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Wanted to share these photos of Liam's shirt that his family had framed for him from his senior debut! He's a proper proud Canadian!! It's up in his room in Liverpool!!

i sat on this for a week, after turning down approaches from Porto and a few premier league clubs after a chat with Klopp Liam decided to sign a new long term contract and head out on Loan to Kilmarnock..,Really happy and excited for the opportunity for Liam...Here's to him going and smashing up the SPL!!! Buzzing!!! Sent from a hotel in Kilmanock!!!!

Trust me when I say It would only be a loan Liam is going no where permanently anytime soon.(I would know) He is very happy at Liverpool and very highly rated, he is being developed as a back up in the Firmino mould... but understands the need for first team football to help develop his game. Last thing we want is for him to be a just in case player it would stifle his development... ATM it seems he is going to stay at LFC playing in the Premier league 2 with Liverpool FC u23s and pushing for fist team opportunities in the Caribou Cup. With him likely to go out on loan in January. He is gutted to have not gone on the first team tour to the USA but LFC had 6 players return from loan Origi. Ojo Wilson, Sturridge, Kent and Markovic... Wilson has gone to Derby Kent to Rangers...once more players go out on loan he should be in training with the first team. He is right on the fringe of the first team atm.. The one thing I never really got as a player(I played for a short time for Charlton 25 years ago...)was the mental side and how important it is..in my day u just got on with it... Liam has a mental skills coach through the club, that deals with set backs(like not going on tour, or being dropped back down) and dealing with ups and downs of the game, and injuries...it has really helped him... at the level Liam is at now that is the difference maker and the thing we lack in Canada.. the players that can deal and push through are the ones that go on to make it. The journey is a real rollercoaster ride of success and failure... sorry long post...

A few more sorry proud!!

He had an amazing 75 mins in front of 58000 fans at Celtic Park. The atmosphere was unbelievable. (I was there!!!) He was Completely shattered after the match. He absolutely worked his socks off for the team. It was very disciplined and mature performance in a left mid of a 4 which he hasn’t to my knowledge ever played. A left wing in a front 3 yes not a midfield 4. BBC player ratings of the match he was rated the 3rd best performance on the pitch!! Not bad for his first start against arguably the best team in scotland! Sorry gushing a bit still buzzing. Hopefully first of many starts now! Not many 19 year olds get to make that starting appearance or even ever get to experience that. It has been a fabulous year with ya tin of growth and experiences! Liam’s looking forward to getting back with the National team lads if selected for the Gold cup Dop !!

So a bit of an update. This experience has been exactly what Liam needed. Scotland has been a blast, he was thrown right in but hit the ground running. He's now had two really good first team substitute appearances and is really growing as a player. It's the small things you don't get from youth football. The day to day competition and struggle of working towards trying to get that starting spot... being around pros who can help you with the details.. training for an opponent.. Liam is hungry and happy!! Liam has come into a very good settled team but the manager Steve Clarke seems to have faith in him as he has thrown him into both games where he has come on and made a real impact and has been unlucky to not get his first goal. Big game on Saturday vs his former coach Stevie G and Rangers on Saturday!!! It won't be easy but nothing worth doing is and nothing good comes out of being comfortable...Very happy with his loan move

Spoke with Cordova over Instagram DM since it had been 12 months after his last call up (Oct 2017 vs ES) - He said he was nominated vs NZ in Spain but turned it down due to a big match solidify his spot and so therefore Herdman let him - That he was only left out of the last two due to Technical decisions *No RB’s being selected - Very motivated and committed to Canada ?? - Currently he’s fighting in his club with Jose Bizama who got called up for Chilean national team not too long ago - He thinks Canada will be a powerhouse since Canada already has very good players without its own league, “Just imagine what it will be like when they do” - Would consider a move to MLS in the future should he receive any offers - He’s learned the Oh Canada Anthem, English has improved and talks to Herdman with out a translator - Likes the healthy competition at Huachipato and finally hopes to be playing the Copa Sudamericana next year!

Just posting this for the likes...

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/331460-melwood-photos-liverpool-training-christmas-eveLiam’s in training with the first team over Christmas... a few shots from today’s session... nice to see him line up against Kieta... Liam looks very serious(Right side beside Lallana behind Henderson!) but he is very happy for the opportunity... lots of fixtures of the next few weeks

All will be revealed by 10pm bst Thursday...(transfer deadline in the UK) hopefully before..?

To be honest a little numb atm..just got home from the game... I was in the away end with 1500 screaming Killie fans when he scored..a little unreal!! SO happy for him! Hopefully first of many and great timing with the national team game coming up!!!

Liam like I, have great pride in being Canadian, we always talk about playing for where your heart lies. There will always be people who talk about careers decisions and such(playing for England being better for your career) but in the end he loves Canada and was born there it made him who is today and that's why he is proud to pull on the red. His career will take him where it is supposed to. I always say when the national anthem plays, play for the country that gives you chills... I get chills ever time O' Canada plays and so does he... Liam has a had a great preseason at LFC is fit and ready to go. Their first PL2 game is this weekend vs Brighton. I as he, wants to be selected because he deserves it not because you want to cap tie him. He won't play for anyone else...

The odds are that we are going to finally make the hex. This is maybe the best team we’ve had in a long, long time. Floro has them playing together. Floro knows what needs to be done to get a result in Central America. The team tied Panama, Belize, and El Salvador in Central America so we are set up to tie Honduras as well. We have all these great new players who have committed to Canada: Hoilett, Arfield, Vitoria, Akindele. Hoilett and Arfield will finally give us some attacking presence. Atiba is in his prime. DeGuzman has dedicated the twilight of his career to getting Canada to the World Cup. We are very hard to break down and are now defensively organized and this is all because of Floro. Did I mention he coached Real Madrid (REAL MADRID!!!). Henry is on a Premier League team. Arfield is helping Burnley to promotion back to the PL. Honduras is in between cycles and are not as strong as they used to be. All we need in Honduras is a tie. El Salvador at home is the easiest game of the group and we should be able to win. We were never going to get anything out of the Mexico games so the results don’t even matter. Larin is on a hot streak and is scoring goals for fun. Hoilett is scoring regularly in the Championship (the best second tier league in the world). Good players like Osorio and Aleman aren’t even getting called because there is no room for them in the midfield. The players love playing in Vancouver. There is so much more media attention when the team plays in Vancouver. Did you see that crowd? 55,000!!! We will see that again against El Salvador with qualification on the line. And the support in Vancouver is fantastic. All of the supporter groups work together like best friends. The CSA has been doing so many great things lately. I hear they are up for ‘Association of the Year’ from FIFA. BC Place looked great, they had the new Fan Rallies, they’ve convinced all of those players to play for Canada, they started a Twitter account, and Mont Vic is running for CONCACAF president. Once Vic is CONCACAF president, every decision will be in our favour. All of the money from the WWC is going to be invested in grassroots player development. Soon the new Canadian Premier League will be starting and it will start pumping high caliber players into our national team and many will make big money moves to Europe. There are people lining up to invest in what must be seen as a huge cash cow. There’s a TV deal in place with TSN and they will work their magic like they’ve done with curling. Soccer fandom is on a huge upswing in Canada, what with MLS, NASL, the WWC and these recent qualifiers. MLS is on the verge of declaring Canadians as domestics, and soon there will be dozens of Canadians playing in MLS. And we have L1O and PLSQ starting to churn out talent. Soon there will be regional high performance leagues clear across Canada. It’s different this time. There will be no repeat of the 8-1 debacle. So many of our MLS based players will be in mid-season form in September and players from Honduras and El Salvador will be out of season. We should get 6 points from those two games, but 4 will see us through. You see … we’ve got this. Hex here we come!!

Arrived in Bradenton after a 12 hrs journey form Liverpool!!! Looking forward to the game tomorrow!!

The issue isn't with the site per se, it's with the linking. If you simply go to the site, you won't have issues (and why we don't find any our end). It's a complex issue, we've looked at it. Because the issue actually happens BEFORE people get to the site. It's the link being intercepted and people being re-directed. It happens to a minority of people. It's a problem, but a real head-scratcher. I may actually stop sending links and simply post updates that will instruct people to go to the site manually. I'll put it frankly, The11.ca loses a lot of money. It was a labour of love that I subsidized with the broadcast money I would make from doing NASL games. Obviously, those don't happen anymore. Launched Plastic Pitch, that broke even in year one and two, but then it became too expensive to run (I was out of pocket nearly 10K on it in year three, so some hard decisions had to be made). I understand that the app world collapsed (as one industry insider once put it at a conference I was at, "apps are the eight-track tapes of our generation") so I'd eat that. I guess, I just want you all to understand that "fixing" an issue can be very, very expensive. Like, four or five digits. I leave the lights on simply because I'm hopeful that the CanPL will launch and that will create some new revenue lines so that the site can break even. But when I take on writing projects that pay the bills (writing about things that aren't soccer) to ones that are a massive financial wasteland (writing about soccer), I'd just like readers to understand that the site is more a labour of love than anything else at this point. "Fixing" issues is expensive.

Sure, you've provided examples from multiple soccer reporters that he has interest in Europe. Sure, you've provided a quote from his own general manager confirming that there are teams interested. Sure, he is having a very good year and it's not out of the realm of possibility that some European teams have come by to kick the tires. Sure, other MLS players like Mohammed Saeid, Roland Alberg, Joevin Jones, Ambroise Oyongo, João Meira, Mix Diskerud, Jack Harrison, and Cyle Larin all made similar moves just this past January. Sure, Canadian soccer players have made the international news lately with Alphonso Davies' transfer and Jonathan David's exploits, generating even a slight uptick in the interest in Canadian soccer in some circles. Even so, the fact remains that no team has contacted me personally to let me know that they are interested in Osorio, so until that happens I choose to believe that there is no interest at all in him. If he doesn't sign with TFC, he better hope he can catch on with a CPL or L1O team.

Liam on the bench vs Livingston FC Alovely pic of the voyageurs scarf Jambo gave me at the game !!! One more of his brother wearing it with pride!!!

Just read through that article and the next paragraph after the one posted has Herdman quoting Canucks Abroad. I think with all the kudos going around, one is deserved for @Fussball_eh and team for the work they do.

I searched "Bryan Christante Canada" on google news and saw and Italian article from 3 days ago...I tried to click on it but it redirected me to the English homepage. I did the same search again and found the cached version and used the google translate: This could be important! http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:YTvX5jlQIP0J:www.goal.com/it/notizie/cristante-visionato-dal-ct-del-canada-ha-la-doppia/123xmc1xy1lzw1k5znuvnmc54n+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca Cristante viewed by the coach of Canada has dual nationality Drafting Goal Italian 05/13/17 Share Close Comments Getty Images During the match between Atalanta and AC Milan, the stadium appeared Octavio Zambrano, coach of Canada. The goal is Bryan Cristante. After a few dull seasons, between Benfica and Pescara, Bryan Cristante is back on the old levels under the wise management of Gian Piero Gasperini. The Italian midfielder has benefited from the favorable moment of ' Atalanta and fits cleanly on the chessboard Bergamo. Besides the three goals he scored from January onwards, a clear sign of the growth of Cristante is the fact that during the game against Milan, between the stands of the stadium Atleti Azzurri of Italy, is Octavio Zambrano , coach of Canada . "But it's not Italian?" - you may think you - Yes, but not completely. That is, Cristante was born in Italy in San Vito al Tagliamento but the father is Canadian, so the Atalanta player has dual nationality. He did the whole chain of youth national teams with the national team but had not yet made his debut with the greater, it is also convocabile with Canada. As long as he wants. Meanwhile Zambrano flew to Bergamo just to watch him and talk to him. I wonder if Cristante accept the proposal.

Liam did really well today, he's been a really game changer and taken on what the manager Steve Clarke has to say. Very very unlucky not to be through on goal because of a cynical foul. Came on full of running and gave Rangers something to think about. Unlucky not to start but expected it against Rangers at Ibrox tbh.. Steve Clarke has a plan... He was not phased playing in front of a hostile crowd of 49000 fans at Ibrox. Not a lot of our senior men's national team players play in front of that many and thought at 19 showed a lot of maturity. This loan(his first) has been so good for him, really seen him grow into a man. His tail is up and he is full of confidence and keen to get back to the national team... he knows he has Hoilett in front of him but is happy for the chase... Looking forward to the game on the 24th

Midtjylland are apparently cutting his loan to Fredericia short so that he can play in the Superliga once their winter break ends. It seems that he has been playing well in the second tier. He was described by his coach at Fredericia as being "the best centre-back in the league".

If the people on this forum can't be happy and excited about what is happening today, this league is ******. Get a grip people. We need to STOP being in tear down mode. Switch to being builders. Do it in your ******* head, NOW.

I asked Adonijah Reid some questions about his status before warm ups at the Toronto FC II vs Ottawa Fury game this evening. (I watched him play over the year's with ANB Futbol of League 1 Ontario in their first years so he recognized me). He answered he's still with FC Dallas of MLS and they can recall him. He said Dallas doesn't have a USL team so this is a way to give him playing time. He was on the subs bench but didn't get into the game tonight.

Looks like the moment we've all been waiting for has arrived. Davies has passed his citizenship test and will be taking the Oath of Citizenship today.

Hi Voyageurs - Paul Beirne here, with the most ironic of handles...I'm MLS in Toronto because i've been on this board since before TFC was a thing. "I've made up my mind, I'm keeping my handle..." I'm just letting you know I've been lurking and listening and I love the enthusiasm on here. Of course it will inevitably turn sour because...internet! Eventually - if you have questions I will try to answer as they come. If I ignore the question it probably means I can't comment, or that thing you're asking about is not decided yet. Don't hit me up with anything just yet - there is nothing to be public about yet (except boundless optimism - thanks to you). Also - don't you dare hit me up for a job. And don't PM me - I don't check those. For now - keep up the spirit and the growing supporter groups - we're all going to have a lot of fun!

VAR to review that Atiba goal in 2007

My favourite memory from tonight’s match was while watching it with my 5 year old son and he turned to me and said “I want to be a Canada player!” We sang Oh Canada together. Celebrated the goals together. And dreamed of him suiting up for Canada together in the future. This is why playing matches and having them televised is important. *ironically all done while wearing the Northern Ireland top my wife put him in earlier today to wind me up. Haha so proud.

Yes he has signed. Here is my translation of the Finnish article: "New player contract - versatile Jonas Häkkinen has signed with Vaasan Palloseura Vaasan Palloseura [VPS] has signed a player contract with the young Finnish player Jonas Häkkinen. The contract is 1+1 years. [unspecified whether the option is one way or two way] Jonas Häkkinen is a multi-functional player who owns both the Finnish and Canadian passports, and who can play both stopper and defensive midfielder. "For the last few years he has played stopper, but before that he has played defensive midfielder, as well", VPS head coach Petri Vuorinen comments. Häkkinen has played his entire career in Vancouver, where he has played in the Whitecaps academy. Häkkinen has Finnish parents and he speaks good Finnish, although his native tongue is English. "Jonas has trained with us for quite a while already. He came to Finland to uplift his career. Comparing him with other players of his generation (1999), I believe that he has the full potential to succeed in Finnish Premier League", Vuorinen analyzes. Very little about this promising player is known in Finland. Contact between the player and the club came through his agent. The youngster has trained with VPS for a month already. "The agent suggested that we give Jonas a trial. We decided to take him along and have been judging his play. In the last few years, many young players looking to develop have trialed for us. This time we found a good "match". I do not think many have heard of him here, even though he is Finnish. He is a new face for many here in that sense." In addition to his playing skills, there is another thing Vuorinen specifically likes about Häkkinen. "He has a very tough but healthy attitude about sports and football in general. All that is right", Vuorinen comments. Jonas' own interview will be done during November. -------- Since it's my first post, I figure it's fine to use this space to say hello everybody, too. I am a VPS fan from Finland - a cold, stable Northern country, with an under-performing National Team with a history of promising players selecting some another country, and whose general public has an unhealthy obsession with this sticky-sport played on ice. Suppose this description also explains to you all why I have somehow developed kind of a weird sympathetic affinity towards the "soccer people" in Canada, and hence I have been following your NT for the past few years, including lurking on this forum occasionally. So I figured that now that this guy signed with my local club team, it would be a good excuse to register here too. So I do hope you guys don't mind having me as an "outsider" for our countries are yet to develop a fierce rivalry in this sport. (Although I also wouldn't mind, if in the next few years one developed over Häkkinen's services at the senior level. ) --------- Would Jonas warrant his own thread, btw? Now that he's going to be playing here, I would be more than glad to contribute with updates on Jonas etc. since I watch every VPS game anyway.

Done And changing his posts to kitten pics ....

I would think if he's going to transfer anywhere else in Europe, from a cultural perspective, England would be the best choice. He speaks the language and he has experience driving on the left side of the road. Unfortunately getting a work permit in the UK can be complicated.

Patrice Bernier > Didier Drogba

All I know is that constantly quoting him really reduces the effectiveness of my "ignore" function.

The main thing is that we arrogantly celebrate goals 9-13 like we just won the world cup.

It seems the posters and table set ups at Voyageurs Cup games and the Allstate soccer show have had an effect. At least five people have emailed me saying we met at such and such an event and are coming to their first game. There are many people asking which Shoeless Joe's to go to because it is also their first game. ( Because I took the location for granted as known) Not all of them bought tickets through us, the supporters section isn't for everyone. That's ok. Just glad they are going to the game. Thanks to all the people who helped out. JM

I just want to thank you for putting the notice out about the CMNT on the poles around BMO field. I have been wanting to join this group for a very long time. Huge Canada soccer fan and I am excited about being at the match on Tuesday.

Lol at you thankless bastards. Tabla finally commits and within 2 hours we are clamouring for Tomori, Ferreira, and Eustaquio. I love you all.

for the record Liam has turned down 3 call ups to England... for the record...

Liam played 81 mins in a hard fought tough 1-0 win for Kilmarnock!! He played like a lion and ran and ran and gave the right back fits. Only thing missing was a goal! Shattered again in the end and was subbed off but really happy with his effort and output. Happy he gave his all Killie now I’m 3rd with a possibility of Europa League!! Great for him to really build on his match fitness leading up to the gold cup!!

Standby today.... going to be a long day!!!

Screw it. I am calling it - we are winning the 2026 WC.

For a guy that took a lot of **** when he was hired for this job, John Herdman is doing an outstanding job with player commitments and squad selection.

It would only be a 6 month loan and only to play in the Sunderland 1st team with penalty for under 70% playing time. It would be a good move to get first team playing time. It is standard pathway for top English prospects. Harry Kane went on loan 5 times as did Beckham. This is the clubs plan. Sunderland is one of 4 clubs looking to take Liam on loan. Liam is not leaving lfc(except on Loan)...not anytime soon anyway .

We have a purpose. It’s straightforward and (at least wrt to soccer) an important one. Our purpose is to develop the culture of the game in this country. A milestone within that purpose is to put 5000 coordinated and dedicated supporters in the stands at a World Cup in Canada. We have nine years to accomplish this. We will not accomplish this bickering and whining over things like the attendance in Montreal. Instead ask, “How do we make the attendance better next time?” That is the attitude and dedication we need going forward if we are going to succeed. This does not mean we operate in a vacuum of criticism. Criticism is good. It’s blame shame and complain that has to go. If people can’t operate in this context, get out of our way. Big games or small, in every city I go to, it is just plain ******* awesome to meet all of you people. It’s what truly makes this all worthwhile. I fully understand I am ridiculously fortunate to attend all the games I do and I understand that many others can’t. So this place, this site, needs to be that awesome place people meet to share in something we all love. Every post you make matters and either helps build that, or tears it down. The next year is about establishing our own identity. The local club supporters groups have been a driving force in support for Canada across the country and we hope to strengthen those relationships in the future. However, we cannot rely on these groups alone and it’s been a mistake on my part to do so. It was too easy, and now we have to do something much bigger and much more challenging. Coast to coast we have a tremendous number of assets in this community, and we probably haven’t even scratched the surface of that yet. In the coming weeks I will be calling on many of you to help develop a comprehensive strategy to help answer the last two questions in the title, while making sure we don’t ignore the first. It’s time to do everything better. As Zach in Vancouver always says, much love, and in the context of your fellow Voyageurs, live it. Jamie

I've attempted to put together every piece of "news" on CPL that has come out over the last few years, collected from the Voyageurs forum, reddit, twitter, and good old google. I've attempted to just post who said what and when they said it, but everyone has an inbuilt bias, so the presentation of the list may reflect that. Any analysis, summary, or opinion pieces have been left out. Feel free to point out anything I missed, I'll try to add it to the list November 16, 2010 – Rollins reports that the CSA voted unanimously to place a moratorium on future D2 and D4 expansion by American leagues, effective until September 30, 2011, to allow exploration of Canada-based leagues (League1 Ontario, PLSQ resulted from this in 2012 & 2013). http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/24th-minute/csa-puts-brakes-on-future-d2-sanctioning-in-us-leagues-r401 February 4, 2013 – The Easton Report released https://issuu.com/rethinkmanagementgroup/docs/phase_i___ii_summary/1?e=6798688/3589027 June 6, 2013 – Bob Young and Victor Montagliani interviewed by the Hamilton Spectator regarding a new vision for Canadian soccer. They report that Young is willing to take the main leadership role, and they are feeling out potential partners for the league, some of which are CFL ownership groups, though not all. “We have not talked to the CFL as a league, only individuals associated with the CFL. We have also talked with individuals not associated with the CFL.” “We are talking with anybody, really, in this country that has a stadium.” At this point, several business models are being considered, one of which is a “league” that is a division within NASL. “It might not be a Division II league, it might be a Canadian league.” http://www.thespec.com/sports-story/3412498-ticats-involved-in-early-days-of-new-vision-for-canadian-soccer/ May 7, 2014 - The Ticats release a hype video about professional soccer in Hamilton June 10, 2014 – Duane Rollins “confirms” NASL and CFL are in talks with NASL to create an all-Canadian affiliated with NASL, with a target of 2016. http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/24th-minute/csa-cfl-and-nasl-to-launch-canadian-league-r4701 June 18, 2014 – Steven Sandor interviews Victor Montagliani regarding his vision for CPL. “An all-Canadian league. Division one, not two or three or four” that “co-exists with MLS and NASL” and was not dependent on a World Cup bid. http://the11.ca/montaglianis-vision-a-canadian-division-1a-that-coexists-with-mls-nasl-2/ June???, 2014 – Rollins posts some information in a thread on the Red Patch Boys forum. Actual citation is within V board discussion. “the story/rumour i have heard includes the CFL, their owners and their stadia. Spearheaded by Bob Young of Hamilton, the idea of creating a canadian soccer league, complete with single ownership structure (league owns player contracts mls style etc). Just one step down from mls. More like a canadian nasl without the nasl free for all on players. TSN is driving it from a content need since they have lost so much to rogers. The existing CFL group can piggy back on so much infrastructure that others can not to manage costs, the CSA is favourable and continues to block US based leagues from bringning teams to Canada. A mostly summer league so players can come in after mls has started and wrap up mid Oct.. I was also told that MLSE is one of the drivers trying to create valuable content for TSN to pay for. I have heard this from a CFL source and privately from a broadcaster. I have been trying to get more details over the last week but so far no luck. All the good soccer media are preoccupied." July 7, 2015 – Rollins citing CSA sources state that they are targeting a 2017 launch after delays. Ownership is pegged as “significant CFL involvement and at least one NHL owner”. CSA insider pegging team budgets to be ~3 million per year, with a 1 – 1.5 million dollar cap. High domestic quota indicated. 8 teams involved, though no confirmation on which cities. Investors feel it is important to find investors for the 3 MLS markets. http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/24th-minute/canadian-league-update-oh-and-floro-talks-gold-cup-sort-of-r5340 July 31, 2015 – John Pugh interview with Josh Lemoine. Pugh seems supportive of a CPL idea but is cautious and non-committal. http://apt613.ca/q-a-with-fury-president-john-pugh-the-man-who-brought-professional-soccer-to-ottawa/ July 31, 2015 – Rollins reiterates the league is targeting 2017 launch. States that markets involved are Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Montreal. Edmonton is not involved at this point, though discussions to bring them on board is ongoing, though the Fury may be more amenable. Characterizes CPL as “the Welsh model” of D1. League has been delayed to give time to bring the NASL sides on board. In the comments mentions that there had been some activity with the T http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/24th-minute/c-league-cities-r5374 August 2015 – Barton Battalion join twitter. August 28, 2015 – Interview with NASL President Bill Peterson in the Ottawa Sun shows a large shift in attitude, with Peterson confirming that interest from Canadian ownership groups in NASL has evaporated (link broken). In a later interview with a Cosmos podcast (also can’t find the link) Peterson states that there were prior negotiations with NASL to make a Canadian NASL division but negotiations had broken off. September 10, 2015 – Interview with Marc Dos Santos with Charles Sandor. Is very critical of the idea of CPL, believing that it would be 10 semi-pro teams + FC Edmonton and Ottawa Fury. Not necessarily clear, but demonstrates that the Fury (or at least not all of the Fury staff as of fall 2015) were on board with the CPL idea. http://the11.ca/marc-dos-santos-q-and-a-ottawa-fury-coach-on-the-seasons-turning-point-playing-canadians-and-his-thoughts-on-cpl-rumours-2/ November 8, 2015 – Rollins tweets that Ottawa is on board https://twitter.com/24thminute/status/663485231865966592 November???, 2015 – Montagliani has a noncommittal interview on TSN about CPL http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3d97xj_the-growth-of-canadian-soccer-with-csa-president-victor-montagliani_sport November 11, 2015 – Montagliani interviewed by Totera. Confirms the CSA had been working on CPL for two years but has very few details. Partial transcript here: http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/24th-minute/csa-confirms-c-league-plans-r5488. Rollins also added that CSA sources reported that the league was delayed by the lack of an investor for the Toronto or Vancouver markets December 31, 2015 – Squizz interview with Montagliani. “We want to give us the best opportunity for that to come to fruition, which is why we haven’t rushed to making any assumptions. We want to make sure we’ve dotted every “i” and crossed every “t” in terms of the best model moving forward for this country, from a feasibility standpoint, from a business model standpoint. We’re continuing our due diligence in that. We’ve talked to the various ownership groups that would be interested—actually, more than just interested—so what we want to do is, I think, 2016 we’ll be in a position to go public with more details and even have more of a date going forward, in terms of when we would start. But it’s something that I think is very important because it’s something that is needed in this country. I think relying on five teams to carry the load of player development in a country like ours is asking a lot of those guys. I think they do more than their fair share, quite frankly; we need to help out that equation in terms of finding more expressions of professional football in this country” http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/12/31/canadian-soccer-association-president-victor-montagliani-assesses-program-after-very January 4, 2016 – Rollins tweets that the league will be referred to as the Canadian Premier League. Later notes that there are 6 committed franchises, but no Edmonton, Vancouver, or Toronto. Winnipeg Jets/Manitoba Moose owners True North Sports and Entertainment added to the list of potential owners February 6, 2016 – Hamilton Spectator article on John McGrane representing Bob Young in front of Hamilton City Council to request permission to winterize Tim Hortons Field to enable an academy for a professional soccer team in Hamilton. McGrane states that the team will play in the “Canadian Premier League,” which will feature 6-8 teams with a mix of CFL and NHL ownership groups. Launch targeted at 2018. League office in Hamilton. Supported by scanned letters to Hamilton City Council from Bob Young and Victor Montagliani. Second link is the letters http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6261090-milton-pro-soccer-team-for-city-sees-dome-at-ticat-field/ http://hamilton.siretechnologies.com/sirepub/agdocs.aspx?doctype=agenda&itemid=10912 February 2016 – In a crucial development, GuillermoDelQuatro starts designing fantasy CPL logos ☺️ February 9, 2016 – Duane Rollins comes on the V boards to post some clarifications: “- The figure of $1.5m has been suggested to me from start, but I've had conflicting suggestions on whether that's a salary budget, or TOTAL budget (including coaches, administration, etc). Goal is to be about NASL level as quickly as possible and salaries will reflect that (I was told NASL salaries are about $1m-$1.5m per team, with Cosmos much higher). Personally, I think it will launch at an upper USL level, which is fine. -They may agree to launch at lower than 75% domestic, but they will work towards that. Realistically the 25% international spots will have a lot of young CONCACAF players. - I don't believe there will be a college draft. Like NASL/stand alone USL teams un-drafted/cut players from MLS camps will be free to negotiate with individual teams. - Structure will likely be a hybrid between MLS single entity and a total free market approach -- think revenue sharing, but not central control over contracts. -- Most important aspect to me that few talk about is a requirement that all teams have an academy. That is where real development will take place. The CanPL teams themselves will be finishing school. -- There will be an emphasis on selling talent up. That's a big part of how investors convinced to lose money for first few (several?) years. - They still say 2017. I think 2018 more realistic. Better to delay a year than start before ready. - On personal level: Sorry for those who were "sick" of me talking about how I was right. Couple things though: Many weren't accusing my sources of being wrong/not having full information. No, they were suggesting I was lying -- making the whole thing up. Beyond the fact that I've been doing this since 2008 and I can point to a history of solid reporting on these issues (not perfect, no, but no one is and the misses haunt me more than anyone else), I can't get past this point: Why in hell would I do that? The glory and fame of being the guy talking about the Canadian league first? Also, you know I'm one of you right? I would never, ever mislead this community on this because I know how important it is to people that it happen. I know how unfair it would be to be given false hope. I sat on the news for almost a month when I first was told because I wanted to make damn sure it was real. So, trust me when I say, I've never reported anything I didn't believe to be true at the time I reported it. I'm sure there will be differences to the final product we see either through my not having full information or through changes in the planning, but the core points that I reported on in 2014 have all been confirmed by the Spectator report -- Bob Young, 6-8 teams, CFL money involved. I am not going to apologize for being proud of that, nor for defending idea that I was first reporting it in the days ahead when the Spectator inevitably gets that credit. -Oh, and for the record, "C-League" was never a real thing. I chose to use that name so it was clear what I was talking about and because I knew actual name would be different. For record I like Can-PL because it has "Can" in it.” February 16, 2016 – Kurt Larson interview with Montagliani. States that they did a “report” (Easton or Easton 2.0?) and are now planning the business model. Repeats that there is a mix of CFL and NHL ownership. Target date is 2018. Not mutually exclusive to MLS. However, Larson stated that another “MLS Source” (My opinion: obviously MLSE) were very disappointed by the lack of inclusion in the discussion. Finally, in contrast to prior reports, Montagliani implied that Ottawa were not on board, instead saying that “the door is still open” for them. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/02/16/montagliani-has-a-mountain-to-climb Feb 25 - Had something written here but can't find it anymore March 2, 2016 – WSA Winnipeg’s twitter posts this picture, some people see it as a real indication of what the league will look like. Not corroborated by any sources https://mobile.twitter.com/WSAWinnipeg/status/705162960314855425 March 10, 2016 – Gavin Day reporting on an interview with Montagliani by Yahoo Sports Canada. Montagliani says that the business plan is being formed over the next 3-6 months, and the goal is to have a formal announcement by the end of 2016. https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/-canadared-soccer-weekly--new-canadian-league-nears-critical--rubber-hits-the-road--stage-182458579.html April 28, 2016 – In an interview between Montagliani and Totera, Montagliani states that the business plan will be voted on in the fall. http://www.nextsportstar.com/index.php/show/red-card-april-28-2016/ May 2016 to September 2016 – Series of odd and somewhat revealing posts on the Voyageurs forums from a user called Futballer. The whole of idea of two competing groups (CPL in Hamilton, CNSL with Futballer) emerge. Claims to have international investors. http://www.thevoyageurs.org/forums/topic/29031-canadian-premier-league/?page=55 May 16, 2016 – Rod Pederson relayed a report from Simon Fudge that Regina will have a team in CPL. Very loose source, nothing solid suggesting if this was the Hamilton group or the Futballer group. Investors from “outside Regina”, not the Riders organization. Rob Notenboom commented that he listened to the actual Simon Fudge interview (I cannot find the original source) and said that there was no mention that the investor was from outside of Regina. http://www.rodpedersen.com/2016/05/the-monday-morning-goalie_15.html May 30, 2016 - Interview with Rob Notenboom and the founder of the Barton Street Battalion. The members of the BSB clearly have a decent amount of info from the TiCats from this point onwards, but only divulge a small portion http://www.rednationonline.ca/Podcasts2015/FromtheBlackHoleEpisode78JamesHutton.aspx June 9, 2016 – Carlos Verde (former media intern with the Ottawa Fury) sends out a tweet with a list of 8 teams he believes will be at launch for CPL: Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton, GTA, Quebec, a Maritime team https://twitter.com/Carlos77Verde/status/740766554426638338 June 14, 2016 - Matt Rooney article recapping previous rumours and adds that there is a labour day vote scheduled and speculates a formal announcement likely scheduled for the Grey Cup weekend http://www.rednationonline.ca/Articles2016/RecentCPLreportsconcerning.aspx September 2016 - Hamilton fan survey http://timhortonsfield.com/hamiltonsoccer September 1, 2016 - FuryFanatic tweeted that the Ottawa Fury were leaving NASL for USL. Adds confusion as to whether or not they are interested in CPL, or if CPL is a USL division. September 8, 2016 – Totera reporting that “sources” confirming that the “first phase” of the CPL has a target date of 2018 September 14, 2016 – Canada Soccer announces via twitter that they are committed to the CanPL project and are pleased with the progress https://twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN/status/776122052608569344 September 13, 2016 – Matthew Hall’s article in the Guardian released, which mainly focused on Montagliani’s frustration with USSF in regards to domestic rule problems. Small mention of CPL, which Montagliani said was coming “within 5 years” https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/05/concacaf-president-vincent-montagliani-interview-fifa-corruption September 14, 2016 – Montagliani does an interview on TSN an interview on TSN 1040, representing the first real foray into the mainstream media. Said board is completely behind the project but cannot make any formal announcements yet “out of respect for those involved.” Plan is to launch 2018 and is hopeful the timeline will be hit. https://soundcloud.com/tsn-radio-vancouver/victor-montagliani-we-need-to-build-on-what-weve-established-but-with-a-new-voice?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter September 14, 2016 – Canada Soccer tweets that they are committed to the CPL project and are pleased with the progress. https://mobile.twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN/status/776122052608569344 September 14, 2016 – Totera tweets that his sources state that CPL will have an MLS-like business model https://twitter.com/4totera/status/776228654099664896 September 15, 2016 – Montagliani interviewed on Sportsnet Fan 590. Very similar points as his Sept 14 interview, though states the league will be “within 5 years.” Also mentioned that “cross border solutions” remain on the table Unclear what the reason for the different timeline is in this interview (Cannot find link) September 18, 2016 - Kurt Larson tweets that MLSE and the CSA would be meeting regarding CPL within a month https://twitter.com/KurtLarSUN/status/777946039730921472 September 19, 2016 – Larson’s followup article. Stresses that MLSE does not see CPL as a competitor, they want to be involved, and would put TFC II or their U20 team in it. Manning muses if CPL could be a USL division. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/09/19/mls-crunches-the-numbers-and-takes-away-tfcs-x September 21, 2016 – Steven Sandor opinion piece, mostly on his opinion on a USL division version of the league. The actual information in this article is the tidbit acknowledging that there were 2 competing CPL/CNSL groups, corroborating the Futballer vs Hamilton points in May http://the11.ca/reserve-teams-in-canpl-thanks-but-no-thanks/ September 21, 2016 – Rollins fuels rumours by implying there is a billionaire ownership group interested in a Toronto franchise https://twitter.com/24thminute/status/778722557725777922 September 30, 2016 – CPL, The CPL, Premiere Ligue, Premier League Cnadienne, Hamilton Steelers, and Hamilton United trademarked by someone at the same address as the Hamilton TiCats. http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/vwTrdmrk.do?lang=eng&status=&fileNumber=1802327&extension=0&startingDocumentIndexOnPage=1 October 13, 2016 - Dino Rossi interview with Rollins/Laramee. Small focus on CPL late in the interview. Rossi says he isn't sure that all CPL clubs will have academies at launch, stresses he thinks partnerships with L1O can help bridge the gap for teams in the intervening years. Long term he hopes that a distinct path of OPDL -> L1O -> CPL will be in place, with L1O having a good chunk of the best 17-23 year olds. The idea of copying major junior hockey is key in his mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWJ1BaSEIqs&feature=youtu.be October 14, 2016 – CBC notes the of the trademarking of CPL/Steelers/etc. Also notes that the TiCats lose their exclusive rights to Tim Hortons field if a team is not fielded by March 2018.http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/soccer-names-1.3805030 October 18, 2016 – News that Ottawa is leaving NASL is further corroborated https://twitter.com/ByNeilMorris/status/788437553225539585 October 18, 2016 – Soccer Night in Canada is trademarked, sparking speculation that it is related to CPL. It is later broken by Rollins and Laramee that it is in fact related to TSN dropping MLS broadcasting rights and CBC picking them up. http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/vwTrdmrk.do?lang=eng&status=&fileNumber=1803663&extension=0&startingDocumentIndexOnPage=1 October 20, 2016 – Larson tweets that TFC feels confident it will be a participant in CPL https://twitter.com/KurtLarSUN/status/789122807477272576 October 20, 2016 – Totera stating that his “sources” have told him that there would be no II or B teams in CPL https://twitter.com/4totera/status/789151989649272832 October 24, 2016 – FuryFanatic tweets that he can’t see the Fury joining CPL at launch unless CPL is a division of USL, given what he’s been told https://twitter.com/FuryFanatic/status/790531231347830784 October 25, 2016 – Ottawa Fury announce exit from NASL. Further spurs debate if CPL will be a USL division or if Ottawa has fully departed from the CPL plan. http://ottawacitizen.com/sports/soccer/ottawa-fury-exiting-nasl?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook October 25, 2016 – Amid rumours that FC Edmonton were also exiting NASL for USL, Sandor responds with brief article outlining that Tom Fath guarantees FC Edmonton will not join USL http://the11.ca/rowdies-fury-moving-to-usl-zero-chance-that-fc-edmonton-would-follow/ October 25, 2016 – Rollins with a series of tweets. All the tweets are in quick succession, so I’ll only cite the first. “I’ve been told that the CSA has been kept informed of Ottawa’s plans and they likely will be approved to move with conditions. Conditions are likely the same domestic quota that the MLS@ teams currently operating with, VCup might be off table but not clear. Was stressed to me that the allowing of Fury into USL has no impact whatsoever on #CanPL planning or timetable. I reached out to CSA but not holding breath on a quick response. If I’m surprised I’ll immediately report it." https://twitter.com/24thminute/status/791005273595011072 October 25, 2016 – Rollins separately tweets “The CanPL will NOT be a USL division and anyone suggesting that likely has an agenda” https://twitter.com/24thminute/status/790996725427236868 October 25, 2016 – Finally, Rollins tweets that Ottawa is a targeted market, and that he is unsure if OSEG is the only ownership option https://twitter.com/24thminute/status/791008938196172800 October 25, 2016 - Kurt Larson tweets that he's "guessing TFC would want TFC II in CPL and Ottawa Fury as its USL affiliate if it had its way." (My opinion: Larson doesn't understand that not everyone is interested in being a TFC vassal or cheer for a TFC vassal. This isn't really news either, but for the sake of balance, I'm including whatever Larson says about CPL) October 26, 2016 - Dino Rossi in response to the question as to whether or not CPL will be a USL division. "NO truth to that. None...Nada" https://twitter.com/_VPjr_/status/791144865195257857 October 26, 2016 - FuryFanatic posts quote from the Ottawa Sun regarding comments Pugh had made regarding CPL and the USL move. "There still exists a goal, which has been stated by the Canadian Soccer Association, which is to have a national league in the near future. At the moment, there is no high-level Canadian professional soccer league. If one was established and it was good for our fans and franchise, we would take a look at it. Right now, it is impossible to say. https://twitter.com/FuryFanatic/status/791100388158148609 Steve Sandor interviewed by Rollins and Laramee on Soccer Today. Not a great deal of new info that wasn't released on the 25th, but reiteration that the Fury moving to USL is dependent on CSA approval, though that is likely to go through. Sandor also states that he called Fath yesterday to ask if Edmonton was going to the USL, and Sandor said that Fath "laughed and said zero chance". Also says the Faths are unenthusiastic about CPL, and Edmonton are still holding out hope that a Calgary team may still one day be interested in Calgary and save the idea of FC Edmonton. Later in the podcast Rollins mentions that he has expressed frustration with his CSA sources about the lack of an announcement, and that with stories like what is going on with Ottawa, they need to "get out in front of it." The CSA sources apparently agree, but say that there are a few "minor nuts and bolts" that they want included in the announcement that have to be figured out still. Stresses that these are small things, nothing about league structure or anything that is essential for the league to launch, but are details they wish to have sorted before the official announcement https://sportspodcastingnetwork.com/2016/10/26/soccer-today-on-spn-radio-october-26th-2016-with-rudi-schuller-and-steven-sandor/ Laramee and Rollins on soccer today discuss the Ottawa situation further. Rollins stated that he has heard from someone he considers a very reliable source within the CSA (same source that gave him the information to break the story on the Whitecaps getting an MLS expansion franchise) that the CSA will not pass an application to move to the USL unless the USL waives its requirements for a 3 year commitment and allows the Fury to leave whenever they want. Also states that he has been told that it is expected that the Fury will spend one year in USL then move to CPL. Also states that the 2018 launch is perfectly on track. https://sportspodcastingnetwork.com/soccer-today/ Rollins tweets that OSEG will likely be one of the poorer teams at launch for CPL and that, the way the USL move has been described to him, the CSA and OSEG have had the conditions of the move set up as a mutual understanding, the CSA isn't threatening the team. November 2, 2016 Totera reports that there is a well-known european club interested in an Ontario market. November 2, 2016 - After tweeting speculation that the european clubs interested in NASL were shifting focus to CPL, Jonathon Tannenwald (fairly respected American reporter based in Philidelphia) tweeted that a source told him he was on the right track. Lots of other speculation around twitter (FuryFanatic, several NASL reporters) that it is Celtic shifting from Boston to a CPL market. https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/793809434849972224 November 3, 2016 - Big info dump by Rollins via an "Ask me anything related to CPL." Not bothering to cite every tweet. A summary: The European club interested in CPL is legit. However, the idea that they were originally interested in NASL before switching to CPL should be filed under "plausible rumour" at this point The Toronto owner is NOT the European club, they are interested in a separate non-Toronto team. With Toronto, Hamilton, and likely Ottawa taken, makes me think Mississauga is the target. KWC Trinity and London seem too small to attract international investors He knows the name of the Toronto owner but has been asked not to report. Says they are "a billionaire" and that "you can probably figure out who it is" (paraphrasing). Makes me think that one of the names being floated (Mitchell Goldhar, Frank Stronach) is correct He says there will be a BC team, but has no info on who would own it or where it would be located. Not clear if that is just a "targeted market" or if he's saying an owner has been secured When asked who would be the next couple most garaunteed markets after Hamilton, he said Calgary and Winnipeg (previously rumoured to involve the owners of the NHL teams of those cities) He suspects that the domestic quota will be slowly scaled up instead of starting very high Salaries will be at least double USL. He's heard a cap of 1.5 million before DP slots floated but unconfirmed No word on any team based in Newfoundland or the Maritimes TFC may be allowed to participate in some capacity if they agree to launch a team outside of the GTA that is not a B team CPL/CSA are copying USSF's SUM setup, goal is to make money on more than just the league itself 8 launch teams remains "the goal" but a 7 team launch possible. Conservative expansion planned after Mixed reports on a Quebec team The biggest holdup for an announcement is "working out details to contracts." Plausible but pretty vague 95% certain there will be an announcement by Christmas November 3, 2016 - Totera and Rollins talk on Red Card, primarily about the european club apparently interested in CPL. Not a huge number of specifics. Apparently a big club with global recognition. May or may not have been previously interested in NASL (Rollins said it he'd been told they were but he later didn't sound super confident in the source). https://twitter.com/NextSportStar/status/794201311101206529 November 5, 2016 - Dino Rossi and Kambiz Ebadi (commissioners of L1O and PLSQ) interviewed by Press Box Hattrick. Dino Rossi says League1 Ontario is developing video scouting services to allow CanPL teams to have better ways to evaluate players who have the potential to move up. Also confirmed that 2017 is certainly a no-go and 2018 will be the launch date. Ebadi also expressed excitement about the league. http://thelinknewspaper.ca/blogs/pressbox November 15, 2016 - Steve Milton of the Hamilton Spectator reported that Paul Bierne, former VP of ticketing for the Ottawa Senators, VP of Business Operations for Toronto FC, and former Head of Commercial Development for Brighton & Albion. Beirne did confirmed that potential CPL club owners would have to be deep-pocketed and that there would be a salary cap. "That, combined with making sure expenses are under control," Beirne said. "Sport is a funny business, you want to maintain a viable business but you also want to win. Owners need to be protected from themselves. http://www.thespec.com/sports-story/6964861-new-canadian-pro-soccer-league-makes-major-hire/ December 5, 2016 - Sandor reiterates that Fath/Edmonton are not interested in CPL https://twitter.com/stevensandor/status/805802921409527808 December 7, 2016 - Word of a Halifax group, Sport and Entertainment Atlantic, is looking into launching a CPL team. The group is looking into building a modular 8000 seat soccer specific stadium at Wanderers Grounds https://www.localxpress.ca/local-sports/pro-soccer-league-wants-to-include-halifax-483627 , followed by a metro news article echoing many of the same themes (http://www.metronews.ca/news/halifax/2016/12/08/promoter-hoping-to-bring-soccer-team-and-stadium-to-halifax.html) and an interview on CBC Halifax with Derek Martin (http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/828468803663) that starts at 52:00

Hello to everyone in this thread! I have been a Voyageur member for a long time although i never post anything, I am from Mexico, and currently live in Mex, i used to live in Canada for a couple years long time ago, 2002 - 2003 for part of my Highschool, anyway i just wanted to say that i have been following Canadian Soccer since, as i played in my senior years of highschool for the school team and i must say that back then i was really impressed by the potential that there is in Canada, and i love to see that finally it seems that the Canadian soccer is getting to the masses, this game is going to be HUGE for that!!! I have barely even been able to sleep this whole week i just cant wait for it to start, today is the day!!! Wish you guys luck, I hope that tonight we get a good and fair game. PS. Obviously today's game is hard for me beacuse I love Canada so much, and tonight I have to cheer for Mexico, but dont get me wrong in every other chance when its not against the country i was born in, I am Canadian in my heart. ohh... other thing i know some of you are comming to the Azteca game next week, i dont live in Mexico city but i have family and friends there, if there is anything you might need or you guys get in trouble or anything just give me a call I promise i will try to help out (cellphone / whatsapp +52 1 4772077900), and also if you ever come to central Mexico to the state of Guanajuato give me a call, perhaps we could go out for a beer and have a good FUTBOL!! chat. take care guys!

Boarding!! Vancouver here I come!! ? Edit!! Sorry im excited have been back there is 25 years!!!

My Spanish is a bit rusty but I believe he also mentioned that he's upset he accepted a cap from us so he can't play for Mexico. Also our football is very basic with no passion.