I wonder if they could get a corporate sponsor for their women's team. I don't know how that would work in the eyes of FIFA. It would be good publicity for a company like Lululemon (headquartered in BC) to sponsor them. I have a bunch of USMNT warm-up jerseys from the 2000s, and they all have corporate sponsors plastered all over them (VW, etc.) If the money isn't there right now...............get it there. Canada isn't alone in this issue with their women's team. We're seeing it around the world. I remember that when the T&T women's team was training at the Toyota Stadium complex in Frisco, FC Dallas was paying for their meals, etc. Their own federation couldn't support them. They barely had jerseys to play in. FCD solicited for donations for them thru their social media. Those of us who are old enough remember all of the growing pains and challenges that the USMNT went thru in the late 90s. The players went on strike, etc. and we were training with scabs in case we needed them for WCQers. Canada's players and federation are going thru those same pains.
I think the problem is that the deal with CSB limits their upside and it's locked in till about 2027 or so (and CSB has the right to do a 10 year extension). The way the deal works they get 3 or 4 million guaranteed a year from CSB who then gets all the sponsorship and TV money. By comparison as of the most recent fiscal year, USSF gets about 47 million a year from their sponsorship and TV money. When the deal was signed it probably wasn't a bad deal money wise as the TV and sponsorship money wasn't really bringing in much at all. But it's clearly a bad deal based on what's happen since because there's alot more interest in soccer in Canada on both the men's and women's side. The real major issue though is that they locked themselves in for such a long time period. The Athletic had a good article on this today. https://theathletic.com/4261791/2023/02/28/canada-soccer-bontis-resigns/ I think the frustration of the players is that Canada is a fairly wealthy country who has a soccer federation that is severely under resourced and who has potentially locked themselves into a below market TV/sponsorship deal through the year 2037.
Was that when Jack Warner was still in Concacaf??? That likely had something to do with that., along with most Women's teams being an afterthought to their nation's respective federation. The thing with the CSA is this: Their Women's Team has been their bread and butter for the past two decades. It's almost as if they didn't budget properly for BOTH the senior National Team's having success...... Almost as if the CSA hadn't actually planned on the men's team making the hex....errrr....ocho and then qualifying for the World Cup.
No...............that was after Jack Warner. In other words, after money regularly appeared at T&T federation headquarters in trash bags. I think people do dramatically underestimate the costs of supporting youth and senior national team programs. We have USSF tax returns and know what they spend. That's peanuts to Germany, England, etc. The challenge here with Canada is simple. The quality of their squads has outpaced financial support.
Well it expires in 2027 but CSB has the right to extend for 10 years. I don’t know who agreed to that provision but it was very dumb. Their best hope is to get CSB to try and renegotiate the deal. The contract is worth more to them anyways when Canada Soccer does well. And if they don’t have the resources they probably aren’t going to do as well.
Luca Koleosho being called up by Italy for their U19s? It would be provisionally cap-tying. https://www.figc.it/it/nazionali/ne...della-partenza-per-la-fase-élite-in-germania/ I thought the US might try to get him for their U20WC later this spring, but Italy beat them to the punch. A casualty of Canada not qualifying for the U20WC and Olympics?
It sounds like he’s going to attend but not play and make a decision later Update.. I understand that Luca Koleosho, as of now, is not set on playing for Italy's U-19 team in any of their upcoming UEFA U-19 games. He will attend the Italian training camp for 4 days and then decide to focus on either USA or Italy for upcoming youth tournaments.— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) March 3, 2023 But definitely some work to be done to try and get him in the fold.
So no Canada? That's a blow............... [I guess. We don't know if he's going to be any good yet.] What I do know is that he'd at least be in the running for the U20WC and the Olympics with the US. Even more so if the guys at the top end aren't released. Although Italy is at the U20WC this summer too.
Well I feel like Canada is going to have to wait a few years till after the U20 and Olympics. He’s not quite ready for any senior team yet so i imagine he’ll go with a team that has youth tournaments. But he could always switch to Canada down the line too.
Canada aren't really ever in the equation for youth dual nationals (Marcelo Flores springs to mind) due to a non-existent program at the 20-23 levels (no money).
Well the good thing is thus far Marcelo Flores doesn’t seem to be much of a loss. With Koleosho, if/when he’s good enough to play for the senior team, that’s when Canada has to be super aggressive. Even if they lose him in the short term, that’s not a permanent thing.
That Jonathan David is something special. I sure hope the media up there draws some eyeballs on whichever big club he goes to this summer. Also props to Larin doing well so far in La Liga. I wanna say he's the last NCAA player who's gone abroad?
He’d be an interesting buy for Manchester United since they are definitely in need of a striker this summer and Osimhen is going to be even more expensive.
From youth amateur soccer directly to a pro club in Europe. How many North American kids can say that in the last 10 years?
Didn't Tajon Buchanan also play college soccer? Others include Zach Steffen, Tim Ream, Jack Harrison, Daryl Dike, Reggie Cannon, and I'm sure others I can't remember.
So CPL just updated its rules, which now puts 3 clubs in breach of the foreign player requirements. Cavalry, Valour, and York all have at least 4 foreign players already signed that are not U23. As of March 17, 2023: At all times during the League Season, a Club’s Primary Roster must include: A minimum of 20 players A maximum of 23 players A minimum of two (2) goalkeepers A minimum of three (3) Domestic Players 21 years-of-age or under (player must be a maximum of 21 years old by the end of the calendar year in which the League Season starts – i.e., for the 2023 League Season, players born January 1 st , 2002, or later.) A maximum of seven (7) International Players. At all times, 50% of all CPL Club’s International Players must be U23 (born January 1 st , 2000 or later). If a CPL Club wishes to utilize the maximum seven (7) International Players, the 7 th signed International Player must be U21 (born January 1 st , 2002 or later)
I have no real opinion on this particular move but it is an interesting dichotomy. CPL is definitely leaning towards being a fully developmental and Canadian league. I'm not sure of MLS' history but I don't think was ever that restrictive since given everything ... that's really just 3 foreign players. The question is really: is it better just to give all this PT and slowly build up quality over the years, or try to import quality and create a more competitive development environment? Of course, since there's no real salary and no real transfer budget, does it really matter all that much? (Does Canada have a green card-style immigration law? One of the things about MLS is that once a player gets a green card, they legally have to be treated like a citizen. So there's a huge unavoidable loophole.)
I think the ideal is some sort of balance. You want there to be opportunities for Canadian players to develop, but you also want some foreign players to help raise the level of the league to help push those players.
The real issue with this for some is that we are already playing pre-season games now and players are signed. The assumption is the three teams now breaching these rules will be grandfathered in, but nobody knows for sure. I like the CPL focus on youth minutes, this is an investment in soccer in Canada after all. But such late changes look rather bush league.
I was a critic of JMR last season. I didn't understand what the hype was about. He started vs San Jose on Saturday and was impressed. He looks like he's grown (physically) since last year and was pretty composed. He was named to the MLS "Team of the Matchday". Hopefully, he builds on this.