With Canada’s national men’s team hanging at a low 110 in the FIFA world rankings ­— compared to the U.S. at 13, England at 11 and Spain at No. 1 — it’s not the best reflection on the Canadian soccer system.

“That’s really quite far down,” former Whitecaps FC coach Martin Rennie said of the country’s rank. “You’ve got a really high participation rate in Canada, but there does seem to be a drop off when it comes to producing professional players.”

“For a developed country and an economically strong country like Canada, it seems like there should be much more quality being put into soccer.”

And that quality needs to start at the youth level.

In a somewhat controversial post to his website, renniecoaching.com, Rennie blogged about Canada’s lack of private enterprises in the youth soccer system and how it may be keeping Canadian soccer from succeeding in the professional realm.

In his past experience as a coach in both Scotland and the U.S., where many private clubs thrive, he witnessed their success firsthand as they produced developed players committed to the sport.

“Someone was responsible for that club and basically it was their livelihood,” said Rennie, adding the business owner was accountable for developing players, convincing them to stay in the game, hiring qualified coaches and producing good teams.

“If they didn’t do a good job of that the players and the parents (could choose a different club),” he said. “It meant that they were really motivated to really do as good a job as they possibly could.”

“(It creates) a little bit more competition, but more choice in the market for the parents and the players.”

Private clubs also lead to more consistent playing year round as well as access to “qualified coaches as opposed to volunteer coaches” often seen in the mainstream leagues, he said.

“There has to be more coaches becoming qualified to coach,” said Rennie. “You wouldn’t send your kid to school to be taught by a teacher who’s a volunteer – you would want them to be someone who’s educated and knows how to teach.”

“Private enterprises will help to do that.”

But the problem in B.C. is that many private clubs — like Richmond’s TSS Academy — run into obstacles, like not being sanctioned to play in B.C. Soccer leagues and tournaments.

“We’ve basically been cut out of the pie,” said TSS Academy director Colin Elmes. “The model out here is very anti-competitive.”

But according to Michael Findlay with B.C. Soccer, in order to enter the tournaments private academies simply need to become a B.C. Soccer member — which some private academies have done.

“I don’t think we are anti-private enterprise at all,” said Findlay. “We want anybody who’s involved with the game to work within a recognized system, deliver players and follow a recognized pathway that’s set out by the Canadian Soccer Association.”

But Elmes won’t take this route because he’d then have to follow the association’s regulations, including the district geographical boundaries, which means he’d only be able to train players with a Richmond postal code since his business is located in that district.

“My audience would shrink drastically and I wouldn’t have a business any more,” he said. “My business is the entire Lower Mainland, so I have kids from everywhere.”

“We’re shut out because the soccer system is split into geographical districts ... and it’s cut off a chunk of the people that make their living in the game.”

Because of this, many Canadian soccer professionals instead opt to set up businesses in the United States, like North Vancouver’s Ciara McCormack.

Although McCormack grew up on the B.C. Soccer system and saw great success in her career, like going on to play for Ireland’s national women’s team, she believes that both Elmes’ and Rennie’s viewpoints are “spot on.”

As a result, she’s set up her female soccer academy, girlsCAN Football,in Connecticut instead of B.C.

“I just found it’s such an anti-competitive monopoly in Canada,” she said. “I just felt like I had a better opportunity to offer my services (in Connecticut) without any of the sort of hassle.”

lcahute@theprovince.com

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