CPL Announces Expansion to Ottawa
- Thread starter Mightygoose
- Start date
PCSPounder
Stadium Groupie
As long as it doesn't mess up the Canadian Championship schedule so that I can see a game in Victoria in late June.
BTW... it's probably fair to ask if FIFA would ever somehow force MLS to give up Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver to the CPL, but I tend to think FIFA knows how to follow the money. Plus they've already messed up in the US legal system once, so it's a fair bet they won't tempt fate.
BTW... it's probably fair to ask if FIFA would ever somehow force MLS to give up Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver to the CPL, but I tend to think FIFA knows how to follow the money. Plus they've already messed up in the US legal system once, so it's a fair bet they won't tempt fate.
FIFA already wasn't happy with MLS going beyond 20 teams, now they're at 30 looking at 32. Had cautioned MLS against formal collaboration/mergers with Liga MX and this idea has been publicly bounced around. And has basically accepted that Canada's teams can play in an American league for 14 seasons now.
FIFA won't force MLS' hand. It's not that MLS is particularly powerful but that FIFA won't care enough despite its reservations to, in the forseeable future, stand against whatever MLS is looking to do. This is a league that started off playing with a drastically different soccer rule than the rest of the world (PKs) and counted assists as points like in NA sports. They're mavericks for both the right and wrong reasons.
I don't see the Canadian MLS teams leaving a stake in a rapidly rising equity this decade. It works out fine in the UK system with top Welsh and Scottish teams playing in the EPL.
On topic though, good on Ottawa for essentially never losing a season of soccer since 2014. The Fury buried themselves out of this market.
Barclay Donaldson
Registered User
Only 3 Welsh teams play in the English league soccer system, and two more play non-league. The 3 play in the 3 biggest cities in the country, which are all roughly 5 times larger than the next closest locality. And the other two have been actively looking at the possibility of rejoining Welsh football system. No Scottish teams have played in the English league since the 1800s, not sure where you got that idea.
Back to the Welsh example, the situation of Welsh clubs playing in the English league system and Canadian clubs playing in the American league system are not comparable. Yes, the three Canadian MLS cities are much larger than the rest of the country. But, the difference is not enough that they're not competitive markets. Comparing a cities with a population of 3.5 million and 1 million is more competitive than a city of 400,000 and 50,000.
FIFA usually keeps their nose out of who has to do what unless the team's have unsustainable financials. Even then, it's much more likely that they willingly leave the MLS or get kicked out by the MLS then FIFA stepping in.
Mightygoose
Registered User
In the case of Ottawa, it was CONCACAF rather than FIFA that got involved in enforcing the sanctioning (or lack thereof) that led to the Fury's demise.
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani was the former head of the CSA, which the CPL is under this umbrella. Victor has a very vested interest in this league and wanted the Ottawa market. Fury's owner OSEG had no interest in joining so the sanction card was played to open up the market for the CPL.
Will they play the same card for the 3 MLS teams? I can't see it in the near future. I think there will be some serious challenges in Montreal and Vancouver down the road which may 'organically' open those markets up.
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani was the former head of the CSA, which the CPL is under this umbrella. Victor has a very vested interest in this league and wanted the Ottawa market. Fury's owner OSEG had no interest in joining so the sanction card was played to open up the market for the CPL.
Will they play the same card for the 3 MLS teams? I can't see it in the near future. I think there will be some serious challenges in Montreal and Vancouver down the road which may 'organically' open those markets up.
