It would be to much fixture congestion for alot of CFU team and they dont have the money for the team depth they would need for that, the set up is good right now, its right after the CL preliminary rounds so that the teams that participate in both have a chance to be competitive. CFU league seasons are in the summer, mostly, for does who dont know the CFU is helt around let october and early December.
I don't think SUM will cancel the SL. they'll just move it to make it work with/around Concacaf's schedule. SL is a money-making venture for SUM/FMF (I suppose). CCL is intended to be a money-maker for Concacaf. of course, the CCL has to be more inclusive of clubs in the region, and SL can (as an exhibition) limit iself to the attractive/marketable teams. it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. (imo, it will be unlikely for SUM to extend invitations to small Concacaf nations, but it wouldn't shock me to see adidas teams -- or teams interested in expanding their NA presence -- from Europe joining in on SL in years to come). but i suspect that the organizers or each event will do their best to make sure that both can exist and potentially thrive. (of course the shared teams and limits on the calendar may in fact limit both tournaments if either one tries to get too big.) CCL should be (and will be) the official confederation championship, but clubs will always make room for money-making exhibitions. perhaps SL will shift to fill the spot InterLiga might be vacating.
I was about to say that they should get ready for the realities of modern pro soccer, but that's a few too many games and the rosters are too thin in MLS. The teams will need to use the reserves, which means the reserve schedule should be thinned around that time.
Damn. I'm sorry to hear that. It almost guarantees that CONCACAF's representative at the Club World Cup will be Jack Warner.
They could solve that by having their own version of "Interliga", wherein Toronto FC play against other Canadian clubs in a little tournament to decide who represents.
I haven't said too much yet, mostly because i wanted to see it verified, but i am very disapointed in this announcment, its really just the current format with a pretty bow on it for MLS sides. Its great news for the carribean and central american countries, but really bad news for MLS and to a lesser extent FMF. 1. The same problems MLS currently has with the CCC are present here. The final knock out rounds STILL occur deep in MLS preseason. The major issue I wanted to reasonveld was the schedule itself. Why they just didn't start the group stage in March and break over the summer to reviene the knockout in the Fall i don't know. 2. FMF now has to send two more teams to this instead of to Libertadores. (unless they send their two qualifers as Interliga losers that missed out). It nice CONCACAF finally is coming around to this, but the competitive disadvantages we face are the same and all it does is add more games in the year to reach the same bullshit knock out round schedule.
There will not be a CCC next year, so that doesn't come into play indefinately. There will, of course, be the final rounds of this year's CCL in spring 2009. However, it's not necessarily likely that any MLS team that makes it to the 2008-9 CCL knockout rounds will qualify for the 2009 SuperLiga or 2009-10 CCL.
The post makes sense but everyone knows the Revs would play their matches in Bermuda. (Is that getting old?)
And the fact that Houston would've been knocked out in the first round of the playoffs last season...
That is an interesting point. Does an MLS team that is doing well in CCL hold on to a player during the January transfer window that they might otherwise sell-off to Europe. Said another way, does a team that might be able to make an extra million hold on to a sellable player now, where they might be more willing to previously. MLS holds players rights but teams still have a say in who goes and who doesn't so it will be interesting to watch come next January.
How does MLS get 4 spots? What reasons would they have to gain 4 freaken spots? Canada? How does a nation with no PROFESSIONAL league get even 1? Us, on the other hand, have won the CCC 6 times, only second to Mexico. We have won it twice since 2000 in 2004 being an all-Costa Rican final and 2005 having only one team unjustly having to qualify while MLS teams haven't even been in the final since almost a decade. Saprissa has had the best showing along with Toluca out of CONCACAF in the Club World Cup with a third place so we have EARNED our stripes. Seriously, how [do they] get all those spots while we get stuck with 1 spot in the group stage and 1 in prequalifying? All America and Canada did was put in money in Jack Warner's pocket. God the corruption is unreal in those countries and this crap of a confederation.
In fact, in some respects it's worse as the reality of some of these qualifying games starts to set in for MLS teams that have to make the trip. They may regionalize the draw to cut down on travel, but look at some of the facilities for teams that have qualified. Here is Estadio Sergio Torres Rivera, home of CD Luis Ángel Firpo of El Salvador: And Estadio Agustín "Muquita" Sánchez, home of San Francisco FC of Panama: I don't mean to denigrate these teams because these appear to be well cared for stadiums that reflect recent work, but that doesn't change the fact that Firpo's stadium has a listed capacity of 4,000, which is downright spacious compared to the 3,000 souls who can fill San Francisco's stadium to capacity (which, BTW, makes it the third largest stadium for soccer in Panama). We are talking about adding 16 qualifying ties, many with teams just like this, played in small facilities that may well not be this nice, in front of -- at most -- a couple thousand people. And for this, we are going to spend the added money to send teams jetting around CONCACAF so that Toronto FC can play CD Firpo in a "real" Champions League? CONCACAF has some very poor teams in countries with some desperately poor people and we expect them to use their resources for this? If not, where is the money coming from? How big a TV audience can Univision possibly muster for these games? And when all of this qualifying is done and the additional money spent, we are right back where we started, with eight teams, which hopefully include a couple from MLS, playing out the quarterfinals in the MLS off-season during the dead of winter. Progress.
My money is still on the CCL collapsing of its own weight first. They've taken the CCC and added a bunch of matches with tougher travel for teams that no one wants to see.
I don't know if it will collapse under it's own wait, but being cut down to just the group stages and beyond is what will probably happen, and let the Caribbian and central America still have thier own tournment to decide entry.
CONCACAF's member associations are the individual countries' soccer (football) federations. In our case, the USSF. The USSF's registered Division 1 professional league is Major League Soccer. Toronto FC is a member club of Major League Soccer. So yes, the path for Toronto FC is through MLS. But we know that will never happen, at least not with Mo in charge.
Well if its in a same situation as the PR Islanders they may play in a foreign league, but still fall under the juresdinction of their countries Fed in TFC case the CSA. Its this same reason that Puerto Rico Islanders get to play, its a loop hole in FIFA regulations, and the countries get to choose who goes as their representation so making a tournament for the top flight teams (MLS, USL, and maybe even the CSL Champ) is perfectly in the federations right, like PR does with the PR National Cup which invites all Puerto Rican teams amature and pro to play for the CFU spots, like the US Open Cup, only that the Islanders are the only team that show up for the tournament, so they get a automatic pass basically.
So, I'm just saying, the way this wheel is grinding, I think Superliga will be left standing at the end, SUM will plow over CONCACAF, and Libertadores will become the Tourny de los Americas
I hope This is wrong : MLS will go to the Libertadores...it will probably be official tomorrow (January 29) The schedule is really a huge burden to MLS Regarding the final game, CONCACAF made the best decision to make the final a home-away match...that makes it more exiting...u just need to watch the Libertadores finals
Preaching to the choir, although five of those six wins were by two teams -- Saprissa or LDA -- with the lone exception (as you probably know) being CS Cartaginés. Still, those two teams are some of the best in CONCACAF, and given their success, Costa Rica should have at least gotten two of the automatic group spots IMO.
One thing to consider is that for every other league in the federation this schedule fits the full length of the season. It would be a mess trying to determine cup-tied issues with offseason transfers in every other league but MLS. Anyone complaining about competitive disadvantages should re-evaluate their argument when A.) MLS received more spots than they deserve based on pure merit and B.) MLS still chooses to go against the rest of the world's calendar.