There was a time when fans in Vancouver would proudly proclaim that their city was the “centre” of the Canadian soccer community.
Although part of those claims was pure partisan bravado – there is no “centre” of the soccer community in this country. All regions equally add to the culture – there was some evidence that there was something special about the Lower Mainland.
The Whitecaps brand was likely the most long lasting soccer brand in Canada. Within North American context it is a historic name, with nostalgic qualities. The 1979 Soccer Bowl title wasn’t the only NASL championship won by a Canadian team (Toronto’s Metros-Croatia did the deed a few years earlier), but it was the only one most people remember and for a long time the majority of Canadian national team players and officials came from the left coast.
In more recent years, the Whitecaps academy had established itself as the baseline for all Canadian development projects. When Toronto FC was awarded Canada’s first MLS team in 2006 there were many that understandably claimed that it should have been Vancouver to have that honour.
In TFC’s early days there were many critical voices – as often as not from Vancouver – that were suggesting that Toronto’s MLS team was not acting in the best interest of the overall game in Canada. The Reds worked with MLS to reduce the domestic quota Toronto had to follow, arguing that the need to carry so many Canadians was putting TFC at a competitive disadvantage.
Once Vancouver joined TFC in MLS those voices went silent.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Suddenly the front office of the Whitecaps was working hard to further reduce Canadian content requirements. They succeeded. The quota was reduced to just three players total on the senior roster (three a compromise after the CSA yelled foul at the two the Caps wanted). Vancouver manipulated the rule even further, employing a Swiss international that technically qualified as Canadian, as well as a player they didn’t give a single second of action to, on their roster in 2011.
The one Canadian – Terry Dunfield – that was getting time was shipped to Toronto mid-season.
It’s worse in 2012. According to data compiled by blogger Out Of Touch the Caps have yet to put a Canadian on the pitch this season. Not one. Not even as a late game strategic sub.
Adding insult to injury, the Caps announced today that they are giving Canadian turncoat Jacob Lensky a trial. If they sign him they are two-thirds of the way from meeting the quota without dressing a single player eligible to play internationally for Canada.
Many fans reading this won’t understand why this is a problem. They will argue that a club team has no obligation to play Canadians or develop them. Others will suggest that Vancouver will make its biggest impact to Canadian soccer through their academy and there has not yet been enough time to evaluate whether they are doing a good job on that front.
The Caps get a slight pass on the latter point. If they do start producing players, at a consistent rate, then this will be moot soon enough. However, the academy pre-dates the MLS team. A strong argument can be made that it should have produced a player worthy of some minutes already. Still, they deserve (a bit) more time before they can be truly criticized.
The former point, however, is missing the point.
There are places in the world where there is no need for a club to develop and play local players. Canada and MLS is not one of those places.
Part of MLS’ mandate was to assist in the growth of the sport in the United States. The limitation on international players was put in place for that very reason. American teams committed themselves to playing Americans, even when doing so made them weaker.
When the CSA allowed Toronto to have a team in the American league, it did so with the understanding that it would offer this country a similar platform. The key word in that last sentence is “allowed.” The CSA sanctions the Canadian teams and allows them to play in a foreign league. By doing so they have made the idea of a national Canadian league nearly a lost cause.
The CSA has worked with the clubs to find a balance that allows them to be more competitive, while still providing an opportunity for Canadian players. In Vancouver’s case the club has not honoured the spirit of that agreement.
Fans will be fans and many in Vancouver won’t care about this. But, the CSA damn well should. And it’s time for them to show that they do.