CSA Incompetence

[TOFC/ARSENAL]

We have a big World Cup qualifier coming up soon but you would never know it from the lack of advertising for this game. The CSA is doing its usual lousy job of promotion and will probably end up blaming the fans for not supporting the team if the game is not sold out.

Even in England adverts start two months prior to World Cup qualifiers. Does the CSA know about marketing or do they just think that the tickets will sell themselves?

Perhaps this is their way of insuring that future games are not played in Toronto. The idiots are at it again.

[futbol_Jonz]

We have a big World Cup qualifier coming up soon but you would never know it from the lack of advertising for this game. The CSA is doing its usual lousy job of promotion and will probably end up blaming the fans for not supporting the team if the game is not sold out.

Even in England adverts start two months prior to World Cup qualifiers. Does the CSA know about marketing or do they just think that the tickets will sell themselves?

Perhaps this is their way of insuring that future games are not played in Toronto. The idiots are at it again.

Incompetence is what makes CSA complete. they always go together

and if you think they are bad to the fans, you should ask anyone who has ever represented them how they get treated.... and then folks complain, hardgreaves and deguzman chose to represent other associations,...

Its the perks of being associated with FIFA that the CSA reps want, not to, sell tickets or do their job properly...

[Durian Durian]

Sack the CSA! Or atleast remove the World Cup '86 mafia and bring in some competent foreigners :p.

[CanuckFan]

To the Toronto posters, the fans are making it happen themselves. Quit with the whining and buy a f*ing ticket before they are all gone. Cdn fans own the south side and all 4 corners of the stadium, with a month to go.

[Moaca]

We have a big World Cup qualifier coming up soon but you would never know it from the lack of advertising for this game. The CSA is doing its usual lousy job of promotion and will probably end up blaming the fans for not supporting the team if the game is not sold out.
Always good to see people spouting off when they haven't got two clues. Yup, the 86 mafia and good ol hardgreaves (sic). You guys follow Canadian soccer much? Say, in the last couple of years.

http://www.canadasoccer.com/images/posters/20080820_CanadaWCQ.jpg

[alphamale111]

To the Toronto posters, the fans are making it happen themselves. Quit with the whining and buy a f*ing ticket before they are all gone. Cdn fans own the south side and all 4 corners of the stadium, with a month to go.


Exactly - bought mine through the TFC pre-sale.

[toepunt]

Another example. They don't answer emails. Beside it being rude, they don't have the business know how to conduct themselves, their organization and who they represent, while getting paid for so doing.

[TOFC/ARSENAL]

Always good to see people spouting off when they haven't got two clues. Yup, the 86 mafia and good ol hardgreaves (sic). You guys follow Canadian soccer much? Say, in the last couple of years.

http://www.canadasoccer.com/images/posters/20080820_CanadaWCQ.jpg


Wow! A poster. Now that's marketing. I stand corrected. By the way, where is it?

[GoodDead]

Always good to see people spouting off when they haven't got two clues. Yup, the 86 mafia and good ol hardgreaves (sic). You guys follow Canadian soccer much? Say, in the last couple of years.

http://www.canadasoccer.com/images/posters/20080820_CanadaWCQ.jpg

Hilarious. Talk about not having 2 clues, those were made by the OSA not the CSA. The president of the OSA was at the Rhino Bar handing stacks to one of the heads of the NEE to help promote on behalf of the Ontario Soccer Association. The CSA merely said "ok print them".

Do you follow soccer much in the last couple of months? We lost De Guzman part 2 to the waiting list for Netherlands.

[Moaca]

Do you follow soccer much in the last couple of months? We lost De Guzman part 2 to the waiting list for Netherlands.How could we lose something that was never a part of the NT program. Unlike good ol hardgreaves, most of his development took place in Holland and he became a citizen. They have a right to him. Get over it.

Get with the times, CSA whining is soooo last year.

[Viruk42]

Get with the times, CSA whining is soooo last year.

I dunno about that...sure, nothing terrible has happened. I get the feeling that Dale Mitchell's figuring out how to make the team work decently...but I still think much of the CSA is screwed up and needs to be fixed. I like Stephen Hart, I think he'll do a decent/good job with what he has...but the Board is still run by people as clueless as me. And that's pretty bad, I've only actually been paying attention for 1.5 years now.

[Jogakanata]

CSA is terrible, its an ole'boys club, theres alot people in the country with far more soccer knowledge and know how and they are being blocked from even carrying water the association, the players are not pooled properly and the training and tactics are not effective. Players are being selected for senior national duties to old.

Young players 19-24 should be developed with large grouping systems like (contract kids) vs (ncaa division1) to weed out who is the best upcoming talent for the country.


and WE SHOULD have COACHES FOR EVERY POSITION
KEEPER
DEFENCE
MIDFIELD
STRIKER

[*Injektilo]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/blogs/2008/08/18/dobson_canada_soccer/

Gerry Dobson says that things are improving:

It should be noted they're doing it in comfort as the CSA is now flying all European-based players back to North America in business class. See? The CSA doers not do everything wrong.

In fact, under the leadership of General Secretary Peter Montopoli, they're attempting to correct past wrongs and do whatever it takes to get this team to the World Cup. There are other important initiatives unfolding behind closed doors that will help even more.

Oooh... business class. So Canadian players used to be flown in Economy class? That's brilliant.

[*Injektilo]

A poster on this blog post also makes a good point: http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/blogs/2008/08/13/johnston_blog/

I find it pathetic that Canadians won't be able to watch their own national team on live television when it begins the next round of World Cup qualifying. I can understand if Sportsnet Ontario elected to show the Blue Jay game but why do Canadians in other regions have to be deprived of watching their team at the expense of one of 162 Toronto games this season? The NATIONAL soccer team is surely much more national in importance than the TORONTO Blue Jays. What is the point of having multiple Sportsnet channels if not for a situation like this? This game didn't come out of nowhere. We knew years ago that Canada would be playing qualifying games in August/September of 2008.

Many are quick to point the finger at the CSA for its failure to take advantage of the recent rise in popularity of soccer in this country and significantly improve the national program. The media, however, have thrown their share of obstacles into the way of continued growth, most notably CBC and Sportsnet. People read articles on Sportsnet and CBC's own websites about the importance of certain landmark games (e.g. Canada's friendly v. Brazil, Montreal Impact v. Toronto FC, Canada v. St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Canada v. Jamaica, etc). By not broadcasting any of these games live, Sportsnet and CBC are sending a message to fans that in essence says, "Forget what we wrote on our website and said on TV. Those games aren't really that important." Who are we to believe? I for one will side with Gerry Dobson, Craig Forrest, Ryan Johnston and their soccer colleagues, whom I respect much more than whoever makes the broadcasting decisions.

In order for soccer to really hit the mainstream in Canada it is true that the CSA must get its act together. But so does Sportsnet. It was in position to be the home of soccer on Canadian television when it picked up the sport that nobody wanted to broadcast 10 years ago. I thought it was instrumental in popularizing a sport Canadians didn't know much about. There has been a surge in enthusiasm on the part of soccer fans but the CSA and the media have been remarkably slow in picking up on it. Now the network seems to be blowing each opportunity to solidify its position as a soccer leader, just as it's failing to take advantage of opportunities to bring the sport to the next level.

I'm eagerly awaiting big clashes against Mexico this fall and possibly a historic World Cup qualifying clinching match next year. But I'm already cringing at the prospect of finding out that I'll have to watch those games on tape delay because Sportsnet has a commitment to broadcasting poker.

[justink]

since that post, Sportsnet has announced that the match is being shown live on 2 of their digitial channels - available to anyone with a digitial box. And match is also being streamed on their website.

Match is also sold out.

[*Injektilo]

I know, but that doesn't change the gist. The men's national soccer team is an afterthought in the sports broadcasting landscape in this country, and that is part of the problem.

[GoodDead]

since that post, Sportsnet has announced that the match is being shown live on 2 of their digitial channels - available to anyone with a digitial box. And match is also being streamed on their website.

Match is also sold out.

BMO had over 21,000 people with max occupancy set at about 20,500 :cool:

The CSA must be thanked for allowing TFC SG's and the Voyageurs to control early sales and it paid off as the entire south and all corners were brimming with red and the yellow shirts were only peppered in the middle portions.

[*Injektilo]

I know, but that doesn't change the gist. The men's national soccer team is an afterthought in the sports broadcasting landscape in this country, and that is part of the problem.

Just to prove my point, Sportsnet Pacific was supposed to show the game, but instead we got somehow re-routed to Sportsnet Ontario. In other words, Rogers believes Vancouver viewers would rather watch the Blue Jays than the Canadian national soccer team.

Just sad.

[jahman]

BMO had over 21,000 people with max occupancy set at about 20,500 :cool:

The CSA must be thanked for allowing TFC SG's and the Voyageurs to control early sales and it paid off as the entire south and all corners were brimming with red and the yellow shirts were only peppered in the middle portions.


Lets not get carried away with the 21,000 people... the announced crowd was 21..., however, there were empty seats. Hell, 15 mins into the game the stadium was half empty.

[Polygong]

since that post, Sportsnet has announced that the match is being shown live on 2 of their digitial channels - available to anyone with a digitial box. And match is also being streamed on their website.

Match is also sold out.

Doesn't do much for those of us without digital cable, and web streaming is very unreliable, I couln't get it for the Jamaica game.

If Sportsnet can't provide it on basic cable for the whole country then they should stand aside for someone who can.