Article content

You know soccer season is almost here when the head man makes an appearance: Don Garber, commissioner of the MLS, was in Vancouver on Monday to meet with fans at an evening town hall, put in a charity appearance at Covenant House — and to chat with the media.

At the media roundtable the questions were many and varied. Here’s a sampling:

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Patrick Johnston: Growth the name of the game for MLS czar on Vancouver visit Back to video

On Canadian development

It’s no surprise that, visiting a Canadian city, Garber was keen to emphasize the work being doing by the Whitecaps in their Academy and Residency programs. So far, so good was the suggestion from Garber, an added recognition that growing beyond local markets is a must-do in the years to come.

“We’re very focused on the three clubs we have representing very large cities in this county — and representing … 50 per cent of the population — and our task is to make sure those clubs become more relevant,” he said.

He pointed to the Caps spending $6 million on their youth development programs as a statement of commitment to growth.