KITCHENER — The ball is rolling to bring professional soccer to Waterloo Region.

Local soccer agent, promoter and K-W United FC president Barry MacLean is spearheading a bid for a franchise in the newly minted Canadian Premier League.

Talks have been ongoing for the past year and a half but are gaining steam after the fledgling league was unanimously endorsed by Canada Soccer this past weekend.

"I think that there is a real chance it will happen," said MacLean. "We have a goal to try to be ready for the launch. We want to be a part of it from the beginning."

The CPL has already received interest from 10 markets across Canada. Two teams — in Hamilton and Winnipeg — were granted full memberships as professional clubs within Soccer Canada at an organizational gathering Saturday in Whistler, B.C.

Both those clubs are owned by the same parties that run the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers and would play their home games at their respective Canadian Football League stadiums.

Other markets are lining up to be a part of what would be the highest domestic professional soccer circuit in the country.

"It has really been heartening and fascinating," said Paul Beirne, the league's project manager and first official employee.

"Sometimes it's the supporters making enough noise to help us attract the attention of a potential investor. Sometimes it's an investor that really believes in the purpose and the movement we're creating for Canadian soccer."

The CPL will be evaluating franchise candidates over the next few months and considers Waterloo Region a nice fit.

"The key ingredient is an active and engaged community and I think K-W represents everything that we're looking for in a strong and vibrant CPL club," said Beirne, who has worked for Major League Soccer's Toronto FC and Brighton and Hove Albion of the English Premier League.

Beirne sees CPL teams coast to coast and, eventually, in different divisions. He sees import rules to help foster local talent and Canadian players honing their skills on home soil instead of being forced to go overseas.

First, the league has to get off the ground.

"We haven't made any commitments one way or another," he said. "But 2018 is definitely feasible. We're running as fast as we can to confirm that.

"We're trying to be meticulous and methodical so we don't make any rookie mistakes as we launch this thing. Our first three or four years are going to be critical in our long term success so we're making sure we do it right."

MacLean has "serious investment" lined up, but admitted that additional financial backing would be needed to bring a team to the area.

There are other obstacles as well.

"The CPL is going to need to have some concrete affirmation that the community wants to rally around it and that there will be some sort of stadium development moving forward," said MacLean, noting that the team would need about 5,000 fans per game to survive.

"We've had some discussions on stadium plans, but they are kind of rudimentary. We need to have all the different user groups going in the same direction. That won't be easy, but for something like this it will change the landscape of soccer in the community."

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Beirne was in on the ground floor with Toronto FC and says the vibe surrounding the CPL is similar.

"That's where I'm getting my energy and enthusiasm from," he said. "It's clear to me that there is a pent-up demand and desire (for high level soccer).

"The fans in K-W are going to enjoy hating the fans in Hamilton because that's part of football. However, there is also this overarching sense of purpose that we're creating a movement about the Canadian game."