Steven Sandor's Blog, page 118

Eddies announce signing of Raudales

Cristian Raudales

Cristian Raudales has transitioned from FC Edmonton trialist to roster player.

The NASL side announced Wednesday that the Honduran/American central midfielder was signed by the team.

“We’re really happy about the signing of Cristian,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller in a release issued by the club. “We’ve welcomed him into the family and he’s proven since day one that he has some terrific qualities and will be a great signing for us.”

Raudales joined the team last week as a trialist, and scored in Sunday’s friendly against the Seattle Sounders, which the Eddies won by a 2-0 count.

Raudales played at Florida Gulf Coast University and then later played in Germany’s fourth division. Because he holds Honduran and American passports, he is eligible to join the Eddies as a domestic signing.

WILL CANADA HOST THE 2026 WORLD CUP? CHECK OUT THE 16-PAGE 2026 WORLD CUP-BID SECTION IN THE SUMMER ISSUE OF PLASTIC PITCH!

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FCE’s home opener against the Fury moved to Commonwealth

PHOTO: CITY OF EDMONTON

FC Edmonton has announced that its NASL fall-season home opener against the Ottawa Fury will be moved to Commonwealth Stadium.

But just how many — or how few — sections of the 56,000-seat stadium will be filled could depend on television licensing issues.

The Eddies were forced to move the game because they could not be 100-per-cent guaranteed that the installation of a new turf surface at Clarke Stadium would be done in time for Sunday’s match. General Manager Rod Proudfoot said it was likely that the Clarke Stadium work would be done on time. But, “likely” isn’t the same as “guaranteed.” And even if there was a one per cent chance that the Clarke resurfacing wasn’t going to be on schedule, the game had to be moved.

Now, this is where it gets tricky. The World Cup final kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. local time. FC Edmonton hopes that it can open the Commonwealth gates at noon, and then show the game on the brand new Jumbotron that has been installed at the stadium. But it’s not that simple. The team confirmed it needs to ensure it has the rights to show the game at a ticketed event. And that means approaching either the CBC and/or FIFA.



If it does get the rights, then the team has a great marketing tool to sell last-minute tickets. Fans can gather in a large group to watch the game on the biggest public viewing screen that can be found in Edmonton. For a $20 ticket, fans could watch the World Cup on the big screen and then enjoy the Eddies game, which kicks off at 4 p.m. local time.

The team is planning to open four sections of the stadium for the game — S, T, U and V.

But, if FCE doesn’t get the rights, doors won’t open till 3 p.m.?

And, for those watching the World Cup, it means a sprint to the stadium to catch the Eddies game — or not. If the World Cup final doesn’t go into extra time, it should wrap up at 3 p.m. local time. That would give fans an hour to get to Commonwealth for kickoff.

If the final goes into extra time and/or kicks, it might not end till just before the Eddies’ game is about to kick off.

So, unless the fans are already in the stadium to watch the game, it’s a safe bet that the World Cup final will hurt attendance — in a game being played in a cavernous venue. That’s why it’s important for the Eddies to get the rights to show the World Cup final.

The game kicks off at 4 p.m. local rather than the usual 2 p.m. start time to accommodate the World Cup. But, because of television commitments, the Eddies cannot push back the kickoff of their game against the Fury and further.

WILL CANADA HOST THE 2026 WORLD CUP? CHECK OUT THE 16-PAGE 2026 WORLD CUP-BID SECTION IN THE SUMMER ISSUE OF PLASTIC PITCH!

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The ifs and buts of bringing a New Westminster team into USL-PRO

There is one key word to take out of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ announcement that the club hopes to place a USL-PRO affiliate in New Westminster.

If.

There are still a lot of variables in play. Some should come easier than others: It’s hard to imagine USL-PRO not wanting to approve this. To be fair, the league has approved far more speculative expansion pitches over the last several years. With the backing of an MLS side and two more investors willing to put themselves out in the open, the New Westminster pitch will arguably be one of the best pitches USL-PRO will have seen since the third division’s partnership with MLS was announced ahead of the 2013 campaign.

Ian Gillespie of Westbank Projects Corp., and Gary Pooni of Brook Pooni Associates are the new partners in the New Westminster proposal.

The promise is to have Queen’s Park Stadium refurbished for the new USL-PRO if the franchise is granted. So, there shouldn’t be a venue issue.

The Whitecaps hope to have their USL-PRO affiliate in New Westminster for the 2015 season — which would be far more convenient for the club than to ship prospects to the Carolinas for their professional seasoning. The proximity of the USL-PRO affiliate to Vancouver would, logically, allow for the team to better supervise and manage its young players.

The biggest “if” might come from the Canadian Soccer Association; though, the national sanctioning body for the game in this country has softened what had been a hardline stance towards USL-PRO.



Let’s go back to January of 2013; after USL-PRO and MLS announced its partnership — which would encourage MLS teams to affiliate with existing USL-PRO teams or start their own USL-PRO franchises — Canadian Soccer Association President Victor Montagliani took a tough stance. He said the CSA would not sanction the USL-PRO sides established on Canadian soil; they would be permitted to exist, but would be looked at simply as reserve sides of the existing MLS teams (CLICK HERE). Of course, without a sanction, that meant a team couldn’t compete in national tournaments, such as the Amway Canadian Championship.

Remember that MLS and USL-PRO’s affiliation announcement came just two weeks before the CSA published the Easton Report, which recommended the formation of regional leagues that focused on developing Canadian players. Those leagues would be recognized officially as Division 3 in Canada, behind the NASL’s Division 2 and, of course, MLS as Division 1.

The Easton Report, at least in the form presented to the public, stressed that Division 3 should be a Canadian concern. At almost the same time USL-PRO, as a USSF-recognized Division 3, announced an MLS deal — which included the three Canadian teams — that, well, for lack of a better term, flew in the face of what the Easton Report was suggesting.

In hindsight, the USL-PRO/MLS announcement of 2013 was an example of a public-relations gaffe, at least in terms of the Canadian audience. MLS had to have known the Easton Report, dealing with Division 3, was going to be made public. Not involving any Canadian soccer officials in the USL-PRO-MLS announcement was another grave mistake.

So, the USL-PRO announcement wasn’t welcomed by the Canadian soccer community in 2013; an irony considering that USL-PRO the only one of the North American pro soccer circuits to fully recognize Canadians as domestic players. NASL and MLS don’t recognize Canadians on American teams as domestics, USL-PRO does.

Now, fast forward to October of 2014. When asked about the CSA’s decision to write a letter in support of a USL-PRO franchise in Hamilton — a proposal which didn’t pan out in the end — Montagliani said that any proposed USL-PRO franchises on Canadian soil would be treated on a “case by case” basis. (CLICK HERE)

“It’s about creating as many opportunities as we can for Canadian players, Canadian coaches,” Montagliani said.

While the establishment of a Canadian Division “1A” (Montagliani’s term) that coexists with MLS and NASL is a long-term goal (CLICK HERE), that shouldn’t come into play in terms of USL-PRO teams in Canada.

In the end, the goal has to be how we best develop Canadian players. If a New Westminster USL-PRO franchise becomes a place where the Whitecaps stash American NCAA-trained everymen or other foreign prospects who aren’t deemed quite good enough for the MLS roster, then it will be a failure. If it’s a viable place for Canadian prospects to develop their games, then — based on the “case by case” method — it should be allowed to survive and thrive.

Remember what Montagliani said. It’s about opportunities for Canadian players, Canadian coaches. It better damn well be the motto for New Westminster USL-PRO.

PLASTIC PITCH. CANADA’S WORLD CUP BID. FRANK YALLOP ON CHOOSING CHICAGO OVER VANCOUVER. ISSEY NAKAJIMA-FARRAN SPEAKS ABOUT BEING TRADED. PHILIPPE DAVIES ON HOW CLOSE HE WAS TO CALLING IT A CAREER.

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