Soccer in Canada is poised to get the development system it sorely needs to improve the nation’s performance on the world stage.
That was the message from new commissioner Domenic Di Gironimo at a news conference Tuesday in Toronto, marking the start of the 2010 Givova Canadian Soccer League season.
Di Gironimo outlined the league’s initiatives to become the super structure that would be the conduit for elite players to Canada’s national teams and professional soccer in Canada and abroad.
Among them are restructuring the league to a non-profit association, receiving full sanctioning from the Canadian Soccer Association, requiring clubs to forge strong relationships with youth clubs and establishing an advisory committee to develop a plan for a sustainable professional development system.
“It comes from the much needed change that has been recognized by all levels of soccer,” Di Gironimo said. “This is not just a CSL initiative, although we are shouldering the responsibility and financial commitment to bring it forward. This need has been recognized by the Canadian association and all the provinces as well.”
The league hopes to be the made-in-Canada solution that bridges the gap between the youth and professional levels. In the process, it would stem the tide of elite players that have pursued their development abroad, an issue highlighted by defections like Owen Hargreaves to England and which has dogged Canadian soccer’s advancement in recent years.
The Givova CSL consists of 13 clubs spanning southern Ontario and Quebec. A few of the long-standing clubs, such as Toronto Croatia and Serbian White Eagles, draw their roots from Toronto’s entrenched ethnic communities.
Ultimately, the league’s strategic plan calls for a pan-Canadian league with teams from coast to coast akin to the professional Canadian Soccer League that existed during the 1990s.
Di Gironimo plans to make that a reality.
“We have to have some meaningful conversations with representatives from the other provinces,” Di Gironimo said. “That’s something we’ll be doing in the coming months.”
“I think we need to have, similar to what we have here in Ontario and Quebec, it’s a regional league and the CSL needs to be a regional league to remain economically viable, but there’s no reason why we can’t have the champion of our regions playing each other or having a Cup series.”
For years, the league was a semi-pro entity known as the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) before its current incarnation. The emergence of the Italian sportswear company as the league’s title sponsor signals a new thrust in the league’s marketing.
The league will have more exposure, with more than 50 matches and a new weekly magazine show broadcast on Canadian community television. The league will also debut a new Web site, e-newsletters, podcasts and web channel to boost its connection with fans.
With the league receiving CSA sanctioning, talk emerged of the CSL champion potentially rounding out the field of the three-team Nutrilite Canadian Championship, Canada’s qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Champions League.
Although it makes sense, John Knox of the CSA’s Executive Committee said it’s still far from coming to fruition.
“There hasn’t been a lot of movement on it yet, it’s still a possibility,” Knoz said. “At the present time, I can’t confirm anything on that, there’s still discussions between the professional soccer committee and the league.”
“Personally, I would like to see the CSL champion given the opportunity of competing with the other three professional teams in a four-team round-robin tournament, but I think it would be excellent for soccer in Canada, it would be a boost for the CSL,” Knox added.
Di Gironimo concurred with Knox, but acknowledged the logistical hurdles of travel costs.
“It’s more a function of finances, because to compete in the Nutrilite series, we have to be able to fly to Vancouver and Montreal,” Di Gironimo said. “If we were fortunate enough to win, then we’d have to travel internationally, and quite frankly our clubs are not ready for that level of travel.”
Until then, the league will proceed with its plans and expects to announce international matches, new corporate partners and expansion cities in the coming months.
