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Canadian Premier League

Gurps

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Surrey most likely the lower mainland team?

I saw they were trying to get a new stadium built out there and they would have the community support as well as strong financial support....

Would be good to see a team placed in Victoria as well as the island could easily support a team like this.
 

Dude

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https://the11.ca/canpl-v-p-james-ea...will-be-built-and-competition-will-be-shaped/

Good hiring.

Concerning quote: "Easton said the CanPL is in preliminary discussions with League1 Ontario and the PLSQ to work on a player pathway."

My initial reaction: the local Men's leagues (VMSL / FVSL / VISL) need to sort their shite out and come together to form a BC League 1, or risk BC Elite Players being left behind.
 

Regs

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Jimmy was one of the best players of his generation and a better person to boot... too bad he had such shitty knee problems.

His Dad was the first Caps coach/manager in the NASL.
 

Dude

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Yeah, and I remember the opinion / report he wrote a while back pretty vividly. I think you may have posted it here somewhere. Seemed like a pretty bright guy.


Potentially, yes.

Lower mainland territory rights holder is looking at 2 locations - one in Surrey and one in Langley. Stadium to be provided from same company that did the temporary Empire pop-up.

I know it's only Feb 1, but wasn't the City of Surrey RFQ for a permanent stadium due by now? I can't recall if proposals were due in by end of January, or an announcement by end of January.
 

Dude

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https://the11.ca/canpl-v-p-james-ea...will-be-built-and-competition-will-be-shaped/

Good hiring.

Concerning quote: "Easton said the CanPL is in preliminary discussions with League1 Ontario and the PLSQ to work on a player pathway."

My initial reaction: the local Men's leagues (VMSL / FVSL / VISL) need to sort their shite out and come together to form a BC League 1, or risk BC Elite Players being left behind.

Back to this brilliant post....

The most obvious statement that can be made is to say a big part of the success of the CanPL will depend on having a true pathway. Some may say eventual pro / relegation, but at the least a pathway.

There was that BC Tier III league proposal that fizzled, not surprisingly. Seems foolish to me to waste the resources and administration already in place w/ the big 3 if having a pathway through BC is an absolute must. On the flip side, assuming the big 3 can't get together and form one regionally represented top armature league from the existing Premier teams, I can't see a new Tier III league starting from nothing.

I wonder if Jim is a guy that can get the three groups together?

My worry is that I see a future- if they can't consolidate- of BC becoming incredibly irrelevant in Canadian Soccer.
 

Dude

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You mean it's not already?

Except for the executive / non-player landscape of course...

Well, I think you pretty much nailed it.

The question is, do old guys like us give a shite anymore? I tell you, I TRY not to give a shite, but get sucked back into shite giving. Obviously you are trying your damndest to not give a shite, but despite your appearances of not shite giving, TTP still lives.

The folks that should give a shite- parents- really have no clue, do they? All those parents forking out $2500+ per season for their superstars to play in a BCPL that is- mostly- irrelevant is almost highways robbery. The only real stat I want to see is, since BCPL came into the fold, what has been the percentage increase of BC players winning scholarships to American NCAA 1 programs? That's really the only number that matters, cause there is no other dream / pathway to really chase.
 

Regs

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Don't get me started on the BCSPL :(

But if you want to know what some parents think, https://www.bcsoccercentral.com/ would be the place to ask/read - the youth landscape suffers greatly from communication issues and a distinct lack of true leadership. It's a dog's breakfast TBH.
 

dezza

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The only real stat I want to see is, since BCPL came into the fold, what has been the percentage increase of BC players winning scholarships to American NCAA 1 programs? That's really the only number that matters, cause there is no other dream / pathway to really chase.

You will never see it because it's embarrassingly low. In fact, it may be negative -- at least on the boys side.

My favourite trope now is the one where local youth coaches try to tout USports (Canadian University soccer) as being equally as good of an opportunity as NCAA D1.
 

Canucks4Ever

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Back to this brilliant post....

The most obvious statement that can be made is to say a big part of the success of the CanPL will depend on having a true pathway. Some may say eventual pro / relegation, but at the least a pathway.

There was that BC Tier III league proposal that fizzled, not surprisingly. Seems foolish to me to waste the resources and administration already in place w/ the big 3 if having a pathway through BC is an absolute must. On the flip side, assuming the big 3 can't get together and form one regionally represented top armature league from the existing Premier teams, I can't see a new Tier III league starting from nothing.

I wonder if Jim is a guy that can get the three groups together?

My worry is that I see a future- if they can't consolidate- of BC becoming incredibly irrelevant in Canadian Soccer.

Pathway is a major issue. Agreed, from reading that article, this Canadian PL reads to me to be very much an Ontario/Quebec focus. With travel, as always, being a major expense and issue for this league, it does make sense to perhaps regionalize things. Hamilton and Winnipeg are confirmed for franchises and one would think Ottawa Fury would likely move from the NASL to the CPL. Talk of resurrecting a team in Edmonton and putting one in Calgary, but if you are only going to have an 8-12 team league does it make sense to have them so geographically spread out? That would mean that every other week you're Edmonton based team is on a plane flying across the country to play a game in front of maybe a few thousand fans. Not that I want the West left out of this by any means, but wouldn't it make more sense to start regionally and gain traction before going big? Maybe two leagues/conferences East and West with 6-8 teams each? Play your league/conference games home and away before playoffs and then a final between the East and West Champions? You could add a mid-season cup competition, random draw, single elimination between all the teams for variety and intrigue and give the league and cup champions berths in the Canadian Championship.

That would cut down on travel costs, it's the same way USports/College works where you play regionally so save from jetting around the country. It would also add a local flavor to things and potentially create an opportunity for better media coverage which would create an opportunity for increased sponsorship revenue. Plus it might entice away fans into traveling which would help at the gate and could create great rivalries.

Potential Teams:
EAST
Hamilton (confirmed)
Winnipeg (confirmed)
Ottawa (USL)
Thunder Bay (PDL)
GTA
Montreal
Quebec City
Maritimes
Other Ontario (Sudbury/Mississauga?)

WEST
Edmonton (NASL-defunct)
Calgary (PDL)
Victoria (PDL)
Greater Vancouver (PDL-TSS/Surrey)
Saskatchewan
BC Interior (Kamloops/Kelowna)
Other Alberta (Red Deer/Medicine Hat?)
Prince George?

I get that these might be smaller markets than the CPL envisions, but isn't that the point? If the idea is just to have a CFL style soccer league siloed in major markets (Vancouver/Toronto/Montreal/Winnipeg/Hamilton/etc.), I think that might have difficulty appealing to Canadian soccer fans at large. If you look at soccer around the world, what it feeds on is the passionate backing of local markets and rivalries. Cities often have several smaller lower league teams that are fiercely competitive with each other. I mean just look at Cascadia, proximity breeds interest. I think it would be a big mistake to try and slap a North American sports template on this thing I would suggest that it might be doomed to fail.

Additionally yes, this is going to shake the soccer landscape and it remains to be seen where USL, PDL, and NASL fit in next to the CSL. Along with USports, one has to think that these teams will be competing for the services of many of the same players. Obviously CPL will be positioning itself as a "professional" league which will differentiate it from PDL and USport, but will it serve as a separate tier unto its own? Or will it cannibalize the players and fans that TSS/Victoria/Calgary/Thunder Bay rely on? Should those teams look at trying to get on board? Or should they resist and try to remain on their current paths? This goes back to my earlier point about not structuring the league in a "CFL" style. With only two teams confirmed for a league that is supposed to begin play next season I would hope the brain trust at the CPL are looking at teams like the PDL franchises that already have existing resources and trying to entice them into the league, rather than exclude them and make them competitors.
 

dezza

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NASL is as good as dead.

From the discussions I've heard regarding the salaries and level of professionalism is suggest the league would be well above pdl/usports and most analogous to USL.

Calgary Foothills have pretty much said they'll flip from PDL to CPL and already signed on Nik Ledgerwood.

If you want to try and cannibalise other existing PDL teams you've suspiciously ignored K-W United.
 

Canucks4Ever

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NASL is as good as dead.

From the discussions I've heard regarding the salaries and level of professionalism is suggest the league would be well above pdl/usports and most analogous to USL.

Calgary Foothills have pretty much said they'll flip from PDL to CPL and already signed on Nik Ledgerwood.

If you want to try and cannibalise other existing PDL teams you've suspiciously ignored K-W United.


My point exactly. NASL is down to five or six teams and I think it is because they tried to go too big too soon. It has be decertified by USA Soccer and the league will collapse for the second time in its existence.

K-W do not seem to be listed under the PDL for 2018, perhaps a nod to them shifting their focus towards CPL?
 

dezza

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Strange, I know last year KW became the official PDL partner for Toronto FC (essentially meaning all TFC academy alum now in NCAA would go play there in the summer). I believe they agreed to run it like that for 2 years, but maybe TFC pulled the plug early?
 

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