Posted by

Mat Rooney

May 25, 2016 Email

Mat Rooney



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@Canucks_Abroad

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The Canadian soccer world has been abuzz for the last two years about one thing: an all Canadian pro soccer league. And on February 4th, John McGrane, a former Canadian international player and representative of Hamilton Ti-Cats owner Bob Young, walked into Hamilton's City Hall and had a meeting with the city council where he went on the record saying that there is going to be a Canadian Premier League. According to McGrane, the league is going to have 6 to 8 teams with a mix of CFL and NHL ownership. While we couldn't ask for a better ownership situation in Canada, there are a great number of questions to be answered about the league and things that need to be discussed. Here is a handful of things that should be on every Canadian soccer fan's mind about this league whether you want the league or not.



US tv is a big deal



As much as we talk about how great it would be if TSN picked up the games, we should also be saying “How great would it be if the CPL ended up with like a game of the week on any of the dozens of US Sports networks?”. US TV is a different beast from Canadian in terms of reach and ad revenue. A single deal could add millions to the league's ad revenue right away and help secure its long term survival.



While ESPN is tied up with MLS and the NASL, there is an almost endless sea of US sports channels that might be interested in a high-level North American-based soccer league.



Who's involved with the Toronto team and where will it play?



The biggest question that pretty much everyone has about this league, aside from “when will it be announced?” and “how will it work?”, is probably “who is behind the rumoured Toronto team?” Every other city connected to this rumoured league has an organization within it that fits in with the rumoured ownership picture (NHL/CFL with no MLS connections), but Toronto (unlike Vancouver or Montreal) lacks an organization free of the MLS. Is there an unknown Toronto billionaire (like Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. owner Mitchell Goldhar for example) looking to get into the Canadian soccer business or is it a popular and rich foreign team looking to expand its footprint in the Canadian market by starting a club in a major city as we've seen happen in the MSL, NASL, A-League and Indian Super League? Due to the cost of competing with MLSE, the latter feels more likely.



The other question about the team is “where will it play?” BMO is already in use and owned by MLSE, Varsity's look could turn fans off, Pan-Am is too far a commute, and OSC is both too small and out of the way. Lamport Stadium seems like the most likely bet but it's still very small, in need of some fixing, and will be occupied by rugby for half the year starting in 2017. There's also the possibility of the team being based in Mississauga to avoid direct competition from Toronto FC and playing out of a new stadium, similar in size to San Antonio's Toyota Field, but the investment might be too much for something so risky (cost could be between $20-30m).



If rumours are true then only the MLS and Liga MX would be paying better within CONCACAF



A number of people keep saying the following: “Forget about starting our own league, let's just start a Canadian division in the NASL. It's established and it's a serious league.” To these people, I say: “Nah.” If rumours are true then the CPL will be backed by substantially richer ownership that will likely be spending more money on talent than most current NASL teams can afford. The average NASL contract is for around $52,000(CAD) and rumours place the CPL proposed average between $60-80,000(CAD). It's safe to say that in a sport like soccer, the more you spend the better the game and if the goal is to develop Canadian talent, then one should want to be playing against stronger talent with some regularity and as it appears the NASL will not aid this with its current finances.



It's also worth noting that the CPL will also likely be offering better-paying contracts than CONCACAF's current #3 league to the Costa Rican Primera División, where players can be paid as little as $590(USD) a week according to some reports. It's not crazy to imagine a number of gifted Latin American and Caribbean players (including internationals) along with NASL and some MSL talent trying to score CPL contacts once the league is announced.



The MLS and NASL will never provide this many teams, jobs or academies



The MLS wants to have 30 teams but doesn't want to go past 3 in Canada, and while the NASL wants to enter the Canadian market, it isn't allowed to have more than 25% of its teams outside of the US (with Puerto Rico counting as a foreign nation). So with the MLS removed, one could assume then that if the NASL expands to 20 teams a total of 4 will be in Canada (as there is a team in Puerto Rico). That means that Canada would have a total of 7 pro teams if we stick to the current MLS/NASL model instead of starting our own league with 8 teams that could see a Canada with 13 teams (3 MLS, 2 NASL, 8 CPL). That's 6 fewer teams providing jobs for Canadian players and academies and camps for Canadian youths.



It's also worth noting that the NASL has also expressed interest in adding another team in the Caribbean so 4 possible teams could become 3.



Now a lot of people have expressed a preference for Canada teaming with the NASL and creating a Canadian division within the NASL of 8 teams that play both each other and the US/Caribbean NASL clubs, over there being a Canadian league without the NASL. This will likely never happen due to the NASL being an American league. United States Soccer has rules in place that cap each league based in the US as being allowed to have no more than 25% of their teams based outside of the country. If Canada were to have 8 teams in the NASL then there would need to be around 40 teams in the NASL with no more than 2 in the Caribbean.



Expanding beyond 10 teams will be hard



As most reports believe the league will launch with 8 teams and some have stated the cities in play are Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa (possibly the Fury), Montreal, Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver, it seems likely that Edmonton would be lined up to have a team not long after the launch, either the Eddies join or a new team starting up, due to Edmonton's soccer history. If this happens, then an eastern team would likely be founded to keep the league balanced. A lot of people think Quebec City is the most likely candidate but, based on its stadium's size, Women's World Cup hosting duties and CFL ambitions, I feel Moncton is more likely.



Beyond the Edmonton and Moncton/Quebec City expansion, where can a team go?



To have a team in both Moncton and Quebec City, a western expansion team would likely be needed to balance and no real western city seems like it could support a team. Victoria and Saskatoon possibly could, but the stadiums in both cities are rather small and an owner willing to spend the kind of money needed in markets as small as Victoria or Saskatoon seems unlikely. There's also the matter of whether or not the league would want to expand to cities without a pro sports history or desire for a CFL team.



Stay tuned for part 2.