Posted by

Mat Rooney

April 7, 2016 Email

Mat Rooney



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@Canucks_Abroad

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The Canadian soccer world has been a buzz 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*.While the idea of a league should be cause for excitement, the league will only be a success if done right. Here are 5 things the CPL should avoid.



* No official statement has yet been released. The CPL is still only a proposed league.



See also: 5 things we should want the Canadian Premier League to have that we're not talking about



Gimmick Signings



In my last CPL piece, I wrote about the benefits of signing some sort of designated player. That said, if half of the ISL's marquee players approached CPL teams, it would be wise if the teams just walked away. While most of these players have amazing resumes and would create a buzz, the bulk of these players are well past their prime, they are no longer able to play at a high level and many of them have come out of retirement or been without a contract for more than a year. These signings scream gimmick to much of the soccer world and would not fly in leagues like the MLS and should not fly in Canada's league.



The CPL should avoid them, especially since younger players who have more to offer a club at this level are willing to sign with NASL clubs (e.g. Georgios Samaras' recent signing with Rayo OKC).



A Single Table



Why doesn't the MLS use a balanced single table set-up like the rest of the world's elite leagues? It's partly because the cost would be insane. Unlike most leagues, MLS teams have to use commercial flights instead of buses to travel and this will often cause a team to have to book a second night in a hotel due to unavailability of flights after evening games. Canada and the US are too big for a single table league to be financially stable.



Adding to that, constant flights and nights spent in hotels can take a real toll on players. And to be brutally honest, unless you have relegation, which will never be the case for Canada or the US, a single table set-up is mostly pointless.



A conference set-up, with play-offs to determine a league champion, that keeps costly cross-Canada travel to a minimum is for the best. Especially if CPL teams are operating on a limited budget.



A 6-team launch



While I and many would support the CPL no matter what, the idea of the league launching with as few as 6 teams kind of worries me. While the 8 team announcement caused excitement, there was criticism directed at the idea of there being only 8 teams from non-Canadian soccer fans. My fear here is that a launch with 6 teams would result in the league being viewed as a joke and not taken seriously by not only the rest of the world, but also casual fans in Canada.



Division 2 Status



Another large criticism of the proposed league is that it's just going to be a tier 2 league to the MLS. This viewpoint could do just as much damage to the league as regular cross Canada road trips, especially in Canada's big three markets where the MLS has already established itself.



To combat this perception, the CPL must present itself as equal to the MLS. The CSA must classify the league as a joint division 1 with the MLS and must secure the league a slot in the Champions' League, and the owners must do everything within their power to promote the league as the pinnacle of the game in Canada.



Streaming League Games



Streaming games online is a fine way to keep fans connected when they are unable to be at the games but there are a number of issues with it. Bars and restaurants are unlikely to stream off the internet, popular chains won't for sure, and advertisers are turned off by the limited reach that streaming presents. The CPL must broadcast every league game and high profile friendlies live on traditional TV (TSN preferably but TLN is widely available enough that it could do the job).



That said, don't avoid streaming completely. Streaming pre-season friendlies is a great way to get fans excited and showing academy and reserve games online could shed some light on emerging players. Every team should have a very active YouTube channel and live streams of friendlies, and academy games is the perfect way to help build a following.



Bonus: A Team called the Montreal Manic



Just a reminder to whoever is seeking to set up a new team in Monteal, avoid this name. It's terrible. What kind of culture are you going to build around this club? How are you going to build one? Are you going to hire a bunch of Welsh libertarian-left rockers to record a team song and release it to the public with Jenny Saville art on the single's cover?



Having a team called “the Manic” is idiotic and needs to be avoided.