Robert Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 What if … What if we were to view Canada as a continent? What if we were to view each province as a country? What if the CSA organized a tournament along the lines of a World Cup or Euro for these provinces/countries? At the group stage, two pools of 4 or 5 provinces/countries playing each other home and away. The top two advancing to a home and away cross-over semi-final, with the winners advancing to a home and away final. What if the CSA were to put up prize money as an incentive for such a structure? Say $40,000 for the winning 18-man roster and two coaches, $10,000 for the second-place 18-man roster and two coaches, and $5,000 for each of the losing semi-final 18-man rosters and 2 coaches. That would require $1,200,000 in prize money. What if the CSA were to pay for the travel and accommodation expenses incurred for all of the players for all of the matches? Say it would cost $1,000 to transport and accommodate each player and coach for each match. This would require $20,000 per match. An 8 province/country tournament would consist of 30 matches, or $600,000. A 10 province/country tournament would consist of 46 matches, or $920,000. The total cost of such a championship would therefore be either $1,800,000 or $2,120,000. Such a tournament would give the 18 best players in each province/country the opportunity to play with the best players in their province/country, against the best players from the other provinces/countries. Currently, these players compete for clubs, which might only include 2 or 3 of the best players of the province/country, thus playing with the best 18 players in the province/country would raising the overall standard of competition. By offering the financial incentives and taking care of their expenses, the CSA would allow players to invest more of their time pursuing a career in soccer and prevent a certain percentage of them from going aboard to see if they got what it takes. Such a structure would also provide a domestic pathway for players to feed into the national program. Such a structure would also prevent breaking up current leagues by taking out clubs for a national league, which have always failed to be successful in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlo_80 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 What if … What if we were to view Canada as a continent? What if we were to view each province as a country? What if the CSA organized a tournament along the lines of a World Cup or Euro for these provinces/countries? At the group stage, two pools of 4 or 5 provinces/countries playing each other home and away. The top two advancing to a home and away cross-over semi-final, with the winners advancing to a home and away final. What if the CSA were to put up prize money as an incentive for such a structure? Say $40,000 for the winning 18-man roster and two coaches, $10,000 for the second-place 18-man roster and two coaches, and $5,000 for each of the losing semi-final 18-man rosters and 2 coaches. That would require $1,200,000 in prize money. What if the CSA were to pay for the travel and accommodation expenses incurred for all of the players for all of the matches? Say it would cost $1,000 to transport and accommodate each player and coach for each match. This would require $20,000 per match. An 8 province/country tournament would consist of 30 matches, or $600,000. A 10 province/country tournament would consist of 46 matches, or $920,000. The total cost of such a championship would therefore be either $1,800,000 or $2,120,000. Such a tournament would give the 18 best players in each province/country the opportunity to play with the best players in their province/country, against the best players from the other provinces/countries. Currently, these players compete for clubs, which might only include 2 or 3 of the best players of the province/country, thus playing with the best 18 players in the province/country would raising the overall standard of competition. By offering the financial incentives and taking care of their expenses, the CSA would allow players to invest more of their time pursuing a career in soccer and prevent a certain percentage of them from going aboard to see if they got what it takes. Such a structure would also provide a domestic pathway for players to feed into the national program. Such a structure would also prevent breaking up current leagues by taking out clubs for a national league, which have always failed to be successful in the past. The US functions on a budget of 2.4 million and thats the US. Your numbers would never work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 The US functions on a budget of 2.4 million and thats the US. Your numbers would never work. I'd double check your numbers. The US uses 2.4 million as toilet paper. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/post/us-soccer-federation-budget-revealed/2011/12/12/gIQA5lZCqO_blog.html Klinsmann alone makes $2.5 million per year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Because the provincial association divides in Canada already aren't enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlo_80 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I'd double check your numbers. The US uses 2.4 million as toilet paper. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/post/us-soccer-federation-budget-revealed/2011/12/12/gIQA5lZCqO_blog.html Klinsmann alone makes $2.5 million per year My bad. They have 2.2 invested but run at a 6 mil defecit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Because the provincial association divides in Canada already aren't enough? That's what I'm thinking too... you can't do it province by province. For that reason and for the fact that it will water down the talent. There should be 3 regions similar to the CHL model where CSA can appoint it's own leaders to each region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 My bad. They have 2.2 invested but run at a 6 mil defecit I think you misread the article. For clarity sake, the CSA runs an annual budget of $12 million. soccer.on.ca/download/CSA/CSA_Strategic_Plan_English.pdf The OSA alone has a budget of $9.8 million. I'm just curious as to where you got your original figure of $2.4 million for the USSF's budget. Maybe it was $24 million? Anyway, we are veering of topic here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Right. I don’t know how many Canadian soccer players there are that currently earn $50,000 or more per year with the 3 Canadian MLS and 2 Canadian NASL clubs combined, but wouldn’t the creation of 18 additional jobs for Canadian soccer players in this income range represent a significant increase? That increased percentage could even be perceived 10 times greater if one takes into consideration that there would be between 144 and 180 players competing for those $50,000 pay-cheques, in addition to the 18 $10,000 and 36 $5,000 pay-cheques. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 That's what I'm thinking too... you can't do it province by province. For that reason and for the fact that it will water down the talent. There should be 3 regions similar to the CHL model where CSA can appoint it's own leaders to each region. Is it not high time that national and provincial associations buried their hatchets for the common good of Canadian soccer? Would the proposed soccer structure enhance or diminish the quality of the current Canadian soccer structure? The line-up of every club representing a province at the Canadian Challenge Cup competition could be improved upon with the addition of star players who compete for other teams in that province. For example, in British Columbia the line-up of the 2012 Provincial Cup champion Surrey United Firefighters might possibly not include the best goalkeeper in that province. That player could be with Victoria’s Gorge FC, or the UBC Thunderbirds, or the Vancouver Whitecaps, or even with the U21 Port Moody Gunners. When a province/country team is playing for an $800,000 first-place prize, I’m pretty sure their coach would want to field the strongest line-up possible. For this reason I don’t see how anyone could argue that this proposed structure would divide or dilute the quality of the structure that is presently in place. It is a given that when you compete with and against better players you can only raise the standard of your own game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 There should be 3 regions similar to the CHL model where CSA can appoint it's own leaders to each region. A couple of thoughts on this would be firstly that within the CHL there are about 10 regional divisions from Victoria to Cape Breton, which is designed to limit the travel teams actually have to do across each of the three regions, and secondly in the absence of an entry draft which shifts players out of the larger cities into smaller communities most of the teams involved are probably going to be based within comfortable driving distance of Vancouver, Calgary/Edmonton, the Golden Horseshoe and Ottawa/Montreal. Initially, as has been suggested by Jason Devos recently, if the proposed U23 D3 setup gets off the ground, it's probably only going to be the four largest provincial associations that are involved with some national coordination in terms of sanctioning standards and determining an overall champion in a short end of season tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Is it not high time that national and provincial associations buried their hatchets for the common good of Canadian soccer? Would the proposed soccer structure enhance or diminish the quality of the current Canadian soccer structure? Amen brother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Naturally, the question of money will always command a large portion of any discussion regarding the establishment of a new competitive soccer structure. The issue of financing such a venture always has been, and will always continue to be, the greatest challenge that must to be overcome. Because money plays such important role in this objective, it might be wise to always keep in mind the second critical success factor of the KPMG report, which reads as follows: Long-term Financing Support – Whether at the team or league level, sufficient financial resources must be in place to ensure the stability of the league (and potential operating losses) over a period of at least five years from the date of commencement. Although the scope of the CSA’s request was limited to only examining the viability of a league structure, the KPMG recommendations may still serve as a useful tool for the proposed competitive structure that is being considered in this thread. I believe the primary cause that player development in Canada comes to a grinding halt around the age of 15 or 16 can directly be attributed to the fact that there is absolutely nothing for these players to play for beyond that age. Taking a look at some of the prestigious competitions that other Canadian sports manage to put on, one has to really question why the CSA, which boasts the largest number of registered players of any sport in Canada, has failed to come up with a showcase competition of its own. Tennis Canada somehow manages to find $X,000,000 in prize money for the men’s and women’s Canadian Open tournaments. Curling somehow manages to find $X,000,000 in prize money for the Brier and Tournament of Hearts. Golf somehow manages to find $X,000,000 in prize money for the men’s and women’s Canadian Open tournaments. The NHL, the CFL, the UFC, Alpine Canada (and the list of other sports goes on and on) all manage to reward their athletes very well financially, yet the countries most popular sport continues to trudge on as the last bastion of amateur sports. Why is the CSA unable to find the necessary prize money to organize a similar annual high-profile tournament, which no doubt would result in soccer being televised like all other Canadian sports, instead of having its national team matches streamed on the internet? What does the CSA intend to do with the recently secured piles of Canadian Tire Money? I don’t know how many Canadian soccer players are currently earning $50,000 or more per year with the 3 Canadian MLS and 2 Canadian NASL clubs combined, but wouldn’t the creation of 18 additional high-paying Canadian jobs represent a significant increase? That increased percentage could even be perceived as being 10 times greater if one takes into consideration that there would be between 144 and 180 players competing for the 18 $50,000 pay-cheques, in addition to the 18 $10,000 and 36 $5,000 pay-cheques. If the basic expenses for an 8 province/country competition are roughly estimated at around $1,800,000, and $2,120,000 for a 10 province/country competition, then would it not worth the trouble for the CSA to stage a primetime sporting event that not only stimulates long-term player development but also offers all kinds of opportunities to earn some much needed revenues for the CSA coffers from the following sources: 1) Gate-receipts: If an average attendance of 1,000 spectators can be attracted for each group matches at an average ticket price of $10 per person, each group matches would generate $10,000. The total of 24 group matches for an 8 province/country competition would thus generate $240,000, and the total of 40 group matches for a 10 province/country competition would thus generate $400,000. If an average attendance of 2,500 spectators can be attracted for each semi-final match at an average ticket price of $15 per person, each semi-final match would generate $37,500. The total of 4 semi-final matches would thus generate $150,000 for both the 8 and 10 province/country competitions. If an average attendance of 5,000 spectators can be generated for each final match at an average ticket price of $20 per person, each final match would generate $100,000. The total of 2 final matches would thus generate $100,000 for both the 8 and 10 province/country competitions. The total gate-receipts for an 8 province/country competition would generate $490,000. The total gate-receipts for a 10 province/country competition would generate $650,000. Other streams of revenue such as, 2) Television, Radio and Internet broadcast rights. 3) Sponsorship Revenue (i.e. the Canadian Tire Cup/Shield) 4) Advertising Revenue 5) CSA Entry & Registration Fees. 6) Other Sources. will have to generate a total of $1,310,000 for an 8 province/country competition to reach the breakeven point, and will have to generate a total of $1,470,000 for a 10 province/country competition to reach the breakeven point. The beauty of this proposed competitive structure is that it would give the CSA total control of every aspect, which in turn would satisfy the remaining three critical success factors of the KPMG report, which are: 1) Proponents – Each team must have the long-term support of a financially capable, qualified ownership management group. 2) Venues – The playing surfaces and surrounding spectator amenities (e.g., seating, concessions, parking) must be commensurate with a professional league. 3) Organization Structure – The league itself must be managed in a professional manner by individuals with directly relevant expertise and the absence of conflicts of interest. Here is the perfect opportunity to live up to all of the promises that were made to the Canadian soccer community in the following summary that was submitted to the CSA last year: http://www.canadasoccer.com/files/CSA_Vision_President_Montagliani_EN.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Different coaches, at different clubs, in different regional leagues, all have a different system of play they try to impart on their players. There is no single agreed upon Canadian system of play, which was so blatantly obvious for all to see as in Canada’s last international friendly against the United States. This match reminded me of when I was a kid growing up in Amsterdam and attending the annual Ajax open-to-all-comers try-outs at the “de Meer” soccer complex. Thousands of young boys would show up, wait their turn before getting sent on one of many fields with 21 strangers for a five minute audition. There was no system of play. What if the CSA were to inquire what Owen ********** plan’s are now that his competitive playing days are over? What if Owen plans to live in Calgary. What if Owen were interested in a coaching position? Is there a Canadian with greater and more successful international experience? Having played for Bayern Munich and Manchester United, under coaches like Alex Ferguson and Franz Beckenbauer, the two-time UEFA Champion’s League winner has also competed at the 2002 and 2006 World Cup Finals. He has played alongside such international greats as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Stefan Effenberg just to name a few. The list of players he has played against is equally if not more impressive. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of Owen’s past decision to play for England. If Owen is interested in a coaching position, his wealth of knowledge, skill and experience playing in some of the most successful systems of play by far outweigh the experience of someone like Colin Miller? So for argument’s sake, let’s say the CSA by some stroke of brilliant genius decide to hire a qualified national coach, who lives in Canada, Owen would be responsible for imparting his system of play to the 8 to 10 coach of the provincial/country teams. This would ensure a uniform system of play if any of these players were to be selected for the national team, instead of that chaotic mess we witnessed recently against the United States. (I find it interesting how Owen's surname, even when spelled correctly, appears as ********** once the thread is posted. Is there a reason for this? It seems to imply that I am one of those Voyageurs who still harbours a resentment against Owen, which I most definately do not.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Are you using DragonDictate or some other voice recognition app? Just curious. The chaotic mess was against the Danes. Against the USA we did exactly what we should be doing given our level of play. 4-5-1 bunker and counter. It worked and we got a draw. We pissed them off royally and but for a good save by their keeper on Dero's left foot shot we'd have laughed all the way home 1-0 winners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Are you using DragonDictate or some other voice recognition app? Just curious. The chaotic mess was against the Danes. Against the USA we did exactly what we should be doing given our level of play. 4-5-1 bunker and counter. It worked and we got a draw. We pissed them off royally and but for a good save by their keeper on Dero's left foot shot we'd have laughed all the way home 1-0 winners. Oh they're soooo ppppissed. Yeah, Canada is just as good as the United States. Right. Uhh hhuh! They will probably loose 9 to 1 in San Pedro Sula today. Are you using CrybabyDenile or some other emotion recognition app? Just curious. Dream on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Oh they're soooo ppppissed. Yeah, Canada is just as good as the United States. Right. Uhh hhuh! They will probably loose 9 to 1 in San Pedro Sula today. Are you using CrybabyDenile or some other emotion recognition app? Just curious. Dream on. ...and just in case anyone needed a reminder, this is why the only appropriate response to Robert is derision. BTW, Robert, you owe me $8,400.00 for pointing this out. You're also entitled to a free copy of my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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