Former Canadian international Jason deVos announced via Twitter that a call to OSA leagues to not schedule games in conflict with Canadian World Cup Qualifying matches this year has been ignored.
In deVos' words:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Want to know why more people don't buy tickets to watch and support our National Teams? The next few tweets will explain it all.The OSA sent out a letter to all of the major youth soccer leagues in Ontario, advising them NOT to schedule games on National Team dates.
The leagues IGNORED the letter, and scheduled games that directly conflict with World Cup qualifying. Why is the tail wagging the dog?
How are kids supposed to go watch the National Team when they have games scheduled the same night?
Nowhere else in the world does this happen! There should be a mandatory shut down of all competitive league games when Canada plays. Period.
How on earth are we supposed to build a 'soccer culture' when we allow leagues to dictate when our players train and compete?
Should the leagues have avoided scheduling games on the WCQ dates? If so, is there something the CNT community of fans can do to pressure the leagues so consideration is made moving forward?