hello all, i was curious as to when you, the experts, would anticipate that the fixtures for the semi-finals of WCQ would be finalized? i am a US supporter but went to the match in Montreal vs SVaG and had a great time. im thinking of attending the Canadian qualifier on 9/6 (since the US will be in Cuba) just wanted to make sure the whens/wheres of it. thanks!
Seems like Saputo is the new home for the natiopnal team, though Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton has been a popular stop for them too so I'd expect to see them there as well.
This is what I have been hearing so far: [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Jamaica @ Toronto on August 20th Honduras @ Montreal on September 6th Mexico @ Edmonton on October 15th Apparently this is tentative, so don't take this as the final schedule but I would say their is a good chance this is how it will look. When I say tentative, I should explain I mean the venues and not the dates. They are basically set in stone. [/FONT]
They'd play in Edmonton before Vancouver? BOO. I was hoping to make a trip up north to see them. Oh well, perhaps they'll qualify for the finals in 2009/2010.
Having the Jamaica game in Toronto is a bad idea. There's a huge Jamaican population here and it would probably compromise Canada's home advantage for that game. I'm surprised that BMO is even being considered with the Field Turf fiasco and all. Wouldn't be at all surprised if that game were moved to Vancouver. Smart idea playing Mexico in Edmonton in October, hopefully temperatures colder than the Mexicans are used to will help us get something from that game. They have one of the best, if not the best, stadiums in the country.
Commonwealth Stadium capacity 60 081 Swangard Stadium capacity 6868 Vancouver really does need to get that new stadium built.
I believe it has to due with the fact that the Impact have a home game on that date. There is talks of moving that game to another date to accommodate the Canada game though. Have to see what happens, apparently the national team players want to play all their games at Saputo.
Saputo has the advantages of natural grass and a time zone that is (for Canada) relatively close to Europe. That said, the CSA has contractual obligations to play some games at the new stadium in Toronto. In addition, regardless of the wishes of the players, I can't see the national team playing in only one venue when we have several others that can be used. It's not like we're a small country where fans from all regions could easily travel to one central stadium for matches.
I personally don't mind if Canada decides not to play at BMO field at all. This will send a clear message to city of Toronto to get rid of field turf.
Rumour has it (I forget where this came from, might have been the Footy Show podcast, but it also could have been tsn/sportsnet or some forums...) that the deal with BMO is for "Team Canada". It doesn't talk about whether it's a friendly with Christmas Island, or a World Cup qualifier against Mexico. It doesn't talk about whether it's the Men's team, or the Men's under-20 team. It also doesn't talk about whether it's Men's or Womens. Or so I hear. The point is that this could mean that Canada could play the Qualifiers in Montreal (or Edmonton), while BMO gets most/all the other, less important, games.
Just needs to be be six games a year, CWNT, U23, U20, doesn't matter who it is. The senior men would be lucky to play six games a year period.
That said, this country as a whole needs more worthwhile stadiums, two (Saputo and Commonwealth) aren't enough. BMO could be a third if they changed the pitch to grass, and hopefully Vancouver will have one soon.
thanks for the great info and insight. i wont book anything yet, but a return trip to Montreal would certainly be great.....
After watching the Galaxy/Vancouver game at Commonwealth stadium, I can't understand for a minute why one would consider it a world-class pitch! The players were complaining that the surface at BC Place was better.
Tickets for the Toronto (www.ticketmaster.ca) and Montreal (www.admission.com) matches go on sale on July 14th. http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=3245
Damn - I'm at a conference in Boston ... I'll have to figure out how I can get computer access. I wonder if there will be any presales. Interesting to see that they are now calling it BMO Field rather than "The National Soccer Stadium".
CIBC used to be a CSA sponsor, and FIFA don't allow for corporate names of stadiums for their competitions, which is why it was the NSS in 2007.