Paul Beirne latest interview

[Under The Cosh Blog]

Hi all,

We had the chance to sit down with Paul Beirne last night and discuss all things Canadian Premier League and we're excited to share this with you. Hope you enjoy the interview/discussion!

https://underthecoshblog.com/2017/06/06/coshcast-paul-beirne-goes-under-the-cosh/

[Rheo]

Way to get me to leave work and download the pod on my lunch lol

[Rheo]

Half way through but there's a lot to go through in this, all good.  Not much in the way of specifics (go figure lol) but lots of big picture stuff.  Probably going to have to listen to it again.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

edited highlights:

Halifax may wind up being the only team with grass

English Premiership interest: comment that foreign ownership has not come up yet suggests there probably wasn't much to that particular rumour

MLS engagement: will find a way to work with them as many of their core interests are the same but will be nobody's development league so doesn't expect TFC II to be involved

CONCACAF: will ask for a second Champions League place for the CPL winner and will compete with the MLS teams in the Voyageurs Cup for the other one

start with 6 or 7 teams

Mississauga: not on board yet but hopefully eventually

Ottawa and Edmonton: want the Fury and FC Edmonton to join but that's a decision they have to arrive at themselves

foreign players: there will be a cap on the number of foreign players per roster with 10 out of 25 used as a general idea of what could happen initially with it possibly dopping later to 8 then 5

TFC, Impact and Whitecaps joining eventually: want to keep things modest and to have a league where a market size of 200,000 is viable

[Levi Oakey]

3 hours ago, Under The Cosh Blog said:

Hi all,

We had the chance to sit down with Paul Beirne last night and discuss all things Canadian Premier League and we're excited to share this with you. Hope you enjoy the interview/discussion!

https://underthecoshblog.com/2017/06/06/coshcast-paul-beirne-goes-under-the-cosh/

Great podcast! Hadn't heard it before but you guys do a fantastic job.

[Rheo]

33 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

English Premiership interest: comment that foreign ownership has not come up yet suggests there probably wasn't much to that particular rumour

Good recap sir. 

Only things I'd add

-Women's league is on the table but not anytime soon.  Believe that once they get CPL established they can focus on that but can't do both at once.

-Lots of work being done quietly in other markets with municipal governments.  That's why Halifax has had so much news out there

-Average of $20 tickets is the ideal sweet spot but range of $10-30 but will vary according to market

-Open to being a test league for new FIFA initiatives

Just what I found interesting that BBTB didn't cover.  But recommended listening for sure.  Just wish I had known about the pod sooner

[Ansem]

4 hours ago, Under The Cosh Blog said:

Hi all,

We had the chance to sit down with Paul Beirne last night and discuss all things Canadian Premier League and we're excited to share this with you. Hope you enjoy the interview/discussion!

https://underthecoshblog.com/2017/06/06/coshcast-paul-beirne-goes-under-the-cosh/

Great point from Beirne. Even back in the CSL era, Canada still had the right demographics for the league to be successful. Modifying a well know quote from Vince McMahon:

• CSL screwed CSL

[Under The Cosh Blog]

55 minutes ago, Levi Oakey said:

Great podcast! Hadn't heard it before but you guys do a fantastic job.

Thank you very much - glad you enjoyed it!

[Under The Cosh Blog]

Thank you all for your summaries and kind words - much appreciated. Full disclosure - this is the first major piece of CPL content we've done so far - our site and podcast do cover a lot of European and TFC content - but we intend on covering CPL news as the league develops and making it a regular feature. We'd also love to hear from individual fans and supporters' groups regarding hopes, expectations, concerns. Exciting times!

[-Hammer-]

I'd be pretty damned happy is we got a second berth. I doubt it will happen until the league is shown to be stable, but I am a huge fan of the CPL getting a second method of getting into the CONCAAF champion's league. That is a solid reason for FC Edmonton or Ottawa Fury to jump ship and greatly increase their chances of making it to the champion's league.

[Gopherbashi]

14 minutes ago, -Hammer- said:

I'd be pretty damned happy is we got a second berth. I doubt it will happen until the league is shown to be stable, but I am a huge fan of the CPL getting a second method of getting into the CONCAAF champion's league. That is a solid reason for FC Edmonton or Ottawa Fury to jump ship and greatly increase their chances of making it to the champion's league.

I half expect that the 32nd spot in the CCL reserved for the CONCACAF League winner will eventually be replaced by a CPL spot.

[-Hammer-]

1 minute ago, Gopherbashi said:

I half expect that the 32nd spot in the CCL reserved for the CONCACAF League winner will eventually be replaced by a CPL spot.

Yeah, the problem is the optics of it. Suddenly Uncle Vic is president and magically Canada gets two berths. I can see a lot of nations calling foul, and understandably so, if the league isn't well established.

[dyslexic nam]

3 minutes ago, -Hammer- said:

Yeah, the problem is the optics of it. Suddenly Uncle Vic is president and magically Canada gets two berths. I can see a lot of nations calling foul, and understandably so, if the league isn't well established.

After the massive Warner clusterfuck that was tolerated for so long, as well as the known FIFA corruption, a very minor bit of Canadian homerism for a new league (in a global organization committed to growing the game) would be a pretty minor footnote.  If that was the biggest accusation you could pin on Vic at the end of his tenure, he will have done well.

[Gopherbashi]

3 minutes ago, -Hammer- said:

Yeah, the problem is the optics of it. Suddenly Uncle Vic is president and magically Canada gets two berths. I can see a lot of nations calling foul, and understandably so, if the league isn't well established.

Oh yes, the optics would be absolutely atrocious, and that's why I only half-expect it.

Realistically, the only way it could happen is if the whole concept included a "this spot goes to Canada when a league emerges" caveat from the start.  If it's added after the fact, it would be too politically unpopular to consider.

[Rheo]

33 minutes ago, Under The Cosh Blog said:

Thank you all for your summaries and kind words - much appreciated. Full disclosure - this is the first major piece of CPL content we've done so far - our site and podcast do cover a lot of European and TFC content - but we intend on covering CPL news as the league develops and making it a regular feature. We'd also love to hear from individual fans and supporters' groups regarding hopes, expectations, concerns. Exciting times!

That's fine, I'm a TFC fan so it's good for me. 

[Rheo]

8 minutes ago, -Hammer- said:

Yeah, the problem is the optics of it. Suddenly Uncle Vic is president and magically Canada gets two berths. I can see a lot of nations calling foul, and understandably so, if the league isn't well established.

I would like to think not.  If we have a league than the champion being given a spot isn't out of line, alongside the previous spot for the V Cup champ.

[yellowsweatygorilla]

Another option is to get a spot in the CONCACAF League instead. The CPL team would have to win that league in order to qualify for Champions League. The only issue is that I don't know if teams would be too happy with the extra travel costs, having to visit Canada when all the teams are from Central America and Caribbean.

[Gopherbashi]

6 minutes ago, yellowsweatygorilla said:

Another option is to get a spot in the CONCACAF League instead. The CPL team would have to win that league in order to qualify for Champions League. The only issue is that I don't know if teams would be too happy with the extra travel costs, having to visit Canada when all the teams are from Central America and Caribbean.

For some reason I thought that Central America got 2 entries each into the CCL now, but since they only get 1 each, Canada having a second spot is fairly unlikely.

[-Hammer-]

1 minute ago, Gopherbashi said:

For some reason I thought that Central America got 2 entries each into the CCL now, but since they only get 1 each, Canada having a second spot is fairly unlikely.

For some reason, I thought so too...but it appears I am mistaken. I could has sworn Costa Rica got 2, but I guess not. Maybe they consistently won the CONCAAF League?

According to our glorious Wikipedia, Belize and Nicaragua don't even get a berth of their own. I believe the CONCACAF league is the only method for them to get in. So yeah, suddenly giving 2 to Canada, with only 1.5 spots going to the entire 31 member Caribbean and 6.5 for Central America's 7 teams, seems more then a bit unfair unless the tournament expands, which I think is the right route to take.

[Ansem]

37 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

For some reason I thought that Central America got 2 entries each into the CCL now, but since they only get 1 each, Canada having a second spot is fairly unlikely.

According to this:

Central America

• sends 12 teams from 6 countries (2 each) in phase I
• Sends extra 5 teams (Top club in each domestic leagues) from the same countries except Nicaragua straight to phase II
• They send a total of 17 teams in all phases (3 overall per countries except Nicaragua)

Belize (1 team) in Phase I

Caribbean

• 3 teams from the CFU tournament in Phase I
• CFU Champion in Phase II
• Total of 4 teams in all phases

1-In the end, a Caribbean club will get cut. The question is where?

• Replace the CFU Champion in Phase II by CPL Champion?
• Cut a Caribbean team from Phase I?

2-If you leave the CFU champion in Phase II and decide to put 1 Canadian spot in Phase I, which one will the CSA pick? Canadian Championship or CPL Champion? ohhhh drama...

It is my understanding that if CONCACAF grants an extra spot to Canada, only the CSA decides how it allocates those spots. I'm praying Canada gets both spots in Phase II, I'd hate having to be the guy having to pick which "champion" goes in which phase...Logically, it should be CPL based on the number of games played to earn that spot. I see arguments from both sides...

• Games played in MLS by Canadian clubs don't count, so MLS clubs would have to fight to be in phase II having played less games towards that privilege than a CPL club playing all season + V Cup to earn the privilege...
•  This debate might require it's own threads!

 

 

[Gopherbashi]

I imagine that the CPL would get a phase 1 birth and VCup winner would stay in phase 2.  I know we can talk about prestige and all that, but I don't see an MLS team's only point of entry being in phase 1.

[Ansem]

4 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

I imagine that the CPL would get a phase 1 birth and VCup winner would stay in phase 2.  I know we can talk about prestige and all that, but I don't see an MLS team's only point of entry being in phase 1.

But my point still stands, CPL clubs plays more matches to earn said privilege than MLS Canadian clubs as their matches in MLS don't count.

Trust me, I hope it's both in Phase II. Caribbean Clubs should all be in phase I and I hope that's what ends up happening.

[Macksam]

1 hour ago, Rheo said:

Good recap sir. 

Only things I'd add

-Women's league is on the table but not anytime soon.  Believe that once they get CPL established they can focus on that but can't do both at once.

-Lots of work being done quietly in other markets with municipal governments.  That's why Halifax has had so much news out there

-Average of $20 tickets is the ideal sweet spot but range of $10-30 but will vary according to market

-Open to being a test league for new FIFA initiatives

Just what I found interesting that BBTB didn't cover.  But recommended listening for sure.  Just wish I had known about the pod sooner

The thing that puts everything into perspective is when Paul said its important to build the league's foundation, they are looking at this from an angle of what it's going to look like term, building something for the next 100 years. I also like how he mentioned the league 20 years from now is going to be different than the league starting next year.

I think we'll see this kind of trajectory:

CPL version 1.0: A mix of clubs starting in CFL stadiums or 6000 to 10000 seat pop ups (years 1 to 10)

CPL version 2.0: Successful pop up based clubs building permanent  12000 to 20000 seat SSSs (years 10 to 15)

CPL version 3.0: New clubs have to build a 15000 seat plus SSS and have 10000 season ticket deposits (years 15 to 20)

[Gopherbashi]

49 minutes ago, Macksam said:

I think we'll see this kind of trajectory:

CPL version 1.0: A mix of clubs starting in CFL stadiums or 6000 to 10000 seat pop ups (years 1 to 10)

CPL version 2.0: Successful pop up based clubs building permanent  12000 to 20000 seat SSSs (years 10 to 15)

CPL version 3.0: New clubs have to build a 15000 seat plus SSS and have 10000 season ticket deposits (years 15 to 20)

One of the most grounded optimistic posts I've seen here in a while.

It's easy to forget that MLS had to go through MLS 1.0 before getting to MLS 2.0.

[Macksam]

15 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

One of the most grounded optimistic posts I've seen here in a while.

It's easy to forget that MLS had to go through MLS 1.0 before getting to MLS 2.0.

No doubt about that. If we can take one thing from MLS' trajectory, this would be it. However, I think our version 1.0, while it will be of a smaller scale, it will hit the ground running even better and avoid all the bad decisions MLS made in its early years.