Random Idea, what if NASL were to be sanctioned as a D1 League by the Canada Soccer Association? After Ottowa comes into the League. Maybe with the understanding that the NASL would allow other Canadian teams in the league at a discounted fee? Canada has a very high ranking in the CCL (not that Concacaf cares about any of that) but what if NASL were the Canadian D1 and Concacaf were to allow another CSA team in the Concacaf Championship. Canada could give that spot to the NASL champion (Canada#2) with the understanding that eventually that spot would be reserved for only the best Canadian team in the NASL (similar to the USA Spots that can only go to American teams) after NASL has a minimum of 4 Canada teams in the league? Ok ready to take bad rep for this idea (oh wait there is not more bad rep, lucky me).
Itneresting idea, though MLS is regarded as D1 in Canada, NASL is ranked as D2. I don't think Canada currently deserves more than 1 spot in CCL right now, after Ottawa comes in we'll only have 5 professional teams. Both MLS and NASL clubs have the opportunity to reach CCL via the Voyageur's Cup so I think that it's fair as it stands.
If NASL were to be sanctioned as Canada's D1, would that not mean MLS would not be (ie. can you sanction two D1s?) What I would like to see (in the absence of a true Canadian league) is the gradual addition of Canadian teams to NASL until there was enough of them to form their own division within NASL. NASL could, then, have divsions/conferences called Canada and USA. Say (in a dream world) they got to 10 teams...each playing each other home and away for 18 games and playing the (in my example) 10 USA based NASL teams once each for a 28 game league schedule. Then NASL could have playoffs but the Canadian League Champion could be declared as the top team in the Canadian divsion. I think, if we ever got to that status, we could/should expect two CCL spots and those could be granted to the winner of the Canadian Divison and the winner of the Canadian Cup which would include the 10 Canadian Based NASL teams and the 3 MLS teams. Straight knockout/draw situation. With the NASL teams playing in the first round and the 3 MLS teams joining the 5 winners in the 2nd round (QF). Winner gets the 2nd spot. That would seem far off but should (IMO) something that the CSA should be striving for. Could we get to 10 NASL capable cities? Victoria, Saskatchewan (pick one), Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Hamilton, Suburban Toronto (Mississauga?, York University), Quebec City, Maritimes (somewhere).....on paper, it is not hard to envision a league....just not sure what the cost structure would be, how much attendance there would be and what kind of appetite there would be.
As ever, geography is the greatest impediment. It just makes too much financial sense for various regions to integrate with their nearest US counterparts. Just look at the NHL, which has a practically unlimited travel budget. Even they divide themselves timezone-wise with nearby american cities. In various interviews the CSA seems to be pushing for better semi-pro D3 teams and I hope they are successful with that. The more quality local soccer we have the better foundation we have for serious development in our secondary markets. Progress has to be made at all levels together to get a sustainable culture for the future.
This thread just might be relevant again. According to Ben Rycroft(of CSL match fixing fame), this past weekend Jim Easton presented a report to the CSA on what professional soccer should be like in Canada. It will be a blueprint for the CSA in the years ahead. Details should be released in the next few days. I would imagine a place like canadiansoccernews.com would be the place to keep an eye out.
"The three Canadian teams already playing or scheduled to begin play..." Three? Who is the third? I know there's been serious talk about Hamilton having a NASL club, but nothing official as of yet (or did I miss something).
Ottawa has the model in place for Canadian cities and the CSA and NASL could look to as a model for a Canadian Division as part of the bigger NASL. 1. Ownership group 2. Partnering CFL and NASL clubs. 3 Stadium. Edmonton, Hamilton, Winnipeg, and Calgary all have 2 orp parts of 2 of the pieces in place. Grant it there would have to be a lot of cooperation across several organizations. Wild Card that could be very key to make this happen would be the participation of TSN who just happens to be launching three new Networks. Like the CFL Canadian division of NASL would still fit in as the second of the two leagues in North America at this point.
For those of you interested in the NASL/CFL/CSA partnership negotiations, you probably know that there is the Canadian derby on today at 6pm between the Eddies and the Fury. Here is a quick preview I wrote on the game, cheers. NASL 2014 Matchday 10 at Edmonton Preview (and NASL Fall Season Preview) July 11, 2014 FC Edmonton vs Ottawa Fury FC – July 13, 2014 – Preview The Fury FC have added a new keeper and a CB over the summer break, while two CMs have left the club. While there may still yet be some roster movement, the NASL Fall Season opener kicks off on Sunday right after the FIFA World Cup final, with an away derby against FC Edmonton. The 1-0 injury-time victory over Edmonton in the last home game of the Spring Season is still very fresh in the minds of many Fury FC supporters, with Tom Heinemann making a fantastic comeback after his layoff from injury. He will be available for contention in the starting XI, though Nicki Paterson is still recovering from his spring season injury. FC Edmonton went 3-0-0 in their friendlies during the summer, including a victory over the Seattle Sounders and a win against Victoria Highlanders FC of USL PDL. They have added Cristian Raudales, a CM, to their ranks over the past week. A NASL Canadian derby right after the WC Final, it should be a good day of football on Sunday! Here are some match and fall season previews below, including one that I co-authored with Stuart Mactaggart on RedNation Online, where we will be contributing match previews and reviews throughout the fall season! Also, be sure to check out the news from CSN on a huge development in the Canadian club soccer scene, with partnership between NASL, CFL and CSA. We may very well be looking at a “Canadian League” or a “Canada Conference” within the NASL in a couple years time! Injuries and suspensions: M Nicki Paterson (doubtful), G Romuald Peiser (match fitness) When: Sunday, July 13, 2014 @ 6pm EDT Where: Clarke Stadium, Edmonton, AB (Watch at NASLLive.com; Listen at TSN1200 AM) NASL: http://www.nasl.com/article/uuid/1p...ntdown-to-2014-fall-season3-days#.U8AgJbEkzrc and http://www.nasl.com/article/uuid/1h...ll-season-kicks-off-this-weekend#.U8AgQ7Ekzrc OFFC: http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/de...ew-fc-edmonton-vs-ottawa-fury-fc#.U8BIkLEkzre and http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/de...ithin-reach-as-fall-season-nears#.U8Ag37Ekzrc FCE: http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/deta...soccer-kicks-off-for-fc-edmonton#.U8AhELEkzrc and http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/deta...ide-vs-ottawa-fury-fc-on-july-13#.U8AhIrEkzrc Ottawa Sun: http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/07/07/ottawa-fury-moves-to-td-place Ottawa Citizen: Metro News Ottawa: http://metronews.ca/news/ottawa/1091463/landsdowne-finally-opens-after-seven-long-years/ Edmonton Sun: RNO: http://rednationonline.ca/Articles2014/2014OttawaFuryFCFallSeasonPreview.aspx and http://www.rednationonline.ca/Articles2014/CountdownFCEdmontonvsOttawaFuryFC.aspx CSN: http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/i...-cfl-and-nasl-to-launch-canadian-league-r4701 Soccer Newsday: Reddit MLS/NASL: http://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/2ai9fr/uthemonsieurs_big_fat_nasl_fall_season_preview/ Flashes of Fury: Blog Fury FC: OFFC Review: http://offcreview.wordpress.com/2014/07/11/nasl-2014-matchday-10-at-edmonton-preview Ours is the Fury: Stony Monday Riot: Bytown Boys SC: TSN 1200 Corner Kicks: http://autopod.ca/chum/28/podcasts/ RNO SMR Ours is the Fury: http://www.rednationonline.ca/Podcasts2014/OursistheFuryFuryFCFallSeasonpreview.aspx BBSC The Banter:
. The new CSA league would be essentially a semi pro D4 league compared to the MLS D1, NASL D2, and USLPRO D3. It is more parallel to NPSL. A NASL Canadian divison would seem to make sense. Unlike the NHL there is mostly only travel once a week on the weekends and a travel model is already in place should the current and future NASL teams should connect to the CFL and the stadiums and/or complexes. Having only 5 NASL teams would not be enough for its own league so crossing over and playing US NASL clubs would also make sense. Aside from the West the NASL in the US right now could actually be broke down into 2 and in the future 3 regional divisions. Having two tenants at the new stadiums in Canada would also make sense. Many NHL and NBA teams share arena's. Some of the Arena's are also shared with a lower division of hockey or basketball in which only the lower levels are used. WHL, AHL, and WNBA all have several teams that are secondary tenants to NHL/NBA franchises. What makes this possible now where it was not before is that the new stadium infrastructure in Canada has improved greatly