The CPL, USports draft is happening today after the conclusion of the university national championship (best out of 48 teams) which saw "Carabins de Montréal" defeating "Cap Bretons Capers" in extra time. M⚽️ // @USPORTSca CHAMPIONS. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gdY1Qp6sDp— U SPORTS Soccer (@USPORTS_Soccer) November 12, 2018 National team coach John Herdman revealed a new CPL roster rule According to this article http://aftn.ca/canadian-mens-nation...-country-in-ways-that-weve-never-done-before/ About the draft The new draft will provide players with one to four years of remaining college eligibility an opportunity to sign a CPL-U SPORTS Developmental Contract to play with a CPL club in the spring and summer, while preserving their college eligibility to allow them to return to U SPORTS competition in the fall on August 15th. Graduating senior players will also be a part of the draft and eligible to sign full professional contracts. New CPL roster rule "It won’t just be the Canadian players that are eligible to be drafted. Nationality will not matter and all players that remain in the college system will be classed as domestics until they graduate." -John Herdman
1st Inaugural Canadian Premier League Draft 1) Cavalry - Gabriel Bitar, Forward, Carleton 2) Valour - Dylan Carreiro, Midfielder, York 3) Forge - Jace Kotsopoulos, Forward, Guelph 4) York 9 - Daniel Gogarty, Defender, York 5) HFX Wanderers - Peter Schaale, Defender, Cape Breton (Germany)* 6) Pacific - Thomas Gardner, Midfielder, UBC 7) Edmonton - Connor James, Goalkeeper, Alberta 8) Edmonton - Ajeej Sarkaria, Forward, Alberta 9) Pacific - Zach Verhoven, Forward, UBC 10) HFX Wanderers - Andre Bona, Defender, Montreal (France)* 11) York 9 - Emmanuel Zambazis, Midfielder, York 12) Forge - Aboubacar Sissoko, Midfielder, Montreal(Mali)* 13) Valour - Lewis White, Defender, Cape Breton (Scotland)* 14) Cavalry - Joel Waterman, Midfielder, Trinity Western 15)Cavalry - Easton Ongaro, Forward, Alberta 16) Valour - Jack Simpson, Midfielder, Cape Breton (England)* 17) Forge - Marko Mandekic, Midfielder, Toronto 18) York 9 - Daniel Pritchard, Defender, Cape Breton (England)* 19) HFX Wanderers - Christian Oxner, Goalkeeper, Saint Mary's 20) Pacific - Nick Fussell, Midfielder, UBC 21) Edmonton - Noah Cunningham, Defender, Alberta * = Non Canadian The results of the inaugural CPL-U SPORTS Draft are in!Check out the Draft Tracker ➡️ https://t.co/xKLFf6kEtK | #CanPL pic.twitter.com/BsSSaV7AXi— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) November 13, 2018 @CPLCavalryFC pic.twitter.com/KgSzfV80Iz— CanPL Central (@CanplCentral) November 13, 2018 @ValourFootball pic.twitter.com/FqtTJS6iw7— CanPL Central (@CanplCentral) November 13, 2018 @ForgeFCHamilton pic.twitter.com/miXxvphDl8— CanPL Central (@CanplCentral) November 13, 2018 @FCEdmontonNow pic.twitter.com/gOVXIAxmWi— CanPL Central (@CanplCentral) November 13, 2018
Good problem to have. I'm pretty psyched about the season. I hope people come out in droves. As much as I was a weeaboo-level Canadaphile growing up, I've kind of lost touch and need to learn about Canadian soccer. Been to Calgary before. Too bad no Dinos drafted (maybe no men's team?), but happy to see a CPL team there.
That didn't take long!!! Canadian Premier League acquires Ontario Soccer’s League1 Ontario📝: https://t.co/R0ANeyN9dW | #CanPL pic.twitter.com/VXJjrh7UBw— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) November 14, 2018 CPL has began it's take over of the Canadian Tier 3 to eventually implement pro/rel from Tier 1 to 3. CPL plans to start Tier 2 in 2026
My take on the Canadian Premier League draft of U-Sports players and their 'acquisition' of League 1 Ontario. The sudden change from avoiding mentioning that six players chosen played in L1O (including the top four picks) to 'acquiring' the L1O and suddenly bragging about all the L1O players who have made their way to MLS is most interesting. http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports19/19york03.htm
The CPL will be most effective at bolstering the national team if it serves as a conduit for players on their way up. If this link to L1O provides a fluid path for the most talented L1O players to move up to the CPL, that will be great. If the CPL is also happy to link those players on to MLS and other, higher leagues then that will be even better.
I'm expecting a rebranding of League 1 Ontario. From a business point of view, there's tons of values in such an acquisition. Expect the League 1 Ontario to have CPL branding all over it, which allows the league to firmly implement itself all over Ontario, from Windsor, to London, to the GTA and to Ottawa. They can expand their brand at a much faster rate. Dino Rossi said that CPL acquisition will give more means to grow even more. Maybe a team in Kingston? Maybe bringing Thunder Bay back in the fold? Better infrastructure? All positive points Another thing that got lost in the news is that CPL also acquired the L10 Women's Division, which lays the foundation for a Women's Premier League. Clanachan said that bthis opens the door for CPL to acquire other similar leagues. This would fulfill the CSA plan if they acquired the PLSQ in Quebec, BC league and Alberta league. He did make the comparison to our current CHL as a model. As for TFC III, they will most likely go into the USSDA, because, TFC... Montreal's journalists were calling on Montreal Impact into strengthening it's relationship with Quebec's Universities and PLSQ. I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, they are either not interested or have no clue what they're doing. A rapid development of our D3 tier by the acquisition and creation of D3 league across Canada facilitates the creation of a Division II league for CPL. There's no doubt that eventually, we will have talent taht will end up being too strong or too old for L1O but not quite good enough for CPL. The creation of Tier II will then become vital. Truly exciting news and a game changer!
With the CPL acquisition of L1O (and maybe PLSQ and PCSL, I hope), the tier II will likely be modeled on the CJFL www.cjfl.org This is where places like Windsor, Goderich, Sherbrooke, will likely end up. Travel in this regional Tier II will be easier on these teams than in CPL Tier I which is national (This is why I am ambivalent about pro-rel)
Easy branding will certainly help the CPL get the word out to a broader audience. It won't hurt, either, that it will have an in with the soccer communities in the various L1O cities. L1O was already poised for continued growth but maybe this will help. A WPL would ultimately be helpful to the CWNT. I'd like to see the CPL financially secure before they try for a pro women's league. I'm assuming it is as much the CSA behind this as the CPL In that case putting all the D3 leagues under one umbrella would make good sense. I don't see this part. Aside from TFC III, TFC already has affiliations with the London and Windsor L1O teams. They are well invested in L1O.
I think Tier III will be regional. Tier II will most likely be national, East-West conferences at best
My idea: CPL tier 1 (national) Tier 2 league (national) Tier 3 leagues (composed of leagues such as L1O) regional. CPL and Tier 2 leagues are comprised of Eastern and Western conferences. Western tier 3 league teams get promoted to Western conference of tier 2, and then western conference of CPL.
CPL Tier 1 will be single table with no conferences. Everything points out for Tier II to be the same
This is beyond team speculation, there will be a team in Laval for 2020 Alex Bunbury : "Je veux monter une équipe montréalaise en Première Ligue Canadienne" | Just e-Soccer https://t.co/8g7t1Oqfig— Alex Bunbury (@AlexanderBunbu1) November 16, 2018 Laval (also Jesus Island) has a population of approximately 440K, located north of Montreal Island. It is connected to Montreal with the commuter train line and the Montreal Metro. The Northern suburbs also called "Couronne Nord" accounts for over 550K people, meaning that Laval has a potential market of over 1M people and could draw directly from Montreal Island's northern boroughs. A team could start as soon as 2020 Direct translated quote: "We are talking to investors. We will be able to assess the situation in January but it is certain that we will not be ready for the 2019 season. Many things are to be done and I do not want a rush. We have started discussions with the leaders of the CPL. The Laval complex would be a great place to play, it's pretty central and easy to get to. It will be necessary to speak with the FSQ." This means that Montreal Impact will have a harder time penetrating it's suburbs while having to compete with CPL right on it's doorsteps. With Quebec City entering the league most likely in 2020, they will miss out on a Quebec City - Montreal, which in the province, transcends sports and also is more important to Quebecois than Toronto - Montreal rivalries. Complexe de Laval Tons of land for a Modular stadium + Indoor field for training Location Green = Intersection of Highway 440 (East-West Highway from Laval to Eastern Montreal Suburbs) & Highway 15 (Downtown Montreal to the Laurentian Mountains up north) Bleu = Stadium, fantastic location next to Carrefour Laval, Quebec's biggest shopping Mall and their downtown + entertainment area) Orange = Montmorency Metro Station at the end of the Orange line which crosses some of the most populated areas on Montreal Island
My french is not great, but this doesn't seem to be a sure thing yet. Promising, yes, but he isn't announcing a team for 2020. "I want to have a team"... "this and that would be a great idea" etc.
No it's not an announcement but they have talked to the league and investors. He said he'd be able to provide an update of the situation in January. CPL said that the 2020 expansion teams would be known prior to the season.
What land? The area you show in the Blue Circle above is pretty well developed on both sides of the 15.
Although I wish it were sooner, like 2022 at the latest, it is nice to see this move as a guarantee on that promise to implement as leagues like Liga MX and even the European rumors of a "Super League" seek to destabilize such an entertaining system. It would be nice to see Canada prove the efficacy of the system by going in the other direction for a change... There were a number of reddit threads that pointed to things like the draft and single-entity-like aspects of the CPL as possible evidence that they were edging away from the idea of a pro/rel future, but I never saw those things as outright deal-breakers on the system. Those aren't the things that prevent the system's implementation here. It's rather MLS' growing entry fee and the bolstering of franchise values due to the league's closed nature that does prevents it. But still, such talk was somewhat troubling to me. I'm happy to see this step being taken early as a bit of a statement of intent on the part of the league... If Canada can prove the concept here in North America, maybe MLS will soften it's own stance in the future and Liga MX will re-commit to it.
Is the absence of conferences really all that necessary for the lower tiers? I mean I can understand not wanting it in tier two but below that, and being less important competitions and thus closer to the grass roots, cost control becomes a more important concern, no? Even the English system breaks down into regional leagues at a certain level, granted this is waaay waaay down the pyramid from the 3rd level, but England also has many many times many more clubs than any other footballing pyramid. Maybe not Tier 2 but Tier 3 should be provincial and regionalised with some type of tournament deciding who enters Tier 2 in order to control travel costs and make it easier for modestly funded start-up clubs to enter the system and work their way up. Also, I have a question for you and other Canadian fans over there and this dove-tails from the point that I brought up in my previous paragraph. Many Voyageurs and interested Canadian soccer fans over there have long taken ire with the CSL even before their match-fixing woes due to the ethnic-sounding nature of their clubs despite the long tradition of Toronto-Croatia for example. So if the CSA adopts a truly open-ended pyramid which allows for modest, grass-roots start-up clubs to enter the system and potentially work their way all the way up to the CPL, then let's say that a group starts up another Toronto-Croatia and they manage to work their way up to the CPL. How would they be received? Granted, the very dislike for such clubs seems to preclude such a side becoming successful enough commercially to do so, however, even CPL clubs might be modest enough at first themselves that a wealthy enough person interested in the idea could effectively bank-roll such a team into the first division out of pocket, potentially gaining followers along the way. Also I've never really understood why they and the Serbian White Eagles clubs were such pariahs to Canadian fans. I never saw it suggested that they practiced discriminating player selections favoring one or the other ethnicities as part of the issue, only the names. How is it any different from names like the Boston Celtics here in the US, Celtic FC in Scotland, Washington Redskins or Florida Seminoles etc...? All of these are ethnically based team names essentially tied to ethnicities that do not necessarily relate directly to the members of their teams or their fanbases... Forgive me if this brings up a contentious issue that could dove-tail into a bad place, I'm only interested in getting a better understanding into the opinions expressed by Canadian soccer fans on the old CSL and this was always an opinion that felt a bit odd to me...