Canadian Premier League

[Complete Homer]

5 minutes ago, maccaliam said:

Sorry if I've missed this point, but is it definitely TFC that wants in the league and the CSA are considering? Or could it just be MLSE as an owner? I ask because I was thinking MLSE might just want in to get a cut of the "Canadian version of SUM" that the CSA supposedly wants created for the league and its owners, without directly involving TFC. 

TFC itself is definitely not interested in joining. Bill Manning has publicly "mused" that TFC II or the L1O team could move over, which by all accounts outside of Larson has been thoroughly rejected (Dino Rossi, Totera, Rollins, Sandor). Larson still says that MLSE is confident that they will be allowed to participate, but in what form remains to be seen. It's been floated that MLSE would either have to launch an unrelated team in a non-Toronto market or become a silent investor in an established bid, neither of which seems particularly likely in my opinion. 

As for the SUM side, that might be a decent point, but in the short term I doubt there's any real money to be made. I think MLSE wants to be involved via a B team to ensure everyone knows that the CPL is inferior. 

[Mister215Guy]

1 minute ago, Complete Homer said:

As for the SUM side, that might be a decent point, but in the short term I doubt there's any real money to be made. I think MLSE wants to be involved via a B team to ensure everyone knows that the CPL is inferior. 

This is just MLS's inferiority complex. They're afraid CPL will surpass them in a few years so please no B teams from MLS. We're superior to them.

[maccaliam]

1 minute ago, Complete Homer said:

TFC itself is definitely not interested in joining. Bill Manning has publicly "mused" that TFC II or the L1O team could move over, which by all accounts outside of Larson has been thoroughly rejected (Dino Rossi, Totera, Rollins, Sandor). Larson still says that MLSE is confident that they will be allowed to participate, but in what form remains to be seen. It's been floated that MLSE would either have to launch an unrelated team in a non-Toronto market or become a silent investor in an established bid, neither of which seems particularly likely in my opinion. 

As for the SUM side, that might be a decent point, but in the short term I doubt there's any real money to be made. I think MLSE wants to be involved via a B team to ensure everyone knows that the CPL is inferior. 

I never meant TFC would leave MLS, it was more some form of TFC involvement (as you have mentioned). I wouldn't expect the Canadian SUM to make much immediately, but it is the long-game that they would be playing by CSUM slowly getting involved in a lot of other areas to make money for ownership to offset the (very likely) actual league and individual franchise losses (like MLS does). 

Just to be clear, this isn't something I'm expecting or pretending I've heard anywhere, just a thought which crossed my mind earlier this evening.

[Complete Homer]

13 minutes ago, maccaliam said:

I never meant TFC would leave MLS, it was more some form of TFC involvement (as you have mentioned). I wouldn't expect the Canadian SUM to make much immediately, but it is the long-game that they would be playing by CSUM slowly getting involved in a lot of other areas to make money for ownership to offset the (very likely) actual league and individual franchise losses (like MLS does). 

Just to be clear, this isn't something I'm expecting or pretending I've heard anywhere, just a thought which crossed my mind earlier this evening.

Yeah I was pretty sure that's what you meant, just covering my bases

The optimistic side of me thinks that MLSE wants in just to be part of the governance of C-SUM or whatever it will be called, as a way to have more influence in the way the sport is developed in Canada (which is fair, considering their contribution thus far), assuming that C-SUM ends up as joined to the hip to the CSA as SUM is to USSF. The cynical side of me thinks they want to be the Blue Jays or Raptors of MLS - the default franchise for English Canadians outside of BC - and want to be part of the governance of CPL to ensure it doesn't hinder their efforts to capture the market outside of their Toronto bubble

[Mister215Guy]

Why do you need the US or MLS for anything? No, the CPL should steer clear of ANY MLSE involvement. No joining the US pyramid neither. 

[Ansem]

Unrelated...

Seems like a Trump presidency just increased Canada's odd at hosting 2026.

Had to share on my third whisky/amaretto...in total disbelief lol

[Gopherbashi]

3 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Unrelated...

Seems like a Trump presidency just increased Canada's odd at hosting 2026.

Had to share on my third whisky/amaretto...in total disbelief lol

The signs were there for a Trump victory, and just as with Brexit, we collectively circlejerked ourselves into not seeing it.

However, I don't think the signs were there for that *big* of a Trump victory.  No one (Trump's campaign included) has any idea what the hell happened with Wisconsin, nor were they expecting to win Florida.

[TRM]

4 hours ago, Complete Homer said:

I think MLSE wants to be involved via a B team to ensure everyone knows that the CPL is inferior. 

That is an angle I hadn't thought of. Makes sense from TFC perspective.

[-Hammer-]

1 hour ago, Ansem said:

Unrelated...

Seems like a Trump presidency just increased Canada's odd at hosting 2026.

Had to share on my third whisky/amaretto...in total disbelief lol

I think it's about the make the Canadian MLS teams a bit more happier as our dollar is likely to go up and the US is likely to start tanking, which likely won't be good for MLS. I do wonder how this election may effect soccer in the US and if it will be of any benefit to us in Canada.

[matty]

1 minute ago, -Hammer- said:

I think it's about the make the Canadian MLS teams a bit more happier as our dollar is likely to go up and the US is likely to start tanking, which likely won't be good for MLS. I do wonder how this election may effect soccer in the US and if it will be of any benefit to us in Canada.

any good non-captied american players that are eligible for a canadian passport?

[Ansem]

6 hours ago, matty said:

any good non-captied american players that are eligible for a canadian passport?

All the Americans on TFC except Bradley and Altidore lol

But you got to like Canada's chances at hosting 2026 now, which would be excellent for CPL

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-united-states-2026-world-cup_us_575840aae4b0e39a28ac20d8

A Donald Trump presidency could have a negative impact on the United States’ efforts to host the 2026 World Cup, U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati told reporters Tuesday.

[matty]

Just now, Ansem said:

All the Americans on TFC except Bradley and Altidore lol

alright canada, change citizenship laws so we can get delgado, bono, hagglund and zavaleta (the demographics say target them) while they're possibly upset by the results of last night.

[toontownman]

Will Trump not be triggering a monumental recall policy obligating ex-pats or Americans abroad to return to the US? Once half the countries population has been deported they will need people to fill it. 

Maybe he visited Saskatchewan once and liked it. 

On the upside, everything in this post is likely never going to happen.

[Complete Homer]

If anything that happened last night has any relation to soccer, it's this:

1. The upcoming USA-Mexico game in Trump heavy Ohio is going to be scary. I hope they double security. 

2. Anti-american sentiment is rising at a time where they are trying to put on a friendly face for a WC bid, making a solo bid look less tenable IMO. If there was ever a time they needed to slap a friendly Canadian face on the ballot, it's probably now

[Ansem]

19 minutes ago, Complete Homer said:

If anything that happened last night has any relation to soccer, it's this:

1. The upcoming USA-Mexico game in Trump heavy Ohio is going to be scary. I hope they double security. 

2. Anti-american sentiment is rising at a time where they are trying to put on a friendly face for a WC bid, making a solo bid look less tenable IMO. If there was ever a time they needed to slap a friendly Canadian face on the ballot, it's probably now

The way I see it now, It's Canada's World Cup to lose. If we meet every criteria imposed by FIFA, we're favorite to win, so, CSA:

• no turf & no going cheap on stadiums
• CSA should host Gold Cup matches in 2017 and host the Gold Cup entire tournament in 2019
• Refuse any co-hosting requests from the USA. If they ask, it means they know they won't win the bid
• Make sure the 2026 Canada Team will be competitive and make it to the knockout stage

What would a 2026 Canada World Cup mean for Canadian Soccer and the Canadian Premier League?

I think we could speculate a bit until CPL gets announced. It's safe to say that Trump just got us closer to host the tournament. Let's say it's 2020 and FIFA just awarded Canada with the tournament, this is what I think (opinion)

2020-2026

• Explosion of subscription in soccer across the country
• Immediate national spotlight on Soccer and CPL
• CSA centralizing operation, the same way Hockey Canada took over Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1998 and overseeing everything. (Coaching, player development, training, academies, etc)
• Establishing a fully functioning CHL D3 for soccer
• Working with CPL Teams to establish a "AHL" D2 League, filling the gap
• Stadium renovation and expansion of existing stadiums fit to hold a WC match (BMO, Olympic Stadium, Rogers Centre, Tim Horton Field, Investors Group, Mosaic, Commonwealth, McMahon Stadium & BC Place)
• New Stadiums (Halifax, Quebec City, New Toronto Stadium, CalgaryNext?, Whitecaps New Stadium?)
• More deep pocket investors willing to build a stadium and seeking a franchise would trigger an expansion process (Phase I goal might be a minimum of 1 team per province except PEI) 10 to 12 teams post 2020
• Increase in attendance and viewership
• Increase in spending for CPL teams
• Better International players
• Increase of level of play and quality of domestic players
• CFL in decline...sorry guys.
• CPL becoming 3rd best league in term of level of play in CONCACAF (I think Costa Rica is #3 right now)
• Better National Team

Post 2026 successful World Cup

• CSA and CPL working to get total control of the big 3...ending MLS operations in Canada
• Expansion Phase II (Today's midsize markets like Kitchener will become big cities in 10+ years like Kitchener-Waterloo, capable of sustaining a CPL Team)... 16 to 20 teams (Avg of 2 per provinces except the Maritimes)
• National Team consistently beating CONCACAF nations except Mexico. Canada vs USA will be the new rivalry
• Top 5 Nation in CONCACAF
• CPL will be close or at MLS level
• Bid money DP from Europe will start looking at CPL

I know...I know...but one can dream!

[Complete Homer]

Eh, you have to factor in that between now and when the decision is made, the reactions will probably be blunted unless Trump really does go through with half of his ideas. I still think a 50/50 joint bid is best case scenario, not because I want it, but because an expanded world cup would require too much investment on our part and there's too much money to be made in the USA. 

Anyway, back to CPL  I love the vision you put out but I'd rather focus on ensuring this thing survives before imagining the entire sports landscape of the country being overhauled in a decade 

[Kent]

1 hour ago, Ansem said:

CFL in decline...sorry guys.

Such an optimistic dream you have for the CPL, but I'm not sure why you felt the need to randomly throw this into it. You didn't even tie it together with how that would affect the CPL.

I don't really pay attention to the CFL, but I think little comments like this are just like the people that comment on soccer articles to voice their opinion that soccer sucks and nobody likes it, reporters should stick to talking about hockey.

If however you said something like the decline of the CFL led to teams folding and gave the soccer teams using CFL stadiums the ability to put in grass and forever get rid of football lines or something, then at least it wouldn't be a random potshot.

[Gopherbashi]

I think Trump's impact on this is being severely overestimated.  The decision's not being made until 2018 - Trump will become the new normal long before then.

[matty]

5 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

I think Trump's impact on this is being severely overestimated.  The decision's not being made until 2018 - Trump will become the new normal long before then.

plenty of time for him to piss everyone off

[Complete Homer]

1 hour ago, Gopherbashi said:

I think Trump's impact on this is being severely overestimated.  The decision's not being made until 2018 - Trump will become the new normal long before then.

Assuming he doesn't make the next 4 years one collosal disaster after another 

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Even if he does they can always decide to give it to Mexico to show solidarity over the wall that may or may not (I strongly suspect the latter) have been built by then. When Blatter was still in charge the CSA may have had the inside track to a certain extent, because the USSF were annoyed enough about how 2018 and 2022 were awarded to sit out the next bidding process over it and they had just hosted a successful women's world cup and were aligned with Traffic Sports, but now FIFA's general membership will probably just follow the money in terms of the most overall projected revenues Trump or no Trump.

[-Hammer-]

21 hours ago, Kent said:

Such an optimistic dream you have for the CPL, but I'm not sure why you felt the need to randomly throw this into it. You didn't even tie it together with how that would affect the CPL.

I don't really pay attention to the CFL, but I think little comments like this are just like the people that comment on soccer articles to voice their opinion that soccer sucks and nobody likes it, reporters should stick to talking about hockey.

If however you said something like the decline of the CFL led to teams folding and gave the soccer teams using CFL stadiums the ability to put in grass and forever get rid of football lines or something, then at least it wouldn't be a random potshot.

According to some, the CFL has been in decline for the last 40 years, yet somehow it still is around and healthy. The CFL is in decline in Toronto and possibly Vancouver. Every franchise in the league is drawing over 20,000 a game on average, and if you take Toronto out of the equation the league is drawing over 25,000 a game with many sellouts in Hamilton, Ottawa and Saskatchewan plus Edmonton consistently drawing 30,000 in the massive Commonwealth stadium.

I for one hope that this success means these owners start their own soccer franchises.

[Pqhbv]

I agree that a healthy CFL and CPL can certainly coexist. I'm partial to all things Canadian though so its kind of moot. I think since that Will Smith movie gridiron, in general, has been slowly on a decline.

[Macksam]

3 hours ago, Pqhbv said:

I agree that a healthy CFL and CPL can certainly coexist. I'm partial to all things Canadian though so its kind of moot. I think since that Will Smith movie gridiron, in general, has been slowly on a decline.

I saw that one. Yeah, like the doctor, who he portrayed, said in the film, "human beings are not meant to play football."

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

13 hours ago, Pqhbv said:

I agree that a healthy CFL and CPL can certainly coexist. I'm partial to all things Canadian though so its kind of moot. I think since that Will Smith movie gridiron, in general, has been slowly on a decline.

The main problem that the CFL faces is that it skews towards older age groups of 50+ in terms of the people that are still interested in it. In the short term that helps on TV ratings as that demographic is not cord cutting and moving away from watching TV in general like younger people are, but twenty years from now...

There is a conspiracy theory amongst some (mainly on another forum) that the reason some of the CFL owners might want to get into pro soccer (at a minimum OSEG already have a team and Bob Young definitely appears to want to join them) is that they see which way the wind is blowing and want to be in position to take advantage of the sport that will be growing in the years ahead, if the CFL starts to go south in a big way.

Not convinced by that. Think they wanted to cash in on WC 2026 infrastructure money and interest probably cooled considerably when that became more of a long shot, which is why there have been very few rumours or reports about Calgary being on the brink of fielding a team unlike two or three years ago.