A somewhat surprising press release arrived in the inboxes of this country's soccer writers a few minutes ago, courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association. Excerpts are below (emphasis added):
Major League Soccer and the Canadian Soccer Association have announced that a joint task force committee has been struck to study the professional development side of the game in Canada. It is the task force's mandate to provide players in Canada, regardless of citizenship, the best possible environment and opportunities.
"We are committed to improving the professional standards of our sport in this country," said Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. "We want to create the best possible environment for our players and teams to be successful in MLS and at the international level with our National Teams."
As part of the league rules released for the 2011 season, Major League Soccer has established that the MLS clubs based in Canada are required to have a minimum of three Canadian domestic players on their rosters. Players with the legal right to work in Canada are considered Canadian domestic players (i.e., Canadian citizen, permanent resident, part of a protected class).
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The task force members are Todd Durbin (MLS, executive vice president), Victor Montagliani (Canadian Soccer Association, vice president), Peter Montopoli (Canadian Soccer Association, general secretary), Stephen Hart (Canada's national head coach), Bob Lenarduzzi (Vancouver Whitecaps FC president), Earl Cochrane (Toronto FC Director of Team and Player Operations), and Nick De Santis (Impact Montréal Technical Director).
The task force will closely monitor the effects MLS roster rules and youth development initiatives for Canadian clubs and make recommendations for future changes, if necessary.
Now, the quota itself seems to be some kind of compromise struck by someone. It won't have any impact on Toronto or Vancouver this season, as both squads already have more than three Canadians on their rosters (plus the Whitecaps can always turn to their academy for more domestic youngsters, and TFC currently has three additional Canadians on trial).
But while the effect of this task force is yet to be seen, it's encouraging to see the league acknowledging the growing presence (and importance) of Canadian clubs and players.
What do you think? Is the quota too low? Too high? Not needed at all? Will this task force actually help our player development capabilities, or is it just another bunch of pig lipstick?