CPL General

[m-g-williams]

On 1/10/2022 at 9:03 AM, m-g-williams said:

When I look at the fact that, despite the pandemic, the league-wide sponsorships have actually *increased* in the last two years - Derby Star, Hello Fresh, Couche-Tard/Mac's, Oat Canada, Jones Deslaurier, etc. - and others seem to have solidified with new/increased advertising - Gatorade, Westjet, AllState, etc. - that tells me that the league is not only receiving new (and obviously needed) revenue, but that decently large players in the private sector see this whole venture as a worthwhile investment. And looking at all of the local sponsors that got air time through the Island Games and the Kick-Off this year, I was actually surprised by sheer number of local sponsors that have lined up. Some even appear to be kicking in major cash (e.g., Starlight buying the naming rights for Pacific FC's home stadium), with others really solidifying the team as part of the community (e.g., Garrison Brewing Co. and New Scotland Clothing in Halifax). Then you have some of the bigger sponsorships that are obviously held by CSB and not specific to the CPL (e.g., Oat Canada), but as the league is still a beneficiary, it still signals to me that this must be seen as worth it (I admit to not being perfectly versed in the functioning of CSB though, so if there's something I'm missing here, jump in). If I were running a business and asked to sponsor a league that was still in its infancy and had reduced/non-existent attendance for the last two years, I'd have to be damn sure it's viable and gives me some kind of a return before I lay down a dollar. 

I don't have a crystal ball, I'm not a specialist in finance or sports operations, and I could well be wrong on every point I've laid out. I want the league to work as much as anyone here, but I'm also not so blind as to think that there aren't problems/growing pains (and the pandemic definitely doesn't help). But when I step back and look at this situation for what it is, I don't see this being nearly as bad as it could be/some are making it out to be. 

Another national corporate sponsor for CSB, Canada Soccer and the CPL. I can't say I'm familiar with the company, but if it's injecting money here and sees it as a worthy investment, I'd put this down as one more positive sign for the sport in this country. 

Edited January 20, 2022 by m-g-williams

[Senorpopps]

35 minutes ago, m-g-williams said:

Another national corporate sponsor for CSB, Canada Soccer and the CPL. I can't say I'm familiar with the company, but if it's injecting money here and sees it as a worthy investment, I'd put this down as one more positive sign for the sport in this country. 

I must say I find it weird that a company that produces child fruit snacks sponsors a competitive men’s soccer game 

[red card]

46 minutes ago, Senorpopps said:

I must say I find it weird that a company that produces child fruit snacks sponsors a competitive men’s soccer game 

Historically, they have had at least one children-focused food company sponsor. Del Monte fruit snacks & Nutella come to mind as previous sponsors.

In one sense, this shows corporate Canada still thinks soccer is first a participation sport for kids as we don't see these type of sponsors for European or South American national teams. 

I can see the benefit of handing out fruit snacks at the Toyota National Championships, soccer fests and to a lesser degree at women's national team matches. But kids aren't the primary demo watching men's national team & CPL matches. Football has one of the youngest demos but average age watching international football in North America is still around 35-40.

I'm going to assume this won't deliver the numbers desired by GoGo Squeez as other than Nutella, none of these kid focused food company sponsorships never lasted more than 5 years.

Edited January 20, 2022 by red card

[Joe MacCarthy]

On 1/19/2022 at 2:58 AM, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

 

2022 CPL - USPORTS Draft on CBC
January 20 2022 8 pm EST

See which top U Sports athletes will make the cut and have their dreams of becoming a professional CPL player come true.  Live video here

 

[toontownman]

https://canpl.ca/article/canadian-premier-league-announces-2022-cpl-u-sports-draft-selections

[Senorpopps]

34 minutes ago, toontownman said:

https://canpl.ca/article/canadian-premier-league-announces-2022-cpl-u-sports-draft-selections

I’m surprised there are no Carleton Ravens players. 

[youllneverwalkalone]

Nice to see all new names in the mix. My positive take on having no idea who any of these guys are.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

https://www.mountroyalsoccer.com/2022/1/21/22894591/plsq-a-good-fit-for-the-present

... But according to Nancy the development of a reserve team playing regular league matches doesn’t mean loaning players to CanPL clubs is off the table. Again I view this as sound thinking by Montreal’s technical staff.

Particularly highlighting the likes of youngsters, Sean Rea, Jonathan Sirois and Karifa Yao all who enjoyed CanPL experience in 2021, Nancy said, “All the young people who came back with us have progressed and asserted themselves more.

“They find less difficulty with the speed of the game and I also notice that as soon as we make corrections, they try to apply it in action, whereas before they had difficulty doing so.
“The PLSQ is a great tool and we will choose which is the right tool for each player.” ...

[Joe MacCarthy]

 

[Watchmen]

I guess it's not just some players who see MLS Next as the pathway to something bigger.

 

[Big_M]

The biggest story of this draft has to be Julien Bruce who was a goalkeeper at top academy Clairefontaine and then with Stade de Reims where he played up to d4 in French system...then he turns back to being an outfield player and moves to Canada and now gets drafted

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

 

[toontownman]

13 minutes ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

 

 

Depends whether Eddies are still in the league this season I guess 😛 

[Big_M]

 

[narduch]

I guess Borges to OHL is the top transfer?

Kinda nuts a few years ago McNaughton was in League 1 Ontario 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

 

[MM3/MM2/MM]

Any news on the U21 requirements for 2022?   I saw an article last year stating that the #s would increase again this year, Forge and FCE Edmonton met the 2021 requirement in the last few games of the season, I think the other teams easily met the minimum, especially York.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Worth a read for snippets of info like FCE getting forced to make way for a cheerleader training session where one of their practices at Clarke Stadium was concerned:

 

[m-g-williams]

Not CPL-related per se, but still interesting. I thinking keeping pro-rel to the regional leagues makes sense, with the CPL kept as a closed system, like the National Premier Leagues vs. the A-League in Australia. I'll be curious to see if the PLSQ, BCL1 and other eventual leagues follow the same model. 

[mtlsab]

Interview with Jeff Paulus:
https://culturesoccer.com/2022/01/25/entretien-avec-jeff-paulus-lavenir-du-soccer-canadien/

[Ansem]

1 hour ago, m-g-williams said:

Not CPL-related per se, but still interesting. I thinking keeping pro-rel to the regional leagues makes sense, with the CPL kept as a closed system, like the National Premier Leagues vs. the A-League in Australia. I'll be curious to see if the PLSQ, BCL1 and other eventual leagues follow the same model. 

CPL owning that league shows intent if you ask me - definitely related!

[brianjc]

3 hours ago, m-g-williams said:

Not CPL-related per se, but still interesting. I thinking keeping pro-rel to the regional leagues makes sense, with the CPL kept as a closed system, like the National Premier Leagues vs. the A-League in Australia. I'll be curious to see if the PLSQ, BCL1 and other eventual leagues follow the same model. 

The only way I could see this happening in the other regional leagues is if L1BC merges with a potential Prairie League for 16 teams, then go 8 Premier, 8 Championship.  Same thing for the PLSQ and potential Atlantic Canada League.

Just a thought.

 

[Kent]

7 hours ago, m-g-williams said:

Not CPL-related per se, but still interesting. I thinking keeping pro-rel to the regional leagues makes sense, with the CPL kept as a closed system, like the National Premier Leagues vs. the A-League in Australia. I'll be curious to see if the PLSQ, BCL1 and other eventual leagues follow the same model. 

For me this is one step closer to my full (ish?) pyramid dream. In my perfect world scenario, we've got a full CPL with say 16 teams or so, and plenty of teams in the third tier, with L1O, L1BC, PLSQ, and any others. Then the best clubs from those regional leagues one day get promoted into a CPL2 league and bam, we could have a pyramid from CPL all the way down to L1O League 2.

Still very far fetched at the moment, but as long as growth keeps happening (like L1BC coming to fruition this year, pro/rel for L1O in 2024, and the seeds of potential new CPL teams in Vancouver, Saskatoon, and Windsor) I can keep dreaming about it.

[Cblake]

3 hours ago, brianjc said:

The only way I could see this happening in the other regional leagues is if L1BC merges with a potential Prairie League for 16 teams, then go 8 Premier, 8 Championship.  Same thing for the PLSQ and potential Atlantic Canada League.

Just a thought.

 

Problem with that out is you could get an imbalance where say 6 BC teams and one in Alberta and SSK, causing all sort of travel issues. 

In L10 its really follows the 401 corridor, but we have seen the outlier teams like Windsor over the years bring some really shorthanded squads for road games. As the league grew we saw the divide between the ambitious teams and those that viewed themselves more a top of the pyramid thing of a local club. The league has always felt younger than say the CSL back in the day and as such relied on college talent. Some really strong teams would get their rosters ripped apart come August, really a tale of two seasons.