Don Garber : "We are opening an office in Canada." #MLS— Nicolas A Martineau (@nik_martineau) May 16, 2017 .... And?
Bad press for MLS in Montreal regarding Garber's visit Translation: Slap in the face to Montreal regarding refusing to organize an All-Star game http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/05/17/giffle-pour-montreal A few highlights of the article Chicago was chosen over Montreal. Garber thinks Montreal "needs to do more in attendance". However, according to Soccer Stadium Digest, Chicago is 16th in the league in terms of attendance and Montreal is 8th. Even if you remove the opener at Olympic Stadium, that would still put Montreal at 14th, ahead of Chicago According to the newspaper; Atlanta, Seattle and Toronto would have made more sense than Chicago Selon Garber, #CanMT et #USMNT se développeraient bcp plus vite si tous les centres d'entraînement étaient à la hauteur du Centre Nutrilait.— Nicolas A Martineau (@nik_martineau) May 16, 2017 USMNT and CanMT would develop more players if all the team in MLS had Montreal Impact training grounds facilities Don Garber : «Piatti est perçu comme l'un des meilleurs joueurs de l'histoire de notre ligue.» #MLS #IMFC #ImpactTVASports— Nicolas A Martineau (@nik_martineau) May 16, 2017 Piatti is perceived as one of the greatest MLS players in the history of MLS Autre expansion possible au Canada? "Pas maintenant... et pas dans un futur rapproché." - Don Garber— Nicolas A Martineau (@nik_martineau) May 16, 2017 No expansion in Canada in the short and long term...Not that the CSA would allow it with the arrival of CPL All-Star game, not anytime soon http://www.journaldemontreal.com/20...u-au-canada-en-attendant-le-match-des-etoiles He mentioned the 375th anniversary of the foundation of Quebec, before being corrected that it was Montreal's 375th anniversary He had promised an All-Star game to Joey Saputo and the Montreal Impact but came back on his words by blaming inconsistencies in attendances...although it's still higher than Chicago Garber wants Montreal Impact to be AS IMPORTANT as the other 2 teams...CFL Montreal Alouettes and...OMG the Montreal Canadiens...He clearly has no clue about the Montreal market...pigs will fly before that happens He made a deal with the Chicago mayor stating that he was doing a lot for organizing events, kids program and building soccer fields for kids. He mentioned Montreal's mayor campaign to bring MLB back to the city...he barely hides his annoyance to the mayor having all his attention on baseball instead of his league The newspaper points out how complex it is to have the true financial picture of the league He wants MLS to beat Liga MX in Champions league... Conclusion: He's slowly becoming Gary Bettman V. 2.0. He pissed off more people than creating more excitement for the league...
http://www.sportsnet.ca/590/soccer-central-radio/soccer-central-radio-may-18-thursday/ 43:00 mark address Don Garber visit to Montreal
Montreal Impact to play in Ottawa at TD Place against the Ottawa Fury in a friendly match http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/06/05/limpact-jouera-un-match-amical-a-ottawa-1 Interesting quote: Nous aurons la chance d'aller jouer dans la région d'Ottawa et Gatineau pour la toute première fois depuis que nous avons joint la MLS et nous espérons voir tous nos supporters de cette région au match.» Translation: We will have the chance to play in the Ottawa and Gatineau area for the very first time since joining the MLS and we look forward to seeing all of our supporters in this area. Oh, MLS...Better late than never I suppose...Then they wonder why they never conquered Canada...sigh
Maybe they figured we have a decent team if we could beat both Vancouver and Toronto and want to check us out.
Not having one all-Canadian matchup on Canada Day seems like a large wasted opportunity by MLS. #VWFC #IMFC #TFC— John Molinaro (@JohnMolinaro) July 1, 2017 For Canada's 150th anniversary on top of that...Keep it up MLS
Good morning 🇨🇦 we begin another week can anyone give me the address of the Canadian MLS office? #StillWaiting— A. Totera (@4totera) July 17, 2017
CPL News>League head office has opened and is located in the heart of downtown Toronto #CanPL 🇨🇦— A. Totera (@4totera) September 4, 2017 Meanwhile...MLS Canadian offices still don't exist
Sources confirm to me that the Canadian MLS office will open in Toronto #Finally— A. Totera (@4totera) September 26, 2017
In @sbjsbd: @MLS has hired Coca-Cola marketing exec Diego Moratorio as general manager of new MLS Canada unit. Will be based in Toronto.— Ian Thomas (@byIanThomas) October 2, 2017 Moratorio will aim to increase sponsorship $s & fanbase in Canada for MLS & 3 CAN clubs, as well as work w/rights-holders TSN & TVA Sports. https://t.co/YrvRD81d3E— Ian Thomas (@byIanThomas) October 2, 2017
CPL had better get their act together and soon, because it looks like MLS is finally starting to take its Canadian Marketing seriously.
I agree on one side (Sponsorship) but argue that it's too late on another front (growing the fanbase outside of the 3 cities). They should have done this 5 years ago and with CPL starting by 2019, there's no way MLS will make someone from the Maritimes, Prairies or the West care about MLS ahead of their local clubs.
MLS opens a marketing office in Canada: Is it already too little, too late? https://t.co/Hvdvhc1Kys— Steven Sandor (@stevensandor) October 2, 2017
I'm not sure the timing would ultimately matter. Even if MLS had actively courted fans in non-MLS cities, there's no way those fans would shun a solid local team to watch MLS from afar on TV. Anecdotally, I know there are TFC fans in Ottawa but that doesn't stop them from being Fury fans and going to Fury games. The only way MLS could have truly captured additional Canadian fans would have been to put teams in cities like Ottawa, Edmonton, etc. It's been clear for some time that MLS is not interested in further Canadian expansion. The rest of Canada therefore always has been (and would be) open territory for another league.