - was subpar in Montreal. TFC's season ticket holders got a dedicated email with a presale window (with password), while IMFC season ticket holders received a mention at the bottom of a newsletter that tickets were going on sale a certain date, with no presale window and no password. Admission also completely goofed on the V's section for the password (although I don't think it had a big effect at the end of the day). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Ed P.M.: “The same ticketing methods were used for all the home venues. In Toronto, the tickets made available to the supporters groups were bought up. In Montreal, there was much less in the way of local demand and many tickets were bought by Honduran supporters.” Simply untrue. While similar (access to presales by season ticket holders and passwords for Vs), the whole setup - especially tapping into the Impact's season ticket holders - was subpar in Montreal. TFC's season ticket holders got a dedicated email with a presale window (with password), while IMFC season ticket holders received a mention at the bottom of a newsletter that tickets were going on sale a certain date, with no presale window and no password. Admission also completely goofed on the V's section for the password (although I don't think it had a big effect at the end of the day). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 On the bright side, we know to get our "Fire Mitchell" chants warmed up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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