Steven Sandor's Blog, page 18

Draw with Japan not good enough to get Canada to Toulon semifinals

A couple of players brought up through the Vancouver Whitecaps system combined to give Canada the opening goal in a 1-1 draw with Japan in their final group-stage game of the Toulon Tournament in France.

Theo Bair provided the left-footed finish from a Noah Verhoeven pass to give Canada the lead just nine minutes into the match. Verhoeven scored the winner over Turkey earlier this week.

Verhoeven’s pass caught Bair in mid-stride. The Canadian forward was able to cut between two Japanese defenders and then clip the ball against the grain as the keeper came out to challenge him. It was a composed finish that might make you think about his soccer idol, Thierry Henry.

But, even though Canada went through Group C place undefeated, it will not proceed to the tournament semifinals. Turkey’s win over Portugal Sunday pushed Canada to second place. Turkey finished the group stage with six points (two wins, one loss) while Canada finished with five points (a win and two draws).

Twelve U-23 teams are divided into three groups of four at the tournament. The group winners all get spots in the semifinals, while the best of the three second-place teams also gets a spot. England got second spot in Group A with seven points and had already clinched that wild-card spot in the semis.

Canada, instead, will play France in the fifth-place game.

A goal from Japanese sub Kaoru Mitoma represented the first time Canada’s defence had been breached in the tournament. But, it would be enough to prevent Canada from making it to the final four.

 

United 2026 bid now the underdog as Morocco will be on the June 13 ballot

Just a little more than a year ago, when the United 2026 bid was made official, it felt like CONCACAF had what amounted to a sitter at its feet. A tap-in. There was no way a push to bring a World Cup to the United States, with a little help from Canada and Mexico, could fail, right?

Now, with FIFA’s decision on Friday to allow the Morocco bid to stand against United in the June 13 vote for the 2026 hosting rights, it has all changed. No doubt about it — United is the clear underdog. It is now Morocco’s World Cup to lose.

How is it unravelling for the United bid?

Well, first off, the term “United” has been proven to be a total crock. The three bidding nations are now in the throes of a trade war. American President Donald Trump calls Canadians spoiled and then refers to Mexican in so many negative ways, it would take an entire column just to capture a small percentage of the barbs he’s aimed towards his southern neighbour.

At this moment, we’re United in no way at all.

I’ll get back to Trump.

But, first, let’s get back to how the World Cup host is being picked. It used to be done by FIFA’s Executive Committee, but after the corruption scandals in the wake of the Russia ‘18 and Qatar ‘22 votes, the decision was made to overhaul the process. It is now one confederation, one vote.

The problem though, is that the awarding of a World Cup is based on continental interests (“it’s CONCACAF’s turn!” “It’s Asia’s turn!” “It’s Africa’s turn!”). Asia and Africa, simply because of the large number of nations on those continents, now hold the power. Instead of making things equal, FIFA made some continents more equal than others.

Africa has more than 50 votes, while, in contrast, South America has just 10 voting nations. So, politically, Africa has five times the power and influence as South America. 

Basically, if we’d compare this to a Canadian political map, Africa and Asia are Ontario and Quebec. CONCACAF would be Alberta; filled with some wealthy nations, but without real political power.

So, as soon as Morocco was announced, you knew that it would get 50 or more votes out of Africa out of the 104 it needed globally. Sure, Liberia has pledged for United, Namibia might defect and South Africa — well, who knows which way South Africa will go — but we know Morocco will get the lion’s share of African support.

Add that to the Middle East (save Saudi Arabia, which has indicated it will support United), and the votes pile up for Morocco. The Organization for Islamic Cooperation, which cover much of the Middle East, recently endorsed Morocco 2026. Interesting that Guyana, a CONCACAF member, is part of that group. Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda have, at least from their political leaders, endorsed Morocco. Remember that Antigua and Barbuda wasn’t happy about lack of hurricane relief from the U.S.

(FIFA says that politics should be separated from the bids when evaluating World Cups. We know that the opposite is true, and we should stop even trying to pretend about the “political interference” stuff.)

FIFA’s report card

South America has endorsed United. But that’s just 10 votes. Big deal. Under the new voting system, South America means about as much as Prince Edward Island does in a Canadian election.

Morocco also has endorsements from Belgium, Luxembourg, Serbia, Russia and France. The quick zip across the Mediterranean is enticing for European TV networks and national associations. As well, outside of the Middle East, Myanmar is another Asian nation that has endorsed Morocco.

This is what Morocco has done so, so well — sell itself. Its technical merits (it got a 2.7 out 5 compared to 4 out of 5 from the FIFA technical committee) fall well short of United, but boy has it done a fabulous job of collecting endorsements from around the globe — from soccer stars to national associations. Morocco has shown support from countries not just in Africa, but around the world — including CONCACAF. And that put a ton of pressure on FIFA; how could it fail Morocco’s bid based on technical requirements, when so many key associations had already declared their support for a North African World Cup?

While Morocco has done things right, there are two things the United bid got horribly wrong.

First off, it’s been established that a bidder may create a list of “final” host cities, but the final decisions on what cities get what games ultimately lie with FIFA. So, there was absolutely no need at all for the United bid to declare its 60-10-10 split of games between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. But, they did. And, thanks to that, no one outside of CONCACAF sees this as a tripartite bid. It’s an American bid with a little help from their sort-of friends. So, when Donald Trump insults another nation or ruffles more feathers, the United bid can’t lean on the “but we’re Canada and Mexico, too” argument. That’s because they’ve put that split of games out there for everyone to see.

And, if United felt the deep need to announce the 60-10-10 split, it should have tried to get some marquee matches in Canada and Mexico. Maybe each would get a semifinal game. But the one-sidedness of the bid has made the word “United” a bit of a running joke. (At least Mexico City has been offered as a possibility for the opening game. But Canada gets nada in terms of marquee matches)

They had time to fix it, too. It could have been changed, because FIFA in the end has to rubber stamp where the games go — and that doesn’t come until after a bid has won. When the bid started to go south, all the three association had to do was get together and massage — or at least downplay — the 60-10-10.

Then, let’s touch on the idea to hand the bid over to-then U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. After deciding not to run for the USSF presidency in the wake of the United States failing to qualify for World Cup ’18, Gulati remained at the head of the United bid. He was later removed, but was it too late? Remember, he had positioned himself as a sort of avenging angel during the great FIFA purge that saw Sepp Blatter  deposed from the president’s position. But Blatter was popular with a lot of smaller confederations. He was popular with Asian associations and African associations. While there’s no doubt that FIFA needed to have its house put in order, it was important that those who did the necessary dirty work get in and then get out. That would ensure there wouldn’t be any political hard feelings. Instead, Gulati was left out there at the head of the table, a lightning rod for bitterness.

And that brings us to someone more unpopular globally than Gulati — and that’s Trump. Again, the 60-10-10 split gives the United bid nowhere to hide when Trump starts a trade war, talks about “shithole” nations or demands that America “win” every deal it makes. Then, he threatens countries who might vote for Morocco.

And he will be the American president on June 13, when the FIFA vote is held.

While the United bid book offers emphatic reminders that Trump won’t be president in 2026, the fact is, he’s here now. Americans elected him. And it’s right for anyone to worry who Americans might elect next.

So, with so many missteps, the United bid is now running from behind. Is there a way for United to still win this thing? Yes. But with each endorsement that Morocco receives, United’s success becomes all the more unlikely.

Victoria is in for CanPL: League exploring “several opportunities” on Lower Mainland

In the wake of the Victoria Times-Colonist‘s story that the Greater Victoria area would indeed be home to a Canadian Premier League team in 2019, the league itself confirmed the report Friday.

So, Victoria is in, with a group fronted by former national-teamers Rob Friend and Josh Simpson. The money (or at least, some of the money) behind the bid comes from Dean Shillington, the president of Knightsbridge Capital.

The team will play out of Westhills Stadium in Langford. Improvements still need to be made to the facility and a lease deal needs to be put in place. The stadium, right now, only has a capacity for a little more than 1,700 souls.

“We are incredibly excited about the possibilities in Greater Victoria and are confident that a professional team representing Vancouver Island can be an overwhelming success,” said CanPL Commissioner David Clanachan in a release issued by the club. “We have a terrific local ownership team with a track record of business success, combined with vast soccer experience and an undeniable passion for the game. With the successful completion of a lease and needed stadium improvements, which will bring Westhills Stadium to CPL standards, the team will officially launch in time for our inaugural season in 2019”.

Now, the question is, where does this leave a Greater Vancouver team? Friend’s name had been bandied about as being part of a group looking to bring a team to the Greater Vancouver Area. Does this mean the Victoria and Vancouver bids have merged? Or did we all have this wrong right from the start?

When I called the CanPL offices after the release went out, I was told that the “Port City” club that received its official sanction from Canada Soccer a month ago was, yes, the Victoria team. But, when Cavalry FC was launched just two weeks ago, Clanachan said that the Victoria bid still needed to be vetted. I know that Clanachan said that the CanPL was getting a lot more efficient in vetting its potential investors groups, but two weeks from “needing to be vetted” to “approved,” well, heck, can these guys please work on my next grant proposal?

So, we know Victoria IS Port City. But, then, will CanPL start without a Vancouver-area team in 2019?

The CanPL followed the Victoria release with this statement on the status of the league in the Greater Vancouver Area.

“We are in active discussions with more than a dozen communities across the country, this includes several opportunities in the Lower Mainland.  It is a key market – one that we firmly believe in.”

Turkey drive: Verhoeven’s late winner gives Canada a win in Toulon tourney

So, after all four teams have played their second games at the Toulon U-23 Tournament, Canada is topping a group that also features Turkey, Portugal and France.

A goal from Noah Verhoeven, a dual citizen who just returned to the Canadian program after spending the last couple of years flirting with the American national set-up, gave Canada a 1-0 win over Turkey on Thursday.

Verhoeven won it late in the second half after coming on as a sub; he fired a low, bouncing cross into the box that snuck into the goal just inside the far post. With two Canadian attackers rushing in, Turkish keeper Muhammad Sengezer had to respect the fact that the ball could be redirected. When the ball skipped by clean, he couldn’t react in time to keep it from going in.

Verhoeven’s winner came after Liverpool youngster Liam Millar had two great chances to get a goal for Canada.

On the first, Sengezer came out and made a great save on Millar’s volley after a Canadian free kick was placed into the mixer. The ball rattled around and finally fell to Millar, who wasted no time unleashing a low drive.

Millar’s second chance came on a break — and it offered a bit of a lesson for the youngster. Sengezer came out to take away the angle, and Millar slid his shot past the keeper. Thinking the ball was headed in, he turned away from goal, looking to begin his celebration. But the ball came off the inside of the far post and stayed out. Yes, some Turkish defenders were scrambling back, but Millar will know next time to follow his shot in; if a rebound comes off the post, give yourself a chance to get in the mix to have another attempt on goal. My guess is that next time, Millar won’t turn away to celebrate until after he’s seen the ball cross the line.

Turkey did have a chance or two, but were, for the most part, limited to speculative attempts that gave Canadian keeper Alessandro Busti little trouble.

The one exception came halfway in the second half, when Canadian defender Derek Cornelius scrambled a shot from Baris Alici off the line, then Alican Ozfesli pushed his attempt on the rebound over the bar.

Canada is a point ahead of Turkey and Japan in the table, and three up on Portugal. Japan is the third and final group-stage game left in the schedule. The 10-man Japanese team beat Portugal 3-2 before Canada and Turkey took to the pitch in France.

As the match commentator said of Canada “They surprised us against Portugal, they’re shocking us against Turkey.”

 

Tied up in Toulon: Canada draws Portugal in group-stage opener

It’s often difficult to take anything out of tournament-opening matches. National teams are still getting used to their systems and their combinations, and there’s often a cautiousness about them.

So, it’s not worth getting too excited about Canada’s U-23 side’s 0-0 draw with Portugal at the Toulon Tournament, in which TFC’s Aidan Daniels had a great first-half scoring chance, but was denied by Portuguese keeper Luis Maximiano.

Portugal rested some of the players expected to play key roles for their team throughout this prestigious 12-team youth tournament. All of Portugal’s players are 19 or younger, while Canada has only four players on its roster that are 20 or over.

James Pantemis got the clean sheet for Canada.

As stated above, you can’t get too high about a decent result against a country whose senior program holds the European championship. But, at the same time, resting players or not, there are positives that the Canadians can take from their first game of the group stage, with matches upcoming against Japan and Turkey.

“We have a young team that have never played together and we asked them to commit to a mindset that includes team spirit and tactical excellence,” said John Herdman, coach of the national men’s program. “I think, for a first match, it was a good start.”

Inescapably Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 13/USL Week 11

OK, so, to make our system — which ranks Canadian players in MLS and USL by minutes played — even more complicated, the biggest mover on the charts was someone who didn’t play at all this week.

Huh?

You’ll notice that Noah Verhoeven — and his 594 minutes played so far this season for Fresno FC — has been added to the rankings. He’s been assimilated into the Canadian collective.

Our policy has always been to not include dual citizens who are currently with another national team’s program, or whose most recent international efforts were for another country. Go into our comments section from past instalments of this column, and you’ll see that it’s been the source of some real debate.

So, in keeping with that policy, Verhoeven hadn’t been included. Though he was born in British Columbia and was in the Canadian U-15 set-up, Verhoeven is a dual citizen and had been training in identification camps with various U.S. youth national sides over the past two years. So, he’d been left off the list.

But, Verhoeven is currently. with the Canadian youth side that will begin play Monday at the Festival International Espoirs Provence, better know as the Toulon tournament, With Verhoeven now wearing Canada red, even at the youth level, that means we can confidently add him to the rankings. Really, this is no different than the call we made when Tesko Akindele declared for Canada after he’d been leaning towards the American program.

So, clear as mud, right?

Onto the rankings!

 

Here are the rankings after the 13th week of MLS play/11th week of USL action:

 

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Samuel Piette, Montreal, 1170 (13)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 1014 (14)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, LAFC, 991 (12)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 989 (11)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 790 (9)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 759 (10)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 599 (8)
Michael Petrasso, Montreal, 565 (9)
Raheem Edwards, Montreal, 548 (8)
Dejan Jakovic, LAFC, 514 (7)
Ryan Telfer, TFC, 495 (6)
Ashtone Morgan, TFC, 459 (6)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 447 (8)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 382 (10)
Jordan Hamilton,TFC, 373 (7)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 351 (8)
Liam Fraser, TFC, 276 (5)
Brett Levis, Vancouver, 226 (3)
Richie Laryea, Orlando, 127 (5)
Louis Beland-Goyette, Montreal, 109 (4)
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFC, 104 (2)
Brian Wright, New England, 27 (2)
Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas, 23 (3)
David Choiniere, Montreal, 12 (1)
Aidan Daniels, TFC, 12 (1)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 3 (2)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2018

Toronto FC, 3307/11 (300.6)

Montreal, 2510/12 (209.2)

Vancouver, 2598/14 (185.6)

LAFC, 1505/12 (125.4)

Orlando City, 1116/12 (93)

New England, 27/12 (2.3)

FC Dallas, 23/11 (2.1)

NYCFC, 3/13 (0.3)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Jordan Schweitzer, Colorado Springs, 1100 (13)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 990 (11)
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 990 (11)
Robert Boskovic, TFCII, 900 (10)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 840 (10)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 831 (11)
Kyle Bekker, NCFC, 786 (9)
Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers, 750 (9)
Maxime Crepeau, Ottawa, 720 (8)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 720 (8)
Bradley Kamdem-Fewo, Fresno, 720 (8)
Karl Ouimette, Indy, 720 (8)
Carl Haworth, Ottawa, 708 (10)
Jordan Dover, Pittsburgh, 704 (8)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 701 (11)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 666 (10)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 640 (10)
Noah Verhoeven, Fresno, 594 (10)
Josh Heard, Real Monarchs SLC, 579 (8)
Adonijah Reid, Ottawa, 560 (8)
Chris Mannella, Ottawa, 540 (6)
Rocco Romeo, TFCII, 532 (6)
Matthew Srbely, TFCII, 514 (8)
Noble Okello Ayo, TFCII, 502 (7)
Mauro Eustaquio, Penn FC, 462 (7)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 450 (5)
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFCII, 450 (5)
Tyler Pasher, Indy, 440 (5)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 419 (5)
Keven Aleman, Sacramento, 396 (6)
Ryan James, Nashville, 342 (6)
Mastanabal Kacher, Real Monarchs SLC, 309 (6)
Zak Drake, Las Vegas, 296 (6)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Reno, 278 (4)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, Fresno, 270 (3)
Doneil Henry, Ottawa, 270 (3)
Darrin MacLeod, Swope Park Rangers, 270 (3)
Michael Cox, Nashville, 264 (5)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 244 (6)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 207 (3)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 203 (8)
Daniel Haber, FC Cincinnati, 200 (6)
David Edgar, Nashville, 200 (5)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 181 (3)
Gianluca Catalano, TFCII, 180 (2)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 180 (2)
Kyle Porter, Ottawa, 173 (2)
Luca Petrasso, TFCII, 148 (4)
Kunle Dada-Luke, TFCII, 147 (4)
Jordan Faria, TFCII, 138 (3)
Luca Ricci, Phoenix, 119 (3)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 113 (7)
Nana Attakora, Ottawa, 90 (1)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 90 (1)
Steffen Yeates, TFCII, 90 (1)
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 63 (1)
Daniel Da Silva, TFCII, 59 (1)
Monti Mohsen, Ottawa, 45 (1)
Terran Campbell, Fresno, 24 (4)
Malyk Hamilton, TFCII, 11 (1)
Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti, Ottawa, 6 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2018

TFCII, 7077/11 (643.4)

Ottawa, 5097/10 (509.7)

Fresno, 1608/12 (134)

Indy Eleven, 1340/10 (134)

Reno, 1268/12 (105.7)

Swope Park Rangers, 1020/11 (92.7)

Charleston, 990/11 (90)

NCFC, 786/9 (87.3)

Colorado Springs, 1100/13 (84.6)

Real Monarchs SLC, 888/11 (80.7)

Nashville, 806/10 (80.6)

Tulsa, 831/11 (75.5)

Pittsburgh, 704/10 (70.4)

Penn FC, 462/10 (46.2)

Sacramento, 396/11 (36)

Las Vegas, 296/10 (29.6)

Phoenix, 322/12 (26.8)

FC Cincinnati, 200/11 (18.2)

Bethlehem Steel, 113/11 (10.3)

 

Halifax Wanderers come on board, but you can put a lid on the Stephen Hart rumours

Hold off on the Stephen Hart-to-Halifax Wanderers rumours.

When the Halifax Wanderers’ website went live with the team’s launch on Friday afternoon, a quote attributed to former national-team coach Stephen Hart was featured. The eyebrow-raiser  was that he was listed as the president of Sports and Entertainment Atlantic, the organization which owns the new club. But, a little later, the site was updated and Hart was just listed as, well, the former national-team coach. (Both versions are below).

The Canadian Premier League has confirmed that the mention of Hart as president of SEA was an error. Basically, what was an endorsement from Hart as someone with significant Canadian soccer experience (and has called Halifax home) was tagged incorrectly. So, treat the second version as the correct one and please don’t use the first version as the reason to start a message-board war on the Voyageurs’ site.

Now that the will-he-or-won’t-he is out of the way, a little more on the club; it will play out of the 6,000-seat Wanderers ground which is convenient to downtown. The convertible (or “pop-up” if you want to sound hipster) stadium concept has been approved by Halifax’s City Council for use by the Wanderers over the next three years. The team will play on a site that has a lot of rugby and soccer history and, like Calgary, will play on grass, not artificial turf. The team will wear Aqua Ocean, Harbour Blue and Naval Grey, a cool colour scheme that will mimic the changing shades of the ocean and the waterfront skies.

On the crest you’ll find the Gaelic motto: Ar Cala, Ar Dachaigh, Ar N-Anam, which translates to “Our Harbour, Our Home, Our Soul.”

“Halifax Wanderers is the realization of a dream to reignite the passion of our community on a historic ground, through the power of sport,” said SEA President Derek Martin in a release (and it’s important to note Martin is listed as club president). “Our club will respect our storied past while also embracing our exciting future as a vibrant and inclusive city ready to compete on the world stage. We accept the responsibility of representing our wonderful city and invite our community to rediscover the Wanderers Grounds as a place to gather and cheer for our new hometown team”

What can’t be understated is the value of having an Atlantic Canadian team in a national pro league of any kind. For too long, the region has been on the outside looking in, as we have seen “national” leagues basically end at the Quebec border. I’ve heard from a few players from Atlantic Canada who feel that they weren’t seen or properly scouted; they were victims of geography.

Halifax is the third city on the CanPL tour of announcements. York 9 and Cavalry FC (Calgary) have already been announced. Three or four more announcements are planned to be made in the coming weeks. The league is planning to kick off in 2019.

 

 

DAZN’s big Canadian deal: Digital space is a natural fit for soccer

On Thursday, media upstart DAZN announced that not only had it secured the Canadian digital rights to broadcast the entirety of the Champions and Europa Leagues over the next three seasons, it had acquired blanket rights to the tournaments.

DAZN said it isn’t interested in sub-licensing those rights; so, unless the digital broadcaster has a change of heart, that means Saturday’s CL final between Liverpool and Real Madrid will be the last time you’ll see soccer at that level on cable TV for a while. Maybe a long, long while.

For those who are already cord-cutting and streaming as a daily practise, this is not exceptionally noteworthy. DAZN charges $20/month, about the price of a nice lunch. It’s not what you would call expensive.

(What could be expensive is, if, down the road, the various soccer leagues end up on different digital platforms, each charging their nominal fees, which then add up to a significant bill.)

But, for those who are still cable- or satellite-first viewers, there will be much gnashing of teeth. Count this as a certainty; that in August, during the first CL broadcasts of the new season, Twitter will be filled with complaints — as viewers will question TSN and Sportsnet about why the hell they’re not carrying the games. This, for the neutral, could make for more entertaining viewing than Canadian soccer fans complaining about curling running long, or having to share soccer stadiums with football teams.

More seriously, though, is that the DAZN deal simply reflects the reality — that, in Canada, soccer is a sport better suited for digital streams than for traditional broadcasters.

In the traditional media, no matter if it’s print, magazine or broadcast, we are searching for ways to supplant ad revenues. With the rise of online shopping, many brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling to keep up — and it’s those brick-and-mortar shops who are cutting back their ad budgets or going out of business altogether. So, that’s put further pressure on an already fractured ad market.

As well, some major sponsors have put cash into naming stadiums or putting their logos on jerseys. While this is great for the clubs and leagues, it’s a double-edged sword for traditional broadcasters. Not only do these sponsors get what amounts to free commercial space on TV, they have borrowed from their traditional ad budgets to make these stadium and shirt deals. Broadcasters (and other media, too) lose out twice.

Traditional TV broadcasters need ad revenue. They also need space in which to sell it. They need lots of commercial breaks in prime time. Champions League soccer offers neither. Games are, save for the final, midweek, early-afternoon programming in Canada. And, with no stops in games save for halftime, there isn’t a lot of inventory to sell. It’s ironic; as ad revenues fall, broadcaster are under pressure to sell more, more, more. They are squeezing blood from stones. Because they aren’t as flexible as digital broadcasters, their solution is to scramble and try to find more stones.

Really, the only way to make it work is to monetize the audience. Subscriptions. Memberships. As well, the advertisers who are left in the game absolutely LOVE paid memberships. They show them that there is a captive audience, with disposable income to burn. If they spend $20 to watch Champions League, they’re more likely to buy shoes than the person watching a broadcast for free. The digital space offers a simple proposition; pay a monthly or annual fee — and stream what you’d like. Games are archived so you can catch up later or watch that great sequence over and over again.

Soccer has long been a loss-leader audience builder for traditional broadcasters in Canada. The ratings, save for a World Cup or a CL final or that magical 2016 MLS Eastern Conference Final between TFC and Montreal, are a fraction of what hockey or the Blue Jays or the CFL or curling pulls in. The trade-off was that  soccer brings in a younger audience with disposable income to burn. But, in the case of CL, those weekday afternoon kick offs put a ceiling on how much you could build said audience. With rights costs being what they are — and a ceiling on what traditional broadcasters can do with the property — the digital world was the most natural fit. In uncertain times, media has traditionally reverted to the tried and true, rather than take chances on loss leaders. So, as revenues dwindle, the natural choices for traditional broadcasters are to double down on the larger draws — hockey, anyone?

It is worth noting that British broadcasters paid the Premier League close to 4.5 billion pounds to carry matches from 2019-2022. It was a whopping sum, for sure, but less than the more than 5 billion domestic carriers paid for rights from 2016-19. To be fair, that might not be due to waning interest in the Premier League, but the fact that more broadcast money is being tossed at other leagues. For example, Sky and Eurosport paid 4.6 billion euros in 2016 for the rights to carry the Bundesliga for four seasons. That was nearly double what Bundesliga rights had been worth in the previous contract cycle. 

So, with that much money on offer, broadcasters have to find bangs for their bucks. And, that means you have to find new ways to monetize your audience. Ad revenues just don’t cut it anymore. So, you find ways to turn your free viewers into paid subscribers. You find new ways for sponsors to make their brands visible to the public. You create membership.

And, right now, digital broadcasting is that space, unless Sportsnet and TSN figure out ways to charge people per game that they watch.

 

Inescapably Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 12/USL Week 10

Toronto FC’s 2-1 win over Orlando City on Friday night was the big highlight of this weekend’s Can-con activity in the North American first- and second-division leagues.

A lineup laden with Canadians was tasked to take on the Lions, as Toronto FC is still coming out of an injury crisis. The Reds also had to deal with the suspension to star Designated Player Sebastian Giovinco.

But the Canadians responded, helping TFC stop a recent run of bad form. Jay Chapman scored first, and Ryan Telfer pounced and volleyed home a late winner — a spectacular way to get your first MLS goal, if you ask me (or pretty well anyone).

Here are the rankings after the12th week of MLS play/10th week of USL action:

 

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Samuel Piette, Montreal, 1080 (12)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 989 (11)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 936 (13)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, LAFC, 901 (11)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 706 (9)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 700 (8)
Michael Petrasso, Montreal, 565 (9)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 530 (7)
Dejan Jakovic, LAFC, 469 (6)
Ashtone Morgan, TFC, 459 (6)
Raheem Edwards, Montreal, 458 (7)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 416 (7)
Ryan Telfer, TFC, 405 (5)
Jordan Hamilton,TFC, 369 (6)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 363 (9)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 292 (7)
Brett Levis, Vancouver, 226 (3)
Liam Fraser, TFC, 190 (4)
Richie Laryea, Orlando, 121 (4)
Louis Beland-Goyette, Montreal, 109 (4)
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFC, 104 (2)
Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas, 23 (3)
David Choiniere, Montreal, 12 (1)
Aidan Daniels, TFC, 12 (1)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 3 (2)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2018

Toronto FC, 2947/10 (294.7)

Montreal, 2311/11 (210.1)

Vancouver, 2398/13 (184.5)

LAFC, 1370/11 (124.5)

Orlando City, 1110/11 (100.9)

FC Dallas, 23/10 (2.3)

NYCFC, 3/12 (0.3)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Jordan Schweitzer, Colorado Springs, 1010 (12)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 990 (11)
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 900 (10)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 840 (10)
Robert Boskovic, TFCII, 810 (9)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 802 (10)
Bradley Kamdem-Fewo, Fresno, 720 (8)
Jordan Dover, Pittsburgh, 704 (8)
Kyle Bekker, NCFC, 701 (8)
Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers, 660 (8)
Maxime Crepeau, Ottawa, 630 (7)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 630 (7)
Karl Ouimette, Indy, 630 (7)
Carl Haworth, Ottawa, 618 (9)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 611 (10)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 583 (9)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 550 (9)
Chris Mannella, Ottawa, 540 (6)
Josh Heard, Real Monarchs SLC, 534 (7)
Noble Okello Ayo, TFCII, 502 (7)
Adonijah Reid, Ottawa, 494 (7)
Mauro Eustaquio, Penn FC, 462 (7)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 450 (5)
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFCII, 450 (5)
Rocco Romeo, TFCII, 442 (5)
Tyler Pasher, Indy, 440 (5)
Matthew Srbely, TFCII, 424 (7)
Keven Aleman, Sacramento, 396 (6)
Ryan James, Nashville, 338 (5)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 329 (4)
Mastanabal Kacher, Real Monarchs SLC, 309 (6)
Zak Drake, Las Vegas, 296 (6)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Reno, 278 (4)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, Fresno, 270 (3)
Doneil Henry, Ottawa, 270 (3)
Darrin MacLeod, Swope Park Rangers, 270 (3)
Michael Cox, Nashville, 264 (5)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 207 (3)
Daniel Haber, FC Cincinnati, 200 (6)
David Edgar, Nashville, 200 (5)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 184 (5)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 182 (7)
Gianluca Catalano, TFCII, 180 (2)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 180 (2)
Kyle Porter, Ottawa, 173 (2)
Kunle Dada-Luke, TFCII, 147 (4)
Luca Ricci, Phoenix, 119 (3)
Luca Petrasso, TFCII, 103 (3)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 102 (2)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 90 (1)
Steffen Yeates, TFCII, 90 (1)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 86 (6)
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 63 (1)
Daniel Da Silva, TFCII, 59 (1)
Jordan Faria, TFCII, 48 (2)
Monti Mohsen, Ottawa, 45 (1)
Terran Campbell, Fresno, 24 (4)
Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti, Ottawa, 6 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2018

TFCII, 6342/10 (634.2)

Ottawa, 4498/9 (499.8)

Indy Eleven, 1250/9 (138.9)

Reno, 1268/11 (115.3)

Swope Park Rangers, 930/10 (93)

Fresno, 1014/11 (92.2)

Charleston, 900/10 (90)

Nashville, 802/9 (89.1)

NCFC, 701/8 (87.6)

Real Monarchs SLC, 843/10 (84.3)

Colorado Springs, 1010/12 (84.2)

Tulsa, 802/10 (80.2)

Pittsburgh, 704/9 (78.2)

Penn FC, 462/9 (51.3)

Sacramento, 396/11 (36)

Las Vegas, 296/9 (32.9)

Phoenix, 301/11 (27.4)

FC Cincinnati, 200/10 (20)

Bethlehem Steel, 86/10 (8.6)

 

Cavalry FC: “An unlikely sport in an unlikely place”

We have seen some interesting shared venues in the past. Football lines on soccer pitches. Soccer played in baseball stadium. But, located just outside of Calgary’s city limits, Cavalry FC takes the cake (or is the the caviar?) when it comes to shared stadiums. Cavalry FC will kick off the 2019 Canadian Premier League season at Spruce Meadows, Canada’s premier show-jumping facility.

Cavalry FC, named for the Lord Strathcona Horse regiment that was founded in the early 1900s by Calgary-area volunteers, was announced as the second “official” CanPL club on Thursday, following York 9’s birth last week. It will play out of a natural-grass stadium that will hold 5,000 and offer a dozen hospitality tents. The team’s colours are “Calgary red,” “Army green” and, well, black.

Future site of a 5,000-seat soccer venue.

As Spruce Meadows is located in the M.D. of Foothills, free shuttles will be provided to bring fans to the facility from the southernmost terminus of Calgary’s LRT line.

Spruce Meadows is the pride and joy of Calgary’s Southern family.

So, how did the marriage of soccer and show-jumping come about? Tommy Wheeldon Jr., who runs the Calgary Foothills program n the PDL, came to Spruce Meadows because both his wife and daughter are show0jumping enthusiasts. When he walked out onto the green, he imagined what it would be like to have soccer played on the pristine emerald surface. A meeting was set up, and the Southern family made the decision to back the push for CanPL.

“It’s about bringing people together, it’s about the youth, we’ve always focused on the grassroots of sport,” said Linda Southern-Heathcott, the president of Spruce Meadows. “It is about building a stronger community.”

“Mr. Southern always alluded to Spruce Meadows as ‘an unlikely sport in an unlikely place,'” said Cavalry FC president  Ian Allison. “And I think that holds true for many out there right now that are looking through a different lens at Spruce Meadows.”

As for Wheeldon, he’s ecstatic he doesn’t have to keep secrets anymore. He said he’s been “bursting at the seams,” wanting to spread the news about Cavalry FC in the weeks leading up to the launch. As for Foothills, that program will continue in the PDL. It will continue to be based in Okotoks. And now it fits it into the Cavalry’s development puzzle.

“What I am trying to do is give back to the city, to the country, that has welcomed me,” said Wheeldon, who will be Cavalry FC’s manager. Wheeldon moved to Canada 16 years ago to play for the USL’s Calgary Storm, fell in love with the city and stayed after the club folded.

“There is no ceiling here, everything is possible,” Wheeldon said of the Cavalry FC/Spruce Meadows mashup. “Tomorrow, there are no more secrets. We are out there, this is real. And it’s not exclusive to some. It is inclusive to everybody. This is a team for the city.”