Assuming Canada can get a D3 league going, the discussion at this point would be to have the champion(s) of that league join the NASL teams in a play in, with 1 or 2 playing the MLS teams. There's no point in having a more complicated tournament until there are many more teams, which seems unlikely for Canada.
At first I was raging that Canadian teams that are part of the MLS are given CCL spots. then I discovered that they are put up against other MLS teams in the group stage. So whatever, do whatever you feel like , the only thing I care is for the Liga MX teams to have 5 spots.
I just know that the group stages are so meaningless, and boring... there's no point in adding more of those teams... If any, the number of teams should be reduce. MLS should not be given 4/5 spots, they are no better than say the Costa Rican and other central american teams. At least they haven't proved it. When was the last time MLS won the "Champions Cup" ? like 13 years ago... and that "Champions' Cup" that no one cared about, KO's played at one game in Los Angeles... (even a Bolivian team would win the Libertadores if it was all held in La Paz.)
You're conflating a couple things here. -MLS teams are not better than Caribbean. central american teams. In a limited sense, this is true, but those leagues only have a handful of teams that are any good and win every year, whereas many more MLS teams can put up a competitive roster. If you gave more spots to any of those other leagues, the teams wouldn't stand a chance. -MLS has not won in forever. Yes, because Liga MX teams always win it. This is not a surprise. They have much larger budgets and the tourney happens the the middle/late in their season. Obviously they are the favorites. Also, MONEY. MLS and Liga MX teams bring it, few other do.
Mexico teams probably would not like this, I am sure if you asked Most Mexico teams would prefer to be allowed back in the Copa SudAmericana over having more spots in the CCL. But I think having the defending champion qualify automatically would be a good idea (meaning Mexico would get 5 spots). Technically MLS gets 3 spots. Two other Spots are available for other Canadian/USA teams outside MLS, but MLS teams always win those spots. USA/Canada teams have shown (recently) that they are a step above the better Central American leagues (Honduras and Costa Rica). Lastly it is about the money, MLS and Mexican teams bring the money (specially the Mexican teams, they bring huge money).
Technically MLS gets 0 spots. CONCACAF award 4 spots to USSF, and 1 spot to CSA. USSF does not have to give their spots to MLS; they could just as easy give them to NASL or USL if they so wished.
True, USSF gets the 4 American spots, but the set up right now is that MLS gets 3 and the Open Cup gets 1. But yes the USSF can change this set up when ever they want, so technically you are correct.
For everyone relying on the Cardiff/Swansea thing, a more apt comparison might be Liechtenstein. I believe FC Vaduz play in the Swiss structure but are in the Liechtenstein Cup and qualify for the Europa League that way. To answer the question, from a coefficient/"what they bring to the table" perspective, it's easily yes. From a logistical perspective, no. Two teams from the five eligible pro teams is too much. For now, 1 is a good number. Re: those complaining about the easy way in, I don't think the USSF wants a Canadian team taking one of their 4 spots anyways.
I said something similar in another thread. I'll take it further and say that, if Canada gets its own top-flight league, even if it consisted of the 5 current pro teams and a combination of a bunch of amateur teams, then they can start making a claim for an increased allocation. With the way their domestic competitions are structured now though, they can't make any legitimate claim to increased representation.
to be fair, this is a competition that needs spicing up... considering Canada has the top 2 attendances in the history of the comp, there could be an argument for 2 spots. Maybe change the Canadian Championship to a proper "open cup" with amateur qualifying rounds. Still, logistically, it's not really a legitimate argument.
I think that once Canada gets a league of its own (rather its considered D1, 2, or 3) the champion of that league should get a bid and then another spot goes to the 'national' champion (1 of the 3 MLS teams most likely). It just feels off to let 2/5th of Canada's pro teams in at this point especially when they don't even have a league of their own.
I think MLS should get three spots regardless of which country the team is from. Then, the US and Canada should each get an independent spot for their respective Cup competitions. By the way, I think UEFA should encourage more multi country leagues and do the same thing.
It's a good thing the (con)federation heads don't care what you think. That would cause a major cluster. If you award spots to leagues rather then federations you effectively diminish the feds administrative clout over the clubs in their respective regions.
Yes. There are 8 Canadian teams in the 3 American leagues (including 2 reserve squads) and IMO they should all leave the US leagues to form their own Canadian league together. That'd be 8 free spots for untapped American cities to fill in. I've never been a fan of teams playing in other countries' leagues and taking up a spot.
Is Federation clout important so that the bribes are effectively distributed through CONCACAF and the dependent governing bodies? Because if that is the reason I'm ok with leagues getting the spots instead.
Should Canada get 1.5 spots with the second Canadian club getting a two leg playoff against the third Caribbean club?
I don't think that I could really even get behind that. Canada already has a build-in advantage from being tied to MLS that belies it's actual relative strength relative to some of the stronger Carribean nations who have fully formed leagues with multides of teams filled with domestic players. This is the classic reason why allocation should not soley be tied to performance without taking into account the compostion of representation. Most nations are lucky to have 15 to 20 percent of their top flight qualify to CCL. Carribean clubs already have less than that. And you want to force them to put one of the few spots they have guaranteed so that a nation that doesn't have a league and fills the rosters of their top clubs with foreigners and Americans can get 40 percent of their clubs in the top two divisions in the tournament?