The Ottawa Citizen reported yesterday that the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) will not block any attempts by ownership groups in the region to apply for NASL membership.
The Citizen's Richard Starnes spoke to CSA president Peter Montopoli and when asked if they would sanction an Ottawa NASL team, Montopoli had this to say:
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NASL CEO Aaron Davidson all but confirmed an Ottawa team would be approved for the 2013 season on It's Called Football in November so it certainly seems Canada will have a fifth team to add to the Nutrilite Voyageurs Cup by then."We are not looking to stop anything. There will be no withholding."
But the news begs the question: what the hell was the moratorium for?
When Canadian Soccer News broke the story on the moratorium last month, sources from within the NASL and CSA told us that the goal of the moratorium was less about D2 and more about stopping inquiries by PDL and USL-Pro into Canada's third division ranks.
If that was true, the CSA isn't holding the line on D3 either. On Dec. 13, a Winnipeg ownership group will announce their intentions to join the PDL for the 2011 season.
So is the CSA really committed to a moratorium? Or is this just another example of our national governing body having a bark worse than its bite?
We'll have to wait and see but I'm leaning towards the later.
ICF PROGRAMMING NOTE:
Lee Haber, a member of the Winnipeg ownership group, will be appearing on It's Called Football this Monday at 10:20 EST to discuss their intentions.
We are also attempting to reach the Ottawa Citizen's Richard Starnes to discuss the Ottawa to NASL developments.