Things get really messy in Alberta

[Trillium]

I hope Chris and his board can win this fight and soon. The last thing anyone wants is for this to affect the kids. Can CSA prevent provincials and other tournaments from happening if Chris and his board continue to resist their threats?

They can ..but they will not, the most likely action is to try and put the ASA under a trusteeship if it continues to degrade to a point nothing can be done with it.

CSA cant afford to kick out the ASA board ( reform edition ) as the cash flow to CSA would stop..that is the funds ASA collects on CSA behalf.

The funding drop would hurt too much in one year they only have a 3 month contingency fund and they need money to pay visiting teams for friendlys this fall.

[oc64]

Why do you think they will not? Do you mean they won't win the fight at all or they won't win it soon?

Nevermind. Just re-read your post and realized you were talking about CSA preventing provincials. Thanks, that makes sense.

[ag futbol]

Thank you so much Trillium, I have been emailing a link to this thread to everyone I can think of in Alberta. The support of people outside of our province means an incredible amount to us. At times, after the constant barrage of threats and intimidation it can get very depressing and some begin to question if it's really worth it. Comments like yours and others on this forum are an huge boost to morale. I suspect that one result of this could be new members for the Voyageurs as well.

Yes keep up the good work over there.

I'm sure we're all had similar experiences with the people who administer(dictate) the game in this country, to have some actual progress come down the pipe would be of great utility to everyone.

[oc64]

A little birdie tells me ASA will probably lose at least 2 more staff by the end of the week. They are tired of getting pinched in the middle of this fight. There are no guarantee's they will get paid and truthfully having no job is better than a job where you are getting treated like crap and subjected to the constant bullying of Mario's group.

From what I hear they think it would actually be a decent place to work if Chris and his group could get Mario out of the picture but it is just hell right now. Mario won't talk to Chris so he threatens the staff instead.

[Trillium]

A little birdie tells me ASA will probably lose at least 2 more staff by the end of the week. They are tired of getting pinched in the middle of this fight. There are no guarantee's they will get paid and truthfully having no job is better than a job where you are getting treated like crap and subjected to the constant bullying of Mario's group.

From what I hear they think it would actually be a decent place to work if Chris and his group could get Mario out of the picture but it is just hell right now. Mario won't talk to Chris so he threatens the staff instead.

What is it that Mario does for a living .. is he retired .. paid by someone to do a real job or just exists in a vacum to make horrible for soccer in Alberta ?

This is actually a serious question going to the type of people who end up in elected positions.. and how much of their egos are tied up in being the boss.

[kj52]

What is it that Mario does for a living .. is he retired .. paid by someone to do a real job or just exists in a vacum to make horrible for soccer in Alberta ?

This is actually a serious question going to the type of people who end up in elected positions.. and how much of their egos are tied up in being the boss.

Question: what does Mario do for a living? I've been asking that question for about 12 years, I haven't found anyone who knows. He told a friend of mine a few years ago that he was a "contractor" and that he had "4 or 5 guys work for me". That's the best I've been able to find out. Some people think that in his role as absolute dictator of EMSA (Edmonton Minor Soccer Association), he has found "ways" of providing himself with an attractive income. There is no documented proof of that so it remains in the speculative realm. It's entirely possible that he earns an honest living and is a selfless volunteer, giving up valuable time for others. Although he can be reached at the EMSA office almost any day during working hours, I guess he trusts his "4 or 5 guys" to run his "contracting" business. oc64 is correct, the staff are being pressured by Mario heavily this week and I suspect nearly all will quit in the next couple of weeks. Mario will step in and install his EMSA staff at ASA and will continue to ignore the new Board. This will have to go to court and Mario, Colin, et al along with CSA are going to have to be named in a lawsuit. It remains to be seen if the members of ASA are ready to cough up the $200-300,000 it will cost for a legal battle though.

[oc64]

Question: what does Mario do for a living? I've been asking that question for about 12 years, I haven't found anyone who knows. He told a friend of mine a few years ago that he was a "contractor" and that he had "4 or 5 guys work for me". That's the best I've been able to find out. Some people think that in his role as absolute dictator of EMSA (Edmonton Minor Soccer Association), he has found "ways" of providing himself with an attractive income. There is no documented proof of that so it remains in the speculative realm. It's entirely possible that he earns an honest living and is a selfless volunteer, giving up valuable time for others. Although he can be reached at the EMSA office almost any day during working hours, I guess he trusts his "4 or 5 guys" to run his "contracting" business. oc64 is correct, the staff are being pressured by Mario heavily this week and I suspect nearly all will quit in the next couple of weeks. Mario will step in and install his EMSA staff at ASA and will continue to ignore the new Board. This will have to go to court and Mario, Colin, et al along with CSA are going to have to be named in a lawsuit. It remains to be seen if the members of ASA are ready to cough up the $200-300,000 it will cost for a legal battle though.

That is exactly the problem. The staff are being asked to risk their careers in order to support Chris but there is currently no timeline or mechanism for ASA (April 24th Board) to gain a definitive victory. If they ignore Mario and he regains power they will all be fired. If the staff knew that a resolution one way or an another was on the horizon they would try and hang on. Conditions are simply too poor to remain there for an unknown period of time.

The accounting staff (my opinion) are in the worst position. A key to this fight is control of the money and they are place continually in terrible positions. Technical and other staff can continue to do their jobs in most ways, but working conditions are terrible for them too.