NASL Commish: "If Canadian teams wanted to leave NASL for a new domestic league, we’d wish them well”

[shermanator]

Couldn't find a general NASL thread so I figured I'd start a new one. As reported by Steven Sandor, some interesting comments made by NASL Commissioner Brent Peterson on a media call this morning about the potential Canadian Premier League and how it would affect Canadian NASL clubs.

“We’re in the same boat; we’re curious to see what comes forward… There’s a lot of discussion, not a lot of direction.”

But, at face value, it looks as though NASL will not put up a fight if the Canadian teams choose to leave for a new national league. And that’s a fairly major concession; Peterson said the league wants to do what’s best for the Canadian Soccer Association, and considers the CSA a great partner.

If Canadian teams wanted to leave NASL for a new domestic league, “we’d wish them well”

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Here's the url:

http://the11.ca/2016/03/22/peterson-if-canadian-teams-wanted-to-leave-nasl-for-a-new-domestic-league-wed-wish-them-well/

The way the whole article reads Peterson isn't clear what if anything is happening on a CPL.

[MLDBanks]

I know that FC Edmonton;s owner is not keen, at all, on leaving NASL as they have put so much in to it financially.  Ottawa, on the other hand, I think could be a much easier sway.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Despite NASL not counting Canadians as domestic on their US teams like just like MLS, Peterson has always been friendlier and not douchey like Don Garber.

I could seen him working with the CSA to change the rules to allow more Canadians on US teams. A Canadian league wouldn't be a step up over NASL anyways.

[-Hammer-]

To be fair, this is a long haul play on Peterson's part.

Lets say the CPL fails. Peterson can then cherry pick any remaining teams who are still stable and welcome them back to the NASL with open arms. He can also try to send a couple of his existing franchises over and run the NASL North idea that was kicked around.

Lets say the CPL succeeds. If it's succeeded, it's pretty much kicked MLS in the sack in Canada and put pressure on their teams to jump ship. You have a whole whack of teams to play friendlies against. You've effectively shed your biggest travel expense in FC Edmonton (if they do ever jump ship) and the only thing you've lost is Ottawa, which..yeah that's not a small loss.

That's just my two cents. It just strikes me that NASL wants to remain more fluid and less tightly controlled because it wants to seem to offer more authentic soccer, where the clubs, not the league takes the centre stage.

[baulderdash77]

I think it's a very mature point of view he's taking.  I agree with Hammer as well; he's taking the long view on it in case the CPL doesn't work out.

Peterson in general has always been a professional when it comes to Canadian soccer.  

[Bison44]

He cant really be much of a hard ass with a potential CPL when his NASL roster is so fluid, teams in, teams out every year.  He can take the high road, potentially let Edmonton and Ottawa go, and if it fails, maybe get them back plus Calgary and Hamilton.  

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Think people are overlooking the possibility that he thinks he can say this with no damage to his league, because nothing concrete is actually going to happen.

[mpg_29]

I don't see how you start a successful Canadian League without getting Ottawa and Edmonton joining.  Canada only has so many cities and our three biggest are already gone so-to-speak.

 

[-Hammer-]

I think the more important question is, you as a fan of an existing NASL franchise. Do you feel a move to the CPL is a good thing, or a bad thing for your team?

[TRM]

On March 23, 2016 at 8:57 PM, -Hammer- said:

 

Lets say the CPL succeeds. If it's succeeded, it's pretty much kicked MLS in the sack in Canada and put pressure on their teams to jump ship. 

This is the type of nonsense that makes me laugh. If it ever actually exists, if it survives for five years, if it gets the two existing NASL teams to join it will still have D2 status and nothing to offer the three MLS teams. Who is going to cover their $35 million (caps & impact) franchise fee? Or even TFC's $10 million?

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Think the three MLS franchises at a minimum would want the current market value of an MLS franchise rather than what they paid to get in. Having the three MLS franchises pretty much killed off the prospects for a D1 Canadian league, but not the need for a CSA president to be seen to keep the dream alive, so noone can use it to campaign against him and take his job. Montagliani's post is up for reelection next month, so that might explain the comments about formulating a business plan and announcing something at the end of the year.

[TRM]

Except as others have noted you can't sell your franchise for what you paid for it as long as MLS is expanding and selling more franchises.

Add to that the fact that the owners of the three Canadian MLS teams share in the wealth from the new franchise sales and what possible reason could they have to jump ship?

[-Hammer-]

14 hours ago, TRM said:

Except as others have noted you can't sell your franchise for what you paid for it as long as MLS is expanding and selling more franchises.

Add to that the fact that the owners of the three Canadian MLS teams share in the wealth from the new franchise sales and what possible reason could they have to jump ship?

MLS ratings continue to stagnate, the potential to find CPL ratings that while not as high in total, can potentially offer a larger peice of pie for said team due to fewer teams present. Fan desire (espically in Montreal where MLS games don't draw anywhere near as well as Champion's League games) showing more of a vested rivalries against fellow Canadians and other local teams. Lacklustre gates and cash flow requiring it. Pressure to engage in a balanced scheduale across the board, which becomes harder and harder the more teams enter MLS. Pressure from a much stronger posistioned CSA risking desanctioning in Champion's league competition due to apparent lack of Canadian development. CONCAAF and FIFA listening to Mexico's objections over the lack of Canadian content in MLS teams who make it to the champion's league. MLS seeking more lucrative US markets and television deals, desireing the Canadian franchises rellocated, much like the NHL has in the past when our dollar has struggled and team revenues go down. The prospect of promotion and relegation being enforced by FIFA and actually occuring. Any combination of the above factors.

That said, will fully agree that it's a large list of ifs and buts to reach that point, and this would likely be decades down the road even then.

[Pqhbv]

When the CPL starts up, and we get regional D3's in a few other provinces, soccer will be really healthy as a sport here. Who know what could happen in 2 decades in the landscape as a whole. IMHO our D3 in Ontario and Quebec is much healthier and more promising than the entry level to pro we see in the USA right now. In those two provinces we have 21 teams for ~21million people as of today and more to come in the next year; that's a far better ratio than our neighbours. Even if you include PDL (which we also have a of) & NPSL as their entry level we still have a better ratio. Time is our friend in the end, and everything the CSA has been doing in the last few years is going in the right direction at least.

[Macksam]

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 4:00 AM, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Think the three MLS franchises at a minimum would want the current market value of an MLS franchise rather than what they paid to get in. Having the three MLS franchises pretty much killed off the prospects for a D1 Canadian league, but not the need for a CSA president to be seen to keep the dream alive, so noone can use it to campaign against him and take his job. Montagliani's post is up for reelection next month, so that might explain the comments about formulating a business plan and announcing something at the end of the year.

You read way too much into things.