League 1 Alberta/Prairies

[Bison44]

But wouldnt it be better if it was all under the comforting umbrella of USSF??  Asking for a feathery friend.  

[Kingston]

18 hours ago, Obinna said:

Happy to hear League 1 Praries/Central is seemingly going to be scrapped for the League 1 Alberta concept. I really believe the Wild Rose province can go it alone. The travel would be managable and the population can support it. Furthermore, the population seems to be ever-growing, so things should get easier with time, not more difficult. 

The question of Saskatchwean and Manitoba remains, but in due course it will be sorted out I am sure. 

Lethbridge to Edmonton is about 5.5 hours driving.  That's very similar to the maximum Windsor-Peterborough trip in L1O.

Along that strip in Alberta are Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton.  Three teams for each of the two large cities and one in each of the smaller two and you've got an eight team league.  Seems doable.

The problem with adding Saskatchewan and Manitoba is you add all that distance but only three cities.

[Obinna]

18 minutes ago, Kingston said:

Lethbridge to Edmonton is about 5.5 hours driving.  That's very similar to the maximum Windsor-Peterborough trip in L1O.

Along that strip in Alberta are Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton.  Three teams for each of the two large cities and one in each of the smaller two and you've got an eight team league.  Seems doable.

The problem with adding Saskatchewan and Manitoba is you add all that distance but only three cities.

That's right. Sorry my Prairie brethren @Bison44, adding Saskatchewan and Manitoba would make things way harder than necessary from day 1. League 1 Canada is a challenging concept in general, so the easier we make it at the beginning, the better.

AMSL has been working for years with a Lethbridge to Edmonton maximum trip. League 1 Alberta should as well. 

This is where I would typically say that Saskatchewan/Manitoba should work together and forget any ideas about Alberta or Thunder Bay but on this occasion, I am inclined to suggest that each province should do things on their own. 

For Manitoba, this would amount to a city league in Winnipeg, with possibly a team out in Brandon. This would mimic the MMSL and thus travel distance wouldn't be a problem. That's huge. Some may say the population isn't big enough to have a proper league, but maybe that's not the best way to look at it. The quality of an 8 team Manitoba League 1 would be relatively watered down in terms of talent, sure, but talent can also be developed - just look at Iceland. Manitoba should start the league first, get that infrastructure in place, and then do their darndest to improve the level of it. 

All of this would/should apply to Saskatchewan too, basically. 

[Soccerpro2]

4 hours ago, Kingston said:

Lethbridge to Edmonton is about 5.5 hours driving.  That's very similar to the maximum Windsor-Peterborough trip in L1O.

Along that strip in Alberta are Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton.  Three teams for each of the two large cities and one in each of the smaller two and you've got an eight team league.  Seems doable.

The problem with adding Saskatchewan and Manitoba is you add all that distance but only three cities.

Red Deer won't ever have a team.

3 in Calgary and 3 in Edmonton for 6 teams would be a viable league to begin with.

[Soccerpro2]

4 hours ago, Obinna said:

That's right. Sorry my Prairie brethren @Bison44, adding Saskatchewan and Manitoba would make things way harder than necessary from day 1. League 1 Canada is a challenging concept in general, so the easier we make it at the beginning, the better.

AMSL has been working for years with a Lethbridge to Edmonton maximum trip. League 1 Alberta should as well. 

This is where I would typically say that Saskatchewan/Manitoba should work together and forget any ideas about Alberta or Thunder Bay but on this occasion, I am inclined to suggest that each province should do things on their own. 

For Manitoba, this would amount to a city league in Winnipeg, with possibly a team out in Brandon. This would mimic the MMSL and thus travel distance wouldn't be a problem. That's huge. Some may say the population isn't big enough to have a proper league, but maybe that's not the best way to look at it. The quality of an 8 team Manitoba League 1 would be relatively watered down in terms of talent, sure, but talent can also be developed - just look at Iceland. Manitoba should start the league first, get that infrastructure in place, and then do their darndest to improve the level of it. 

All of this would/should apply to Saskatchewan too, basically. 

I don't think you'll ever see a Mb/Sk League 1.

Winnipeg MMSL teams would have no interest in driving all the way to SK for what they perceive to be lower competition.

It's a bit like the old Maritime League. Halifax teams got tired of the travel real quick.

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 1/20/2023 at 4:40 AM, Obinna said:

Happy to hear League 1 Praries/Central is seemingly going to be scrapped for the League 1 Alberta concept. I really believe the Wild Rose province can go it alone. The travel would be managable and the population can support it. Furthermore, the population seems to be ever-growing, so things should get easier with time, not more difficult. 

The question of Saskatchwean and Manitoba remains, but in due course it will be sorted out I am sure. 

I think most imagine a Prairies league as a way for clubs from all three provinces to be involved. The L1 model would thus be extended to most of the country, the Maritimes pending. It also is a way to compensate a "lack" of clubs strong enough to make League 1 work in Alberta alone. 

But as the article indicates, sanctioning is one problem--it is easier to get sanctioning from a single provincial SA. Just on an organisational level, it is neat. Then, you automatically limit travel concerns, as the longest drive in Alberta would be basically 5 hours (Lethbridge-Edmonton). That is long, but it is not like massive day long trips to Winnipeg--assuming flying is out. 

If you look at the geography, it is true that an Alberta-Saskatchewan league could work, though you'd be looking at up to 7.5 hours by road. 

 

[Watchmen]

Winnipeg-Regina is also about a 5 hour drive (per Google. I've never done it). That makes me wonder if a joint L1 between Sk and MB is possible on a limited basis. As in, there's a east/west conferences with just some inter conference play between the two provinces. Not fully home and away, but enough to create a variety of play.

[Bison44]

18 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

Winnipeg-Regina is also about a 5 hour drive (per Google. I've never done it). That makes me wonder if a joint L1 between Sk and MB is possible on a limited basis. As in, there's a east/west conferences with just some inter conference play between the two provinces. Not fully home and away, but enough to create a variety of play.

WPG to Regina is closer to 6, but thats not the problem, Saskatoon would be a big part of any SK delegation, that's over 8 hrs from WPG, damn near the same distance as Edmonton to Regina.  So maybe a AB/SK league makes more sense than a MB/SK league..and WPG just gets left out eh??   Dont ever let some smart ass Euro snob tell you that geography isnt or shouldnt be a problem.  

[Obinna]

23 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

Winnipeg-Regina is also about a 5 hour drive (per Google. I've never done it). That makes me wonder if a joint L1 between Sk and MB is possible on a limited basis. As in, there's a east/west conferences with just some inter conference play between the two provinces. Not fully home and away, but enough to create a variety of play.

Again though, what is the advantage of joining forces? More teams? Well, doesn't have to be that way. You can have any number of teams you want. It's about the talent pool. Talent can be developed, though. @Unnamed Trialist made a great point about keeping the organization "neat" with a single province model. 

None of this is to say it couldn't work. Winnipeg-Regina is the same travel as Edmonton-Lethbridge. Is it any worse than Kamloops-Vancouver Island? It's workable for sure. Is it ideal? I am not sure. I am starting to think each province (at least in the prairies) should go it alone.

The only region it may be worth it to combine are the Maritimes, but as @Soccerpro2 points out, the Halifax teams never liked the travel in the old Maritimes league, so even there a NSSL model may be better. The only reasons why I am more optimistic about a Maritimes than a Prairies league is because the travel technically isn't as bad and it would have the League 1 Canada brand behind it, presumably with some semi-pro-opportunities. 

[Obinna]

4 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

WPG to Regina is closer to 6, but thats not the problem, Saskatoon would be a big part of any SK delegation, that's over 8 hrs from WPG, damn near the same distance as Edmonton to Regina.  So maybe a AB/SK league makes more sense than a MB/SK league..and WPG just gets left out eh??   Dont ever let some smart ass Euro snob tell you that geography isnt or shouldnt be a problem.  

I agree with this, but at the same time an Alberta league makes more sense than an AB/SK league, so that's the problem for Saskatchewan, unfortunately. 

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Bison44 said:

WPG to Regina is closer to 6, but thats not the problem, Saskatoon would be a big part of any SK delegation, that's over 8 hrs from WPG, damn near the same distance as Edmonton to Regina.  So maybe a AB/SK league makes more sense than a MB/SK league..and WPG just gets left out eh??   Dont ever let some smart ass Euro snob tell you that geography isnt or shouldnt be a problem.  

Oh yeah, to be clear I'm mostly thinking of it as almost two separate leagues with one or two weekends of overlap/travel each season. Not regular travel between them, but enough to get the number of active teams a bit higher. Because I don't think 6 is really a league (like the 1 in Brandon and 5 in Winnipeg) is really a viable possibility.

[brianjc]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

Again though, what is the advantage of joining forces? More teams? Well, doesn't have to be that way. You can have any number of teams you want. It's about the talent pool. Talent can be developed, though. @Unnamed Trialist made a great point about keeping the organization "neat" with a single province model. 

None of this is to say it couldn't work. Winnipeg-Regina is the same travel as Edmonton-Lethbridge. Is it any worse than Kamloops-Vancouver Island? It's workable for sure. Is it ideal? I am not sure. I am starting to think each province (at least in the prairies) should go it alone.

The only region it may be worth it to combine are the Maritimes, but as @Soccerpro2 points out, the Halifax teams never liked the travel in the old Maritimes league, so even there a NSSL model may be better. The only reasons why I am more optimistic about a Maritimes than a Prairies league is because the travel technically isn't as bad and it would have the League 1 Canada brand behind it, presumably with some semi-pro-opportunities. 

The only 2 scenarios that might work for the Maritimes are :

League 1 Atlantic with a New Brunswick/PEI division and a Nova Scotia division play your teams home and away within your division and only once in the other division (maybe meeting in Truro, NS to avoid long cross border travel for some games)  OR

The creation of a HFX Wanderers U-23 team that could be an "Atlantic Selects" team to play in either Moncton or PEI.  this select team could recruit from the U-Sports and provincial leagues (NSSL and NBPSL).

Re Prairies league.   Alberta on its own is viable to have a league 1.  For MB/SK you would have to have Regina, Saskatoon, Regina, FC Manitoba and Thunder Bay chill to make a Central League 1 and would it be worth it for the Manitoba and Thunder Bay teams to leave USL 2 for this League 1??

[Unnamed Trialist]

I dislike speculation on CPL teams, but like this debate.

As @Obinnasays, you can have a smaller league, fine. The important thing is to have provincial leagues, each SA is running one, you respect the territorial organisation of Canadian soccer. Get a winner for each, take them to the national L1 tournament. If you can do men and women, like in BC where all teams have both, even better.

I don't know why I was obsessed about having more teams--you could have 5 and play three times. Balance out the home and aways the next season. You could have 4, and play each rival 4 times, 12 game league. 

But I appreciate the logic and I think I was wrong to think otherwise. Even if it is a smaller L1, still, those 4-5 teams focus the talent pool in that province over that summer season, they play each other more, it's like a "combine" to use that poor MLS term. Want to see the best amateurs in Manitoba, there you are. Smaller league in a population with less population, grow the league if you can, and if you have more clubs ready, go to tiers like in Ontario (so attractive, I am so glad they are doing that).

If we look at PDL travel, it's insane. What Chill have been doing for years, it's outrageous, 12-14 hour trips. I don't think that is sustainable, and would prefer for Canadian L1s to avoid that. Half that is bad enough, 6-7, but at least it's equivalent to a YVR-YYZ flight, total time in transit. 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist

[Kent]

Regarding league size, PLSQ was the following sizes.

2012 - 5 teams
2013 - 7 teams
2014 - 6 teams
2015 - 7 teams
2016 - 7 teams
2017 - 7 teams

It was up to 12 teams last year. Obviously that is a much bigger province population-wise than the ones we are talking about that don't have L1C leagues yet, but it's just to show that a 5 to 7 team league can potentially be enough, and can grow in the long run.

If the teams in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or the Atlantic provinces aren't competitive with the other L1C teams, and if the Voyageurs Cup is still restricting to a handfull of teams from that level, they could do something similar to the Champions League where perhaps L1O or PLSQ through their results are granted 2 teams to qualify for the tournament, but the champions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan for example have to play each other in a playoff to qualify for the Canadian Championship tournament proper. Make it all based on results in the Voyageurs Cup so that it can be fluid if results for different leagues change over time.

[Ed_S]

How is this different than AMSL?

[Kingston]

On 1/22/2023 at 11:04 PM, Kent said:

If the teams in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or the Atlantic provinces aren't competitive with the other L1C teams, and if the Voyageurs Cup is still restricting to a handfull of teams from that level, they could do something similar to the Champions League where perhaps L1O or PLSQ through their results are granted 2 teams to qualify for the tournament, but the champions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan for example have to play each other in a playoff to qualify for the Canadian Championship tournament proper. Make it all based on results in the Voyageurs Cup so that it can be fluid if results for different leagues change over time.

I see where you're going with this, but it seems unnecessarily complicated for this tournament.  Plus, I'd rather see each league get a guaranteed spot so that we have nation-wide representation.  If the team is poor, they'll go out in the first round anyway.

[Kingston]

On 1/20/2023 at 9:51 PM, Soccerpro2 said:

Red Deer won't ever have a team.

I'm not from Alberta so I'll ask, why not?  

[Kent]

2 hours ago, Kingston said:

I see where you're going with this, but it seems unnecessarily complicated for this tournament.  Plus, I'd rather see each league get a guaranteed spot so that we have nation-wide representation.  If the team is poor, they'll go out in the first round anyway.

Yeah, I would prefer that too. I'm just saying if it ends up being like L1O and PLSQ can hang with the pro teams, but the champs from the smaller L1s get pasted 10 nil year after year. Then maybe you make them go through extra qualifying to reduce the humiliation. Just to point out that there is no reason to not have them involved in one way or another, even if not in the tournament proper, even if they are a complete tire fire.

[Kingston]

9 minutes ago, Kent said:

Yeah, I would prefer that too. I'm just saying if it ends up being like L1O and PLSQ can hang with the pro teams

As a tangent, I've been considering this a bit in the context of whether we will see further upsets in the Canadian Championship.  In the short history so far, the CPL is 8-1-1 against D3 teams, with the win and the draw both coming in 2019 when the CPL teams were literally brand new.

If anything, I suspect the gap between the CPL and D3 is getting bigger as the CPL continues to improve.  The PLSQ is getting bigger but I'm not sure it's getting any better just yet.  We might see meaningful improvements in L1O with the new divisional structure but I still think the CPL is improving faster.  So I don't really expect to see the D3 teams hanging with the pro teams.

[Cblake]

This is the eastern division of the Western Hocket League for comparison, which L1C trying to be in this country for soccer, as a comparison to the CHL I get the CHL/WHL is revenue generating so something will be different. Also Swift Current is in the Central division with all the Alberta teams. 

Brandon Wheat Kings	Brandon, Manitoba	Keystone Centre	1967
Moose Jaw Warriors	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	Mosaic Place	1980*
Prince Albert Raiders	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan	Art Hauser Centre	1982
Regina Pats	Regina, Saskatchewan	Brandt Centre	1917
Saskatoon Blades	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	SaskTel Centre	1966
Winnipeg Ice	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Wayne Fleming Arena	1996*

[Obinna]

14 hours ago, Kingston said:

I'm not from Alberta so I'll ask, why not?  

In the AMSL Red Deer tend to run a women's program, with no men's program. Lethbridge meanwhile does the opposite. I have no idea why that is or whether it's still the case, but it seems to have been that way for the last 10 years or so.

On 1/23/2023 at 2:06 PM, Ed_S said:

How is this different than AMSL?

It's not - which is why part of me thinks they should just semi-professionalize the AMSL and re-brand it under the League 1 Canada umbrella. The argument though is that we add another layer to the pyramid, for what it's worth. Initially it would be very much the same players I suspect, by and large. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 1/25/2023 at 5:02 PM, Kent said:

Yeah, I would prefer that too. I'm just saying if it ends up being like L1O and PLSQ can hang with the pro teams, but the champs from the smaller L1s get pasted 10 nil year after year. Then maybe you make them go through extra qualifying to reduce the humiliation. Just to point out that there is no reason to not have them involved in one way or another, even if not in the tournament proper, even if they are a complete tire fire.

I appreciate what you are saying, but if you look at other competitions this does not happen. The Challenge Trophy, best amateur team in Canada. In this century a team from PEI won it, Saskatchewan too, Nova Scotia twice, Manitoba teams have won it more than Québec. That is core grassroots amateur soccer. It refects on the guys playing in amateur clubs. So fairly similar to what you may get in a L1, since L1s are not bringing in internationals or anything.

The provinces with smaller populations are not getting so terribly blown out that you'd want to impede them from competing, and no province is totally dominating, even Ontario wins less than in proportion to population.

Maybe the Challenge Trophy is not a good example, just wondering aloud.

[Obinna]

On 1/26/2023 at 5:03 PM, Unnamed Trialist said:

I appreciate what you are saying, but if you look at other competitions this does not happen. The Challenge Trophy, best amateur team in Canada. In this century a team from PEI won it, Saskatchewan too, Nova Scotia twice, Manitoba teams have won it more than Québec. That is core grassroots amateur soccer. It refects on the guys playing in amateur clubs. So fairly similar to what you may get in a L1, since L1s are not bringing in internationals or anything.

The provinces with smaller populations are not getting so terribly blown out that you'd want to impede them from competing, and no province is totally dominating, even Ontario wins less than in proportion to population.

Maybe the Challenge Trophy is not a good example, just wondering aloud.

Interesting post. 

Challegne Trophy (or Challenge Cup as it's often called) indeed has winners from various provinces. The Holy Cross women of Newfoundland recently won the tournament on the women's side. The men's side (a club I played for many years ago) has been runners-up in their history, and on both sides they very often represent Newfoundland well at National level, despite being from a relatively small city and province (St. John's, Newfoundland). Yet I think this is just one example of many successful amateur clubs outside of the major Canadian population centres.

And yes, Winnipeg tend to have strong representatives in these tournaments. They do quite well for some reason. Must be something about their local scene that produces very good amatuer players. Halifax clubs tend to do well also. I hope the presence of CPL in both markets gives these trends a tail wind. 

On 1/25/2023 at 9:20 AM, Kingston said:

As a tangent, I've been considering this a bit in the context of whether we will see further upsets in the Canadian Championship.  In the short history so far, the CPL is 8-1-1 against D3 teams, with the win and the draw both coming in 2019 when the CPL teams were literally brand new.

If anything, I suspect the gap between the CPL and D3 is getting bigger as the CPL continues to improve.  The PLSQ is getting bigger but I'm not sure it's getting any better just yet.  We might see meaningful improvements in L1O with the new divisional structure but I still think the CPL is improving faster.  So I don't really expect to see the D3 teams hanging with the pro teams.

I think the League 1 teams are hanging just fine, but do I see many upsets on the horizon? Of course not. It's Pro vs Pro-Am, and you'd expect the Pro league to grow quicker, because they will always have deeper pockets and more resources relative to Pro-Am. 

I think the next step for League 1 is to let clubs get closer to pro (and eventually turn pro). There should be no ceiling on allowing clubs get there, if they can get there. For me this is how we should evolve the soccer pyramid.

When they day comes that Sigma or Foothills manage to pay their first team players with 5-figure contracts to play in their respective League 1s, this will also be the day they become the giants of their respective leagues, going to the Canadian Championship with regularity, playing CPL clubs with regularity, bringing that experience and know-how back to their respective leagues with regularity, each time strengthing the league, bit-by-bit.

When we get to that stage we can seriously talk about upsets, likely against some future CPL div 2 club. 

By the way, think about the budget Foothills must have had for USL League 2 travel. How much will they save in League 1 Alberta? Can they divert the savings to players pockets? Travel would go from Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Eugine OR, Portland to Calgary, Calgary, Edmonton, Edmonton. 

Even if you put the difference into the players pocket, it's not a 5-figure salary, but maybe it's like 5 thousand? If every first team Foothills player in League 1 Alberta was getting 5K per summer to play soccer, that's basically like a summer job on your university break. Clearly not enough to live on, but it'd be a good start, right? At least everyone would be committed. Throw a couple of bonuses in there and it's perhaps enough incentive to keep some talented kids hungry while they chase their pro dream!

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Obinna

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

Interesting post. 

Challegne Trophy (or Challenge Cup as it's often called) indeed has winners from various provinces. The Holy Cross women of Newfoundland recently won the tournament on the women's side. The men's side (a club I played for many years ago) has been runners-up in their history, and on both sides they very often represent Newfoundland well at National level, despite being from a relatively small city and province (St. John's, Newfoundland). Yet I think this is just one example of many successful amateur clubs outside of the major Canadian population centres.

And yes, Winnipeg tend to have strong representatives in these tournaments. They do quite well for some reason. Must be something about their local scene that produces very good amatuer players. Halifax clubs tend to do well also. I hope the presence of CPL in both markets gives these trends a tail wind. 

I think the League 1 teams are hanging just fine, but do I see many upsets on the horizon? Of course not. It's Pro vs Pro-Am, and you'd expect the Pro league to grow quicker, because they will always have deeper pockets and more resources relative to Pro-Am. 

I think the next step for League 1 is to let clubs get closer to pro (and eventually turn pro). There should be no ceiling on allowing clubs get there, if they can get there. For me this is how we should evolve the soccer pyramid.

When they day comes that Sigma or Foothills manage to pay their first team players with 5-figure contracts to play in their respective League 1s, this will also be the day they become the giants of their respective leagues, going to the Canadian Championship with regularity, playing CPL clubs with regularity, bringing that experience and know-how back to their respective leagues with regularity, each time strengthing the league, bit-by-bit.

When we get to that stage we can seriously talk about upsets, likely against some future CPL div 2 club. 

By the way, think about the budget Foothills must have had for USL League 2 travel. How much will they save in League 1 Alberta? Can they divert the savings to players pockets? Travel would go from Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Eugine OR, Portland to Calgary, Calgary, Edmonton, Edmonton. 

Even if you put the difference into the players pocket, it's not a 5-figure salary, but maybe it's like 5 thousand? If every first team Foothills player in League 1 Alberta was getting 5K per summer to play soccer, that's basically like a summer job on your university break. Clearly not enough to live on, but it'd be a good start, right? At least everyone would be committed. Throw a couple of bonuses in there and it's perhaps enough incentive to keep some talented kids hungry while they chase their pro dream!

 

So a couple things, good post again.

First, it is clear the difference between CPL and L1 is perhaps bigger than CPL and MLS. So a CPL beating an MLS team is realistic, L1 beating CPL is less so. This may be surprising, but it's because being fully professional and training full time evens things out, in Canada and the world over, and in cup matches more so.

Next, paying players in L1. For the life of me I don't know why they call it semi-pro if it isn't. If you want to pay, you need gate, sponsors and then you may be tempted to siphon off income from the kids to pay the senior team players (iffy formula, I dislike it).

The most likely scenario of paying to get quality players would be in L1 Ontario, when they go to a tiered system, but only if: if being in the top tier gives clubs some financial extra. Like if they got more sponsorship money, if the CSA compensated Voyageur Cup participation, if there was a minor tv deal--basically if CSB chose to reward being in the top tier. So you would pay players to ensure you promoted and/or stayed up. If there is no fundamental difference between top and 2nd tier in L1 Ontario, what is the point again? Just to lighten up the schedule?

Usually, speaking internationally, semi-pro means a player might get a stipend for travel, or a small quantity that may be justified by other things, like doing soccer camps or coaching youth teams, even club admin. A few hundred a month and only in season (I knew of a club board member who had the distribution exclusive for a sporting good line and had players who could work for him). Then compensating by providing perks, like housing, or meals. In the old USL I know the Whitecaps did this, because I used to see players in the parks or at cafès in False Creek South/Fairview slopes. 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

On 1/26/2023 at 6:07 AM, Obinna said:

...It's not - which is why part of me thinks they should just semi-professionalize the AMSL and re-brand it under the League 1 Canada umbrella. The argument though is that we add another layer to the pyramid, for what it's worth. Initially it would be very much the same players I suspect, by and large. 

Do you really think they will/would actually semi-professionalize? The phrase "Pro-am" gets mentioned a lot in this context for a reason. Every decade or two Canadian soccer seems to need to have a new soccer association driven masterplan that's supposed to completely transform the sport but usually just winds up being more of the same with a different label.

In southern Ontario, the OSL, the unsanctioned CSL and L1O were the last three masterplans from the OSA and they are all still operating in parallel with it not being a safe bet that all the best players and strongest teams are in L1O. It's similar in BC with the VMSL, PCSL and L1 BC and it's not a safe bet that L1 BC is the setup that people who are actively involved in the sport take most seriously in a lower mainland context.