Canada must embrace the Women's national team

This is the second time in little over a week that I'm writing something about the Canadian women's national team which is probably a record for me, but it also outlines that lack of coverage about the team in Canada.

Did you know you know that Canada's national women's team just became the Continental champions by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup? Did you also know what win got them automatic qualification to the Women's World Cup in 2011?

I wouldn't fault you if you didn't, most of this country didn't have a clue either. The Canadian sports scene wasn't that keen on reporting the weeks events in Mexico, but if you did you saw a team that got better in each game they played. After Canada narrowly beat Trinidad and Tobago 1-0, the team seemed to pick their game up winning the rest of their group games by 8-0 and 3-0 over eventual finalist Mexico. Over the span of the tournament the team showed not only excellent footballing skill by keeping it on the ground and at times playing nice one touch passes to get attacks going. They also had the strongest defence not allowing a goal though out the whole tournament.

Aside from the fantastic Christine Sinclair who once again proved again why she is one the most complete footballers in the world, head coach Carolina Morace has to get the majority of the plaudits. There hasn't been a major turnover in terms of the core players on the team, yet in just under two years she has transformed the way the squad plays it football. When watching the team play during the tournament you could see the technical skills of the players have greatly improved from the Evan Pellerud days of long ball lump ins to Sinclair. There is a lot of thought in terms of passing, link up play and wing play. This team is defiantly more fun to watch then in a past, unlike the Pellerud era you can see a progressive line of improvement and where the team is going in regards to their style of play.

So why is this team not getting any love from Canadian sports fan? It not just that it's women's soccer or that absolutely no coverage is being done on the team. The issue now seems to be that the team has qualified from the Wold Cup before. In fact this will be their 5th straight appearance, however they have had disappointing runs in all 5 of those tournaments and now people want to see success. For us soccer fans who have followed what this team has done over the past 7-10 years, we want to see a deep run into the knock out stages of the tournament.

There are only about 10-15 countries that can field a decently competitive team in the women's game and Canada is one of them. It should now be an expectation that the squad at least make the quarter finals maybe even the semis. Success will be the way this team gets taken seriously both in the media and in the minds of Canadians. However this should not be the only reason we embrace this team, what we are seeing is the building of a strong national women's program that soon will be able to challenge the mighty United States. Although the States only finished 3rd in the Gold Cup tournament and have to play Italy in a playoff to get into the tournament, make no mistake they will still be favorites to beat Italy and win the World Cup. However expect the gap between Canada and the U.S to close in the next few years.

2011 promises to be a big year for the Big Red, lets hope that they get some love from home this summer when they take on the world.

Cheers,
Mike

Can a domestic league work in Canada?

I've been pondering this question for quite sometime now and I not sure if I'm any closer to finding an answer than I was when I began looking into the idea. I have quickly learned that to build a coast to coast professional first division league in this country is extremely difficult. The logistical issues of a proper balanced fixture list, finding financing, getting corporate Canada on board, T.V rights, Stadium expenditures, travel expenses for the clubs, which cities merit a club etc,  make this dream look impossible.

There is also the issue of local interest, are there enough people in cities outside of the big three of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver who care enough to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon watching their local club? Just as importantly would they travel to see their side take on an out of province team? Unlike the leagues in Europe it is not as easy to travel along with your club as this country is massive in size.

On my recent travels in Europe I observed not just the results of matches, but the culture and logistics of the domestic leagues. In England and Spain travelling to away matches was just as important as going to their home ground. Now this is made easy by the fact that neither country is that big which makes driving to games or traveling by train fairly easy and quick. However what I found to be the biggest factor in the success of these leagues outside of money, is the density of clubs in a particular area. For example within the greater London Area there are 5 teams in the Premier League (Chelsea, Fulham, West Ham, Arsenal, Tottenham) This creates a sense of rivalry between the clubs and supporters and it's ends up being a league within a league so to speak. Those 5 clubs vie to be not only the best club in England, but also of London.

It got me thinking of how that could be applied to a coast to coast soccer league here in Canada. I started to look at an alternative way of setting up the league outside of the traditional open country model. The idea of the open country model has been suggested in the past, however I have my doubts on the idea working mainly due to high travel expenses both for club and supporter, lack of rivalry building and securing financing for such a big venture.

What I propose is a national league based on regions, my idea is inspired by of all things Major Junior Hockey. Like the CHL the country would be split into regional pools 4 in this case. Western Canada (B.C Alberta, Saskatchewan), Central Canada (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec,)Territories (N.W.T, Yukon, Nunavut) and Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, P.E.I). Each pool could see 4-6 teams playing each other within their respective pools. From that the top two teams compete in a national playoff tournament, I propose a straight knock out format though I can see an argument for 2 legged ties.At the end you crown a league champion. You could also use these pool standings to see who enters the hunt for the Nutrilite Championship, however that's another post for another day.

Obviously Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact would not be involved in the league as they will already be in the MLS, but this is a chance to build a soccer culture outside of the big three cities. This is not to say that clubs in anyone of these cities could not have a club, as it will eventually become important to have teams in these cities, however the idea is to grow football interest in less traditional markets.

I know my idea for a national championship is different and a bit hard to swallow for the people who want a single table league, it would seem that we're trying to split the country in order to build a league. Though I would ask you to look at it this way...by creating a more regional system of play you build true rivalries between teams, you also cut down travel time and distance for supporters who wish to travel with the club. The national "playoff" or "tournament" between the top clubs from each pool build the anticipation of playing against the rest of the country, it can also truly be considered a "national" championship as top clubs from across the country compete against each other in an knock out style tournament.

From a financial perspective it also keeps costs down for each club as they can minimize on the length of travel and lodging. Clubs can concentrate on growing a home support base without worrying about the bigger city drain that other sports have had to deal with (i.e hockey with the Leafs or Canadiens).

Regardless if you agree with my position or not, what I hope this does is start the debate on the importance of building a proper domestic league in Canada. We cannot rely solely on the teams entering the MLS, we need to develop our own system in order to push the game forward.

Cheers,
Mike

Canada drops friendly aganist Peru 2-0

Even with kick off moments away, BMO Field stood half empty as the Canadian Mens national team took on Peru in friendly competition, although it should be noted that Toronto sports fan are notoriously late when showing up for matches. Both small sets of supporters though were in good voice as the game kicked off.

For Canada this was in earnest the start of their Mission: 2014 Campaign. In December the Canadian Soccer Association announced a series a upcoming friendlies against higher levelled opponents in order to better prepare the team of Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying. After the disappointing turn of events during World Cup 2010 qualifying, the CSA determined that one of the factors that led to the poor form was a lack of match sharpness due to a lack of matches played together.

From the start of the game Canada controlled most of the possession and were the team driving forward, however Peru were dangerous with quick counter attacks and created more direct chances on goal. Juan Manuel Vargas was presented with the first good opportunity of the match when he thrashed his first time volley over the goal following a Jefferson Farfan cross into the box. Farfan continued to create problems as his pace and strength created another chance on goal though his shot was weak and saved easily by Lars Hirschfeld.

Canada looked lively on the ball with good exchange play, especially between Julian De Guzman and striker Rod Friend. This link up play almost resulted in a goal chance for Friend who attempted a deft flick over the shoulder of the Peruvian defender, however he was unable to find a way through. Over the past few weeks head coach Stephen Hart has been preaching a new passing philosophy in regards to the team's play. This new approach was on full display in the first half as the team kept the majority of position. However an old problem reappeared and that was an inability to find the killer ball in the final third of the field. Even with 2009 Canadian player of the year Simeon Jackson providing a goal threat on the right side, the squad never really looked like scoring. As the half ended and the rain began to come down you began to wonder where the goals were going to come from.

In short the goals were going to come from Peru who in the second half started to show their class over the hosts. Peru's quality of passing improved and the midfield's influence on the game grew, by the 60th minute the game was firmly in their control. As Canada's goal chances became slimmer it looked inevitable that Peru would find the break through. In the 68th minute Jose Carlos Fernandez headed Peru into the lead after Canada could not clear the back lines during a period of sustained pressure. Over half of announced crowd of 10,619 went wild as Peruvian supporters out numbered Canadian fans.

The pressure mounted on the hosts as the Peru controlled possession, and 4 minutes later Jean Tragodara doubled the South American's lead with a low well placed shot past a diving Hirschfeld.

As the game wound down, both sets of players looked short of full fitness as the game slowed to an almost unwatchable pace.

Stephan Hart in his post game press conference praised the visitors for their second half performance, “I liked how they played, how they adjusted in the second half”, he said. “ It's a quality team we played against. We learned some lessons today”.

In his assessment of his squad Hart was happy with the first 45 minutes, pointing out the improvement in Simeon Jackson's game. “ His time in England (Norwich City) has helped him a great deal, he'll only get better the more he plays”. However he acknowledged that “In the second half, we became careless with the ball and seemed to die physically; the Peruvians sped up their play.

Canada will have little time to rebound from the loss as they take on World Cup qualifiers Honduras on Tuesday in Montreal. Hart will also have to produce a result without some of his top players as he has sent Dwayne De Rosario, Julian De Guzman and Nana Attakora back to Toronto FC, and first choice left back Marcel De Jong to his German club due to injury.

Cheers,
Mike

An interesting soccer idea for Caribana weekend

As most people here in Toronto it's Caribana weekend, I'm taking a year off from the parade as I've been about 16 times in my life, and frankly they have become less appealing as its become more corporate (it's now called Scotiabank Caribana).

With that said I read an interesting post from Duane Rollins on the 24th minute blog regarding a Caribana international soccer tournament. The idea is that Caribbean nations (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent etc...) play against Canada's U-20 or U-23 squad in a cup tournament. I personally think it's a great idea as Caribbean ex-pats get to see their countries play, and Canadians get to see some of our young players in competitive action. As Duane states Canada could, A) use the money generated to improve to squads B) Build a tradition of football in the community and C) Get the national squad more games which they desperately need.

Logistically it might be difficult as you would probably have to play the games at BMO field which is right in the way of the parade, but if it can be pulled off I think it should be done. I'll fight for it to happen for sure.

Read Duane's post here.

Cheers,
Mike

Things looking up for the CSA?

Recently I wrote about the past stagnation of soccer development in Canada. One of my main criticisms was that the CSA (Canadian Soccer Association) lacked the organization and vision to lead Canada to a World Cup birth. In May of this year the governing body set up a new governance framework in order to address some of the long term issues there have been around the CSA.

This framework calls for an elected president, 6 appointed directors, 6 elected directors and most importantly none of them can be members of their provincial or territorial associations. This point may seem useless to casual observers, but for someone who knows how provincial power plays within the CSA has stymied progress in the past this is a huge deal. It in theory eliminates the provincial bias out of the decision making process. Time will tell if this will be true, but it is a positive first step in building credibility in the decision making process for soccer Canada.

Another positive aspect that came out of the new framework is its emphasis on gender in the top decision making group. The stipulation that there must be at least 3 directors of each gender is a first step in truly making women a part of the national team process. Given the success of our Women's Senior, U 20 and U 17 teams this step was long overdue.

What this also spells out is the clear roles of each of the branches of the association. Each branch understands and knows it role in helping to produce not only the best talent we can, but also to attract more sectors of corporate Canada who can help pour more money into player development. This will help Canada move away from member fees an dues which is the association's financial life blood, and into a more cost effective relationship with corporate Canada.

However what I hope this really does is send a message to the players and supporters of the national program that change is coming and that it is worth staying in Canada to reap the rewards. In the past players like former TFC captain Jim Brennan, current TFC captain Dwayne De Rosario and others have questioned the decision making of the CSA. This has lead to players retiring early from the national set up like Brennan, to players out right choosing other nations to play for due to the FIFA linage rules. Although this is only a first step in building a stronger CSA, this can instill a bit of belief in players that the national team will be moving in the right direction.

• If you want some excellent insight into what these changes mean I suggest you read former Canada and Ipswich Town Captain Jason De Vos's take on the governance changes (Click Here)
• On Saturday Michael Grange wrote and excellent article on Canadian Soccer and youth development through the club level here in Canada, and how it works in some other nations, I highly suggested read. (Click Here)

Cheers,
Mike

Canadian soccer: Not making the grade

With another 2 day break until the semi-finals of the World Cup, it leaves me time to ponder about the state of soccer in Canada. For a country that boasts one of the worlds highest percentage of youths enrolled in soccer programs or leagues it defies logic as to why the Canadian national teams do not perform better on the world stage, especially at the senior men's level.

Many will point to the fact that Canada is not a "soccer nation" therefore leading to a lack of interest in the game or its development. However this is clearly not the case if one takes a look at ratings for the 2010 World Cup games here in Canada. CBC has reported as much as 120% jump in ratings between 9:30 am to 4pm time slot during the group stages when the games were shown live. This does not of course include the Internet site hits for the online streaming of the games, which a lot of people have used (including yours truly)when they are at work.

People have also argued the fact that although ratings are high, people who watch the games have no interest in Canadian soccer, but rather cheering for their birth nation or the one of their parents birth. Making Canada in effect a "satellite soccer nation" for other countries. The argument is highlighted by the great flag debate, where at any given time during a World Cup you can see a United Nations kaleidoscope of world flags before you even see a Canadian one. I agree that there should be more Canadian flags flying as a show of support for the nation. However there are two elements that the "Satellite soccer nation" theory fails to grasp. First Canada is simply not in the World Cup, it is hard to justify flying the Maple Leaf in support of a soccer team that failed miserably to qualify. Second it fails to understand that Canadians as a people are now made up of a large amount peoples from different nations around the globe, who bring their national passion for the game with them. It does not mean that naturalized citizens or first generation Canadians dislike Canada, in fact if Canadian soccer was better funded and better organized those Italian, Brazilian and English flags would change to Canadian ones in an instant.

In a real sense this is the issue with Canadian soccer, funding and organization at the national level. If you look at soccer funding based on a per capita income level Canada is one of the worst funded soccer associations. Most governments around the world fund their national programs at a decent rate, however the Canadian federal government barely has done so for the CSA (Canadian Soccer Association).

If you want an example of how funding a national program can change results don't look at the United States as we normally do, they have triple the population. We should look at Switzerland who have only 7 million people, but have the same per capita income as we do. The Swiss Football Federation in the early 90's made a shift in the way they would develop their football, they looked at better funding, and developing youth players to increase success in future results. They went to the Swiss government presenting the case that if they helped just a little bit, it would increase national unity and self esteem in a population that was increasingly becoming more diverse. The government agreed and began a modest funding program for the Swiss FA to develop a youth center to train them at an elite level. Nearly 20 years later the Swiss are producing a conveyor belt a young talent both at the men's and women's level, and are perennial World Cup qualifiers.

In comparison Canada has spent very little money on converting good recreational youth players into the elite national youth set up. It leads to what you are seeing now from the Canadian national side, a lack of young exciting players moving into the senior level and a now 24 year World Cup drought. This also ties into the lack of organizational thinking within the CSA.

Due to the fact that each province has its own soccer association there is a disconnect in what the technical standards should be in regards to developing players. Some provinces like Ontario, B.C and Alberta have higher standards in regards to developing elite level players, while other provinces lag behind in this regard. This is not to say that the other provinces are not producing quality players, but if you look at the recent roster of Canadian players taken on the South American tour just before the World Cup it is dominated by player from those the provinces named above.

In previous posts I have also pointed out the CSA's inability to keep some of its most talented players from playing for other nations, this is in part due to Canada's under achieving track record on the international level but it also in part to the lack of organization beyond the amateur level. Only now is CSA making a concerted effort to promote the professional level in Canada. Without the pro option in Canada many of the elite level players have left for European club teams and then eventually their national teams.

Money and better organization alone will not solve this issue, it will take a collective effort from the CSA, government, the provincial associations and fans of the game alike to make change for the national programs. If this happens we could be hearing "Oh Canada" in Rio four years from now.

Cheers,
Mike