Steven Sandor's Blog, page 25

FCE to CanPL? It will require “the greatest comeback story in the history of Edmonton sport.”

Invitations went out to 50 season-seat holders, and representatives from the major minor-soccer organizations in the Edmonton area.

But, far more than 50 showed up at a small south-side pub Wednesday night to see FC Edmonton launch what team General Manager Jay Ball coined “the greatest comeback story in the history of Edmonton sport.”

(Warning: There is going to be a lot of hyperbole in the coming paragraphs).

If FC Edmonton, which left NASL at the end of the 2017 season, is to field a pro team in the Canadian Premier League in 2019, the club needs its fans to rally. It needs a massive ground game to sell season-ticket commitments. And, maybe, if the team is to survive, Wednesday’s night’s meeting of soccer supporters will be remembered as the Alberta Capital’s very own Tennis Court Oath, soccer style.

And it all needs to come together awfully fast, as time is ticking for FCE to say yea or nay to the new Canadian Division-1 pro league.

The meeting launched what the club says will be a make-or-break period that stretches over the next 40 days. Fans on hand pledged that they would buy season seats, and spread the word about the Eddies, to raise the team’s profile in a hockey-mad city. And this is the perfect time; with the Oilers finishing off the most disappointing campaign of any of the NHL teams this season.

Ball said that 100 season-seat commitments were sold on Thursday. He said during the event that he hopes for a number that swells past the 1,000 mark over the next 40 days; the 1,000- seat mark equals the number of season tickets the team sold in the 2017 NASL season.

But, be clear; that’s not an end goal. It’s a starting point.

“The truth is, you don’t get very far on 1,000 tickets,” said Tom Fath, who owns the team with his brother, Dave. Truth is, FCE has not set a hard target of tickets that have to be sold. Fath said it will be a combination of tickets sold, corporate support and the right agreement for a soccer facility that will help convince him and his brother to re-launch the pro team, but in CanPL this time.

“Dave and I need to know it will be sustainable,” said Fath. “We have to be convinced it will be different (than it was in NASL).”

Fath told the fans in attendance that he was first approached by the CanPL three years ago — and that he’s been attending meetings over the last year. Ball is landing in Toronto Thursday morning for the next round of  CanPL meetings.

“The fans want FCE in the CanPL,” said Fath.

But, will it happen? Fath needs to see a groundswell of support from fans over the next month. Every Friday in March, there will be an event that helps increase the visibility of soccer. Next Friday, at Arcadia, the YEG for CPL group will launch a co-branded beer with Sea Change Brewery. There will be more rallies and events to dot the March calendar.

“March has to be the most exciting 30-day window in the history of the club,” said Ball.

To help rally the fans, academy coach Jeff Paulus (the academy is still running, though the pro team is shuttered at the moment) and FCE player Allan Zebie spoke to the crowd.

Paulus said that the CanPL will make sure domestic players “will have a home, that they will have a goal.”

He said the team’s survival ensures the continuation of the academy, which has produced players such as Shamit Shome and Amer Didic, who have gone on to sign MLS contracts. But Paulus said that we can’t forget the Faths have also bankrolled the girls’ REX program, which has a great track record of sending players on to scholarships.

“One hundred per cent of our players receive a full ride, typically,” he said.

Zebie, whose family moved to Canada from France when he was 9, played for both thre Quebec and Alberta provincial teams before moving on to FCE’s academy, then to the pro side.

“I believe FCE is so important to this city, to this country,” said Zebie, who appeared in 54 matches over three NASL seasons with the Eddies.

Nathan Terlesky, one of the organizers of the YEG for CPL group, said that the group exists to “open people’s eyes to what soccer can be in Edmonton.”

Now, he and his fellow YEG for CPL members have to do more than open people’s eyes. They need to convince Edmontonians to open their wallets. The clock is ticking.

But Ball’s enthusiasm, for at least a few hours, erased the doubts.

“In 18 months, it will be the end of the first CanPL season, in either October or November… And this is what I see as the headline in the Journal: After seven years of toiling in NASL, after 18 months of going dark, after the fans came back to save the club, FC Edmonton wins the first Canadian Premier League.”

When CCL adds more Canadian teams, frozen February matches could be the norm

This week, the Colorado Rapids hosted Toronto FC in a CONCACAF Champions League game played in a -19 C wind chill. In 2011, the Columbus Crew hosted CCL game in sub-zero temperatures.

But, when the Canadian Premier League begins play, the February sub-zero CCL Round of 16 match could become a regular thing.

The CanPL, which is set to launch as our national “Division 1A” in 2019, wants the league champion to be given a berth in the CCL. As Commissioner David Clanachan said the day his appointment was announced: “We fully expect that the Canadian Premier League champion will get a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. And, our teams expect to play in the Canadian Championship, and that could lead to another spot.”

Right now, Canada has just one spot in the CCL, which is award to the Voyageurs Cup winner. Canada Soccer is pushing for a second. As Canada would finally have its own top-tier league in 2019, the natural move is for the CanPL winner to get that spot. After all, the argument against Canada getting more than one slot had been that, well, this country didn’t have its own league. Hey, it’s hard to ask for more than one spot if you don’t have your own first division, right? Now what Canada has one, we’re pretty well obligated to give it that second spot – if we get it.

So, let’s imagine for a bit. Down the road, a team from Edmonton or Winnipeg or heck, maybe Fort McMurray (dream big, right?) wins the CanPL. I mean, the weather in most Canadian cities in February is guaranteed to be

Miserable
Worse than miserable

It could become our annual cold-shaming-of-teams-from-other-parts-of-CONCACAF festival. Oh, hi there, Mexican champs! Welcome to -20 C! Oh, hello L.A. Galaxy. Welcome to Winnipeg in February. No, this isn’t “bad” weather to us. This is NORMAL weather to us. Heck, we had to postpone a Voyageurs Cup because of severe winter weather. In May.

For Canadians, the February CCL Round of 16 could be our payback for the 3 a.m. hotel wake-up calls, games played on pitches that haven’t been cut, the power outages.

Or, maybe, with a Canadian president at the helm and the possibility of more Canadian teams on the horizon, maybe CONCACAF will rethink February games, and understand that parts of the region get, winter weather. 

But, I have admit that I take a weird kind of enjoyment out of severe-weather games. I’ve had to broadcast more than a few FC Edmonton home games in less than ideal conditions. And, because I don’t have to actually play in said conditions, I understand it’s easy for me to say “wow, I love orange-ball weather! Cool!”

So, for me, don’t move the February games. I mean, if you thought the weather was bad in Denver, wait till you get a Maritime snowstorm. A prairie cold snap. And, in many of these places, there are no domed stadiums that offer escape plans.

Reds off to hot start in CONCACAF Champions League despite frosty conditions

The temperature at kickoff was a slightly nippy -19 C with the wind chill (and, as Canadians, we always include the wind chill). But, even though the frozen pitch was their own, the Colorado Rapids were the team that never heated up.

Toronto FC was, by a wide margin, the livelier team, and got two well-deserved road goals. A 2-0 result in the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 first leg gives the Reds a commanding advantage heading home for next week’s second match. It’ll be pretty cold at BMO Field, but there’s no doubt the atmosphere will be festive.

Colorado actually had the best chance in the first half of Tuesday’s game; Dominique Badji got behind the Reds’ backline and only had keeper Alex Bono to beat. But Badji’s one-on-one attempt was something we’d expect out of a central defender, not a centre forward. He went right up the middle with his shot, basically putting it right at the keeper.

The Rapids gave up the opening goal, as their defenders were caught cold and flat-footed by some decent play by the Reds. Sebastian Giovinco — you know, the guy who’s TFC’s all-time leading scorer — had the ball at the top of box, then laid it off to Marky Delgado, who then pushed the ball over to Jozy Altidore. Meanwhile, Giovinco drifted over to the right side of the penalty area, and no Rapid seemed to notice. He was left all alone out there. But Altidore noticed. He sent the ball to Giovinco, who had time and space to loft a cross into the box.

Keeper Tim Howard — a member of the rare Designated Player-goalie club — remained rooted to his goal line. No Rapid picked up TFC’s Jonathan Osorio in the box. As the Canadian leaped to head TFC into the lead, Howard finally took a step off the line to flap at the ball.

The Rapids had plenty of men in the box, but couldn’t cover anyone.

It was more of the same for TFC’s second goal. Auro, making his TFC debut at fullback, was able to lift a cross into the box for Giovinco to volley into the goal. As they did with Osorio, the Rapids had plenty of numbers in the penalty area, but not one of them actually bothered to get close to TFC’s Italian star.

The Rapids’ Bismark Boateng fizzed a shot wide late in the game.

It was pretty clear that the Rapids still looked fully in preseason mode, while TFC was ready. Despite the conditions. Despite the altitude. In conditions as difficult as they were in Colorado on Tuesday, players can’t afford to be lulled to sleep. Colorado, though, was caught snoozing.

CanWNT coach Heiner-Moller: Matheson’s return “what this team needs on and off the pitch”

New Canadian women’s national-team coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller said that the return of 33-year-old veteran Diana Matheson is “what this team needs on and off the pitch.”

Matheson missed all of the 2017 NWSL season after re-injuring the same troublesome knee that severely limited her participation in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. But she was placed on the Canadian roster for the upcoming Algarve Cup.

But Matheson was named as one of the 11 Canada Soccer-allocated players for the 2018 NWSL season, and is expected to play for the Utah Royals this coming campaign.

Heiner-Moller admitted that Matheson’s participation at the upcoming Algarve Cup will “not be on the same terms as everyone else,” but that she participated in a camp in January and he’s convinced that she’s returning to the level she was at before the injury.

“She is adding to the team just by her presence.”

On Friday in Hamilton, Heiner-Moller participated in his first press conference as the coach of the Canadian women’s national team. He was at Tim Hortons field, which will host a friendly between Canada and the reigning Olympic champions from Germany on June 10.

Heiner-Moller is set to leave for Portugal on Friday night, where he’ll begin prepping the women’s team for the Algarve Cup. That kicks off at the end of February, with Canada facing the silver medalists from Sweden.

He said that former national-team star, Dr. Melissa Tancredi, will join the team’s medical staff. Along with the returns of Matheson and keeper Erin McLeod from injury, Tancredi will add another veteran voice to the entourage.

Remember that, in the later stages of Canada’s 2018 World Cup-qualifying attempt under then-coach Benito Floro, Julian de Guzman was still brought into camp even though he was battling a long-term injury. And that was because Floro believed very strongly that JDG’s presence had an impact on the team, whether he played or not.

 

NWSL allocation, Algarve Cup roster: New Canada coach puts heavy emphasis on offence

It’s been a busy day of announcements regarding the Canadian women’s national team. The roster for the Algarve Cup was unveiled, featuring seven forwards out of the 23 players named. Maybe new coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller has been studying post-Second World War Eastern European tactics and is looking to start at least four strikers, or maybe he’s going to go way out there and show us off Canada’s new-look 1-3-6.

I mean, it’s un-Canadian to have a roster that has only two centre backs, but seven forwards, right?

The tournament begins February 28, with Canada taking on the Swedes, who should provide the toughest opposition. Canada will also play Russia and South Korea.

As well, Canada Soccer announced the names of the 11 players who have been allocated to the NWSL. Through the program, Canada Soccer can allocate up to 16 Canadian-national-team eligible players to the U.S. based top-tier women’s league. Canada Soccer subsidizes the salaries of the selected players.

Canada has not used its full allocation since the 2013 season.

Included in the group of 11 is Rebecca Quinn, who went third overall in the NWSL draft, the highest ever draft selection spent on a Canadian player.

The Algarve Cup and the NWSL allocations are included below.

 ALGARVE CUP ROSTER (Call this Appendix A)

GK Stephanie Labbe, age 31, from Stony Plain, AB

GK Erin McLeod, age 34, from St. Albert, AB/ FC Rosengård (Damallsvenskan)

GK Kailen Sheridan, age 22, from Whitby, ON/Sky Blue FC (NWSL)

FB Lindsay Agnew, age 22, from Kingston, ON/ Houston Dash (NWSL)

FB Allysha Chapman, age 29, from Courtice, ON/ North Carolina Courage (NWSL)

FB Ashley Lawrence, age 22, from Caledon, ON/Paris Saint German (Division 1 Féminine France)

FB Shannon Woeller, age 28, from Vancouver, BC/ FF USV Jena (Frauen-Bundesliga)

CB Shelina Zadorsky, age 25, from London, ON/ Orlando Pride (NWSL)

CB Kadeisha Buchanan, age 22, from Brampton, ON/ Olympique Lyonnais (Division 1 Féminine France)

M/CB Rebecca Quinn, age 22, from Toronto, ON/ Washington Spirit (NWSL)

M  Maegan Kelly, age 25, from Kansas City, MO & Toronto, ON/ FC Kansas City (NWSL)

M Desiree Scott, age 30, from Winnipeg, MB/ Utah Royals FC (NWSL)

M Sophie Schmidt, age 29, from Abbotsford, BC/ FFC Frankfurt (Frauen-Bundesliga)

M Jessie Fleming, age 19, from London, ON/UCLA (NCAA)

M Diana Matheson, age 33, from Oakville, ON/Utah Royals FC (NWSL)

M Julia Grosso, age 17, from Vancouver, BC / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite/ Canada Soccer

Regional EXCEL Super Centre (British Columbia)

F Christine Sinclair, age 34, from Burnaby, BC/ Portland Thorns (NWSL)

F Deanne Rose, age 18, from Alliston, ON/ University of Florida Gators (NCAA)

F Janine Beckie, age 23, from Highlands Ranch, CO/ Sky Blue FC (NWSL)

F Adriana Leon, age 25, from King City, ON/ Sky Blue FC (NWSL)

F Nichelle Prince, age 22, from Ajax, ON/ Houston Dash (NWSL)

F Jordyn Huitema, age 16, from Chilliwack, BC/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite/ Canada Soccer

Regional EXCEL Super Centre (British Columbia)

F Jenna Hellstrom,  age 22, from Sudbury, ON/ FC Rosengård (Damallsvenskan)

NWSL ALLOCATIONS (CALL IT APPENDIX B)

FB Allysha Chapman, age 29, from Courtice, ON/ North Carolina Courage

CB Shelina Zadorsky, age 25, from London, ON/ Orlando Pride

M Rebecca Quinn*, age 22, from Toronto, ON/ Washington Spirit

M Desiree Scott, age 30, from Winnipeg, MB/ Utah Royals FC

M Diana Matheson, age 33, from Oakville, ON/Utah Royals FC

F Christine Sinclair, age 34, from Burnaby, BC/ Portland Thorns

F Janine Beckie, age 23, from Highlands Ranch, CO/ Sky Blue FC

F Adriana Leon*, age 25, from King City, ON/ Sky Blue FC

F Nichelle Prince, age 22, from Ajax, ON/ Houston Dash

GK Sabrina D’Angelo, age 24, from Welland, ON/ North Carolina Courage

GK Kailen Sheridan, age 22, from Whitby, ON/Sky Blue FC

It’s time for the United World Cup bidders to address the Olympic elephant in the room

From the City of Toronto’s report on the United World Cup bid for 2026:

“There is one major unknown at this stage of the bidding process. The Mayor’s Advisory Panel on International Hosting Opportunities is clear that the City must confirm the financial support of the federal and provincial governments prior to making a bid for a ‘mega event’ like the FIFA World Cup. This is essential to mitigate financial risks to the City”

From the City of Edmonton’s report:

“Canada Soccer has requested funding from the federal government. Based on the information provided by Canada Soccer, host city costs are estimated at between $35 million to $55 million and do not include any capital requirements that may be needed to host the event. Host city costs depend on the number of Canadian host cities selected.”

From the City of Vancouver’s report:

“At this time, neither the federal or provincial governments have committed support for the event. However, the four Canadian candidate host cities are working with the federal government and four provincial governments on this event including the discussions around the multi-party agreement to address concerns. Canada Soccer is leading discussions with the Government of Canada.”

Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto are the four shortlisted Canadian cities that could host World Cup matches in 2026, that is if the United bid between Canada, the United States and Mexico defeats the bid from MoroccoWe’ll know in 2021 which of the Canadian cities will be chosen to split the 10 games to be held in this country — provided the United bid is successful.

It’s clear that the Canadian cities are all going forward with the idea that the federal and provincial governments will be paying a lot of the freight. And, even though Canada will host just a fraction of the tournament’s games, stadium upgrades, infrastructure and security don’t come cheap.

Meanwhile, the City of Calgary has raised the ante just a little bit when it comes to potentially bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympics, a push that could be shared with other communities in Western Canada. As the Pyeongchang Olympics go on, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is there, on a fact-finding mission. He’s shaking hands, he’s learning more about what it takes to host a modern Games (different than when Calgary hosted in 1988) and, maybe most important, advertising the Calgary brand. And, while the feds haven’t officially committed to the United World Cup bid, Minister of Sport and Persons With Disabilities Kirsty Duncan is in Pyeongchang not only to follow up with the Canadian athletes who benefit from government funding, but to talk about the potential bid, as well.

Duncan has said that the feds have not yet committed to an Olympic bid. So, in that sense, Calgary is in the same place as the four potential World Cup cities. A decision on whether or not Calgary will bid has to be made in the coming months.

But Nenshi turned up the volume on Monday, telling Global News from Pyeongchang that, when it comes to Calgary and an Olympic bid,  “We always knew the answer was yes, but being here, the answer is yes, yes, yes!”

So, as Calgary looks to edge closer to a “yes” and four other Canadian cities work towards a World Cup, is someone finally going to take charge ask if these processes are on a collision course? In Edmonton’s report, the No. 1 risk to the World Cup bid identified by administration was… Calgary’s potential Olympic bid. But, really, that has been the only level of government who has put the argument out there. The Calgary bid isn’t mentioned in the Vancouver and Toronto reports. And Calgary City Council’s recent debate on a potential Olympic bid didn’t go over what could be a competing World Cup bid.

For the most part, these two bid processes look to be operating within their silos, and that’s troubling. Both Nenshi and the administrators of the short-listed World Cup-bid cities say that federal government dollars are key to their plans. Without fed money, there are no bids.  It will be ugly, ugly, ugly, if we get to a point where two major bids, with events both set for 2026, end up bashing each other over the heads to try and secure what will be limited federal government dollars.

At some point, the United bid has to acknowledge Calgary’s Olympic bid and say, quite frankly, “WTF?”

From the City of Calgary: Cost estimates for 2026 Olympics

 

CanPL V-P James Easton talks about how rosters will be built, and competition will be shaped

James Easton, who on Wednesday was announced as the vice-president of the Canadian Premier League who will oversee on-field competition, imagines a national-team that will be competitive at the 2026 World Cup.

Canada is part of the United bid, along with Mexico and the United States, to host the World Cup in 2026. If the bid wins, Canada would get an automatic berth.

“I envision that a significant number of players on that national team will have come through the Canadian Premier League,” said Easton. “They might not be playing in the league at that time, they may have moved on, but that players have come through the Canadian Premier League system.”

The Canadian Premier League, which will be recognized as this country’s first division, is set to kick off in 2019.

“I imagine that we’ll be competitive,” Easton says of Canada in 2026. “We can score a couple of goals, maybe win a game, maybe get out of the group stage. We need to look like we belong there.”

For a country that hasn’t qualified for a men’s World Cup since 1986, “being competitive” is a major goal. And we’re not there yet.

Easton is a former Whitecap and national-teamer who also played in Scotland and for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He then moved on to be a top-level soccer adviser through his Rethink Management Group. He will now work full-time for the CanPL. He was the author of the Easton Report, which, five years ago was released to the public and looked at the viability of pro soccer in Canada. Easton said that, yes, he imagined then that we’d get to the point where we’d be launching our own national league.

Easton shared some thoughts on how he sees the league, and what the long-term goals are when it comes to developing Canadian players.

Rosters, allocations and drafts?

Of course, as the Canadian Premier League continues to build towards its 2019 launch, there are many questions about how the teams’ rosters will be shaped.

While the minimum number of Canadians that need to be on each team’s roster has yet to be finalized, Easton said there are some “overarching guiding principles” that the CanPL has adopted.

“This league’s primary purpose is to develop Canadian players for our national team,” he said.

But, the league is discussing not only the minimum numbers of Canadians a team will need to have, but those minimums could be age-based, as well. Easton said the CanPL is looking at the Mexican example, where teams are required to give U-20 nationals a required amount of playing time — such as a minimum of 1,000 first-team minutes for U-20 domestic players.

“We have to look at this league as a long-term solution.”

Easton said the CanPL is in preliminary discussions with League1 Ontario and the PLSQ to work on a player pathway.

“We want to see those players develop,” he said. “And we need to develop a realistic pathway for the player who is 14, 15, 16 years old.”

As well, preliminary discussions have been held with U Sports, about the possibility of a draft that involves players from Canadian universities. Remember that John Smits, a former NASL Gold Glove winner, and NASL Best XI alumnus Paul Hamilton came through the Canadian university system.

And, when the league launches and rosters need to be filled, it might not be a free-for-all off the bat, even though the league has preached the independent-club gospel.

“Initially, I can see that there will be some kind of mechanism that will help allocate players to our teams,” said Easton. “And then, potentially eight to nine years down the road, it will be up to the individual teams to work out how they will get players.”

Refereeing

Easton’s portfolio is on-field activities, so that includes referees. Last year, CanPL president Paul Beirne suggested that fans will need to be patient with the Canadian crop of officials — that we’ll need to accept that some mistakes will be made.

Easton agreed with that.

“I think, initially, we’re going to take our lumps and learn from them,” he said. “We will improve on what we need to improve.”

Basically, Easton said we need to adopt a similar philosophy with developing officials as we do with developing players.

“The way to develop players is put them in new environments and then see how they can adapt, and how they can learn. It’s the same with our referees.”

Is Canada ready?

Easton said, if you look at each market individually, soccer might not seem like such a great investment. But, when you take a collective look at the country as a whole, the picture becomes a lot brighter. Canada’s viewership for major soccer events is strong, it is one of the top nations when it comes to buying World Cup tickets, and pick-up of soccer video games (yes, we’re looking at you, FIFA 18) is strong.

So, we’re ready.

As potential host cities debate World Cup 2026, we learn more about the bid as a whole

As the short-listed cities debate the merits of being World Cup hosts in 2026, we learn a little more about the United bid with each council meeting, with each report that comes from a city’s administrators.

Last week, as Edmonton voted to support going forward as a potential World Cup host city, we learned about the growing concerns over Calgary’s potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the conflict that might bring.

On Tuesday, it was Vancouver’s turn to endorse itself as a potential World Cup host city, and we learned a little more about the process along the way. Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto have made the shortlist to be host cities — if the joint United States/Canada/Mexico bid for the 2026 is successful. We’ll learn which 16 cities over the three nations could be host cities in 2021.

In the report to Vancouver’s city council, administration laid out what are “key assumptions” of the 2026 United bid.

“Key assumptions and principles from the United Bid Committee have been described for the development of the risk associated with Host City obligations:

· Existing facilities will be leveraged (no competition stadiums to be built)

· The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be comprised of 16 Host Cities

· Assuming minimum 2 Host Cities in Canada, 1 in the East and 1 in the West,  maximum hosting of 5 games in Vancouver.”

OK, so that’s key. There’s an assumption from the bid committee that Canada’s World Cup hosting duties will be spread out. So, if only two cities are selected in the end, it CANNOT be Montreal-Toronto or Vancouver-Edmonton. Of course, two cities is seen as the minimum, so we’re not excluding the possibility of three. From the outset, we’ve been told four is highly unlikely.

Vancouver’s City Council was also informed that, if any improvements need to be made to BC Place — and we know that grass will need to be installed in the stadium to make it World Cup-ready — won’t come out the City’s budget. From Tuesday’s report:

“Unlike other major international events hosted in Vancouver there are no obligations for capital infrastructure related to athlete accommodations or transit improvements. The City of Vancouver will not be responsible for any necessary capital improvements related to BC Place Stadium (including any modifications concerning the playing surface).

At this time, neither the federal or provincial governments have committed support for the event. However, the four Canadian candidate host cities are working with the federal government and four provincial governments on this event including the discussions around the multi-party agreement to address concerns. Canada Soccer is leading discussions with the Government of Canada.

PavCo and Sport Hosting Vancouver are in discussions with the Government of British Columbia regarding the required provincial support if Vancouver is named as a Host City in 2021. A formal request for support has not been made at this time.

Staff have reviewed all the options that will limit the City of Vancouver’s risk as a Host City, and recommend that a way forward is to enter into a Multi-Party Agreement with the Province and the Federal Government which indemnifies and releases the City for those obligations arising out of the Host City Agreements which are outside of our normal budgetary framework and mandate.”

While both Edmonton and Vancouver have confirmed talks are ongoing with various levels of government, there has yet to be any funding promises from governments in British Columbia, Alberta or from the federal ranks.

Each host city could see an economic impact of $90-$480 million. (That’s a pretty wide spread).

 

The virtues of playing possum: Haiti stuns Canada in U-20 third-place match

When Canada played Haiti in the group stage of the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship, both teams entered the game knowing that they had already qualified for the semifinal stage.

Haitian coach Marc Collat decided not to go for first place in the group. World Cup places aren’t handed out for group-stage excellence; so, he decided to swap out pretty much his entire team. Haiti’s B side went out there, and gave up three goals to Canada inside of 20 minutes. Haiti got beaten soundly by big, bad Canada — and many of us saw the semifinals as Canada, Mexico, the United States and Haiti. With a big emphasis on the “and.”

But, when it comes to tournament soccer, there is an argument for playing possum in the group stage. If you meet a team you faced in the group stage later in the tournament, that opponent doesn’t really know what to expect when you meet again. The opponent may be overconfident.

All of those things were in evidence Sunday, when Haiti beat Canada 1-0 in the third place game in Trinidad and Tobago. Haiti gets the third and final CONCACAF spot at the U-20 Women’s World Cup, Canada gets to watch it on TV (or stream it, I guess, well it is 2018).

Sure, we can bellyache how the U-20 team was missing some key pieces (such as Jessie Fleming), but the truth is we saw that this was all coming apart at the 2016 Women’s U-20 World Cup. That Canadian team was outscored 13-1 over three group-stage games; the gulf in class between Canada and the rest of the field was blatantly. Maybe, if this group would have got back to the U-20 Women’s World Cup, things would have been equally as ugly.

But, credit to a Haitian team that hit Canada early — with Sherly Jeudy being played right through the heart of the Canadian defence and slotting home what would be the winning goal in the 18th minute. The Haitians, for a lot of the game, didn’t look all that bothered by a Canadian team that struggled to come up with any kind of offensive game plan.

Canada had three shots at goal all game long. Only two made it on frame. When Canadian sub Jessica De Filippo was sent off late in the second half for a late, clumsy, high-footed challenge, the final nail was driven into Canada’s coffin.

But credit Haiti for winning the game on the field, and the psychological battle that came before it. Let’s face it, like Germany did so famously in its 1954 World Cup group-stage match against the heavily favoured Hungarians, the Haitians, for all intents and purposes, threw the game. They offered nothing for their opponent to learn from the match, other than maybe an inflated sense of entitlement. And, just like Germany famously upset Hungary in the 1954 final, Haiti came with a different team and a different game plan.

Lesson for everyone out there? First place in your group — if you’ve already qualified — means nothing. Remember this lesson the  next time you want your favourite team to keep playing its starters to “win” a group, when it’s already clinched a spot in the next stage.

After shootout loss to Mexico, Canada must beat Haiti for World Cup spot

Canada has to play Haiti for third place in the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship — and, more importantly, the region’s final spot in the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

The Canadians lost their semifinal match with Mexico in a penalty shootout, after Friday’s game in Trinidad and Tobago finished in a 1-1 tie after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. In youth tournaments, extra time is not played.

The result was cruel on Canadian keeper Rylee Foster, who made up for an early error with a couple of heroic saves late in the game, deflecting Venicia Juarez’s point-blank shot off the bar and then diving to stop an 89th-minute penalty from Belen Cruz.

Canada went three for three to begin the penalty shootout. But, Julia Grosso and Jordyn Huitema both had their tame efforts saved by Mexican keeper Emily Alvarado, and Mexico ended up taking the shootout 4-3.

Mexico will play the United States in the final — and both have qualified for the World Cup. The Americans beat Haiti in penalties earlier in the day.

Canada beat Haiti in the group stage, but, having already qualified for the semis, the Haitians played that game with their B team. So, there really is absolutely nothing we can take from the game and apply it to the 3rd-place match. The only thing we do know for sure is that Haitian defender Emeline Charles will miss the game because she was sent off in the semi.

Now, back to the Canada-Mexico match: Mexico took the lead when Jimena Lopez’s not-so-dangerous-looking free kick was poorly played by the keeper and ended up in the back of the net.

Foster got a late break to a ball that wasn’t hit very close to the corner of goal, and didn’t have a lot of power. Still, she was still able to get her hands to the ball, but couldn’t get enough on it to send it wide.

For the Mexicans, and any player out there, Lopez’s free kick proved a valuable lesson; just get the ball on goal, and anything can happen.

In the second half, play was stopped for several minutes when Canadian defender Hannah Taylor and Mexican forward Lizbeth Ovalle collided. The players clashed heads and Ovalle was bleeding profusely from above the eye. Both players were wisely subbed off; after all, these are kids who are out there, and there is no excuse to keep them on when head injuries are involved.

Mexico took advantage of Taylor’s absence, as Cruz strolled right through the middle of the Canadian defence and had only Foster to beat. Foster beat away the shot.

Canada equalized in the 79th minute after a lofted ball into the area caused panic in the Mexican defence. Gabrielle Carle was able to find the ball and smash it into the roof of the net.

Foster then made a series of fantastic saves to preserve the tie, only for Canada to finally succumb in the shootout.