SoccerMLS and the great Canadian compromise

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Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson, left, and president Bob Lenarduzzi must have at least three Canadian players on their roster for the 2011 MLS season. (Canadian press photo) 

It's about time.

The Canadian Soccer Association and Major League Soccer have talked. They will continue to talk. A long-term dialogue between the governing body and the top professional league in North America can only be good for the game.
 
This was always coming. While Toronto FC was the only non-American franchise, MLS had the flexibility to deal with them on a tailored, one-to-one, basis. The advent of Vancouver and Montreal means MLS has to adopt a Canada-wide policy over domestic player quotas.
 
As a result we now have a Joint Task Force. Its purpose is to champion the cause of Canadians and give them an opportunity to play in North America. It is not quite a cheerleading squad but it is clearly mandated to raise the profile of Canadian professionals.
 
More Canadian teams in MLS will mean more Canadian players. For this year, both Toronto and Vancouver must carry a minimum of three Canadians on their respective rosters. In reality both will have more since squad sizes are expanding to accommodate the re-launch of MLS reserve teams.

Reasonable compromise

The compromise quota seems reasonable to me. Clearly the CSA was forced to lobby for the inclusion of Canadians at a time when rumours abounded about their total exclusion. Canada suggested more - MLS would have been content with less.
 
"We drove the mandate," says Peter Montopoli, the CSA's General Secretary, adding that talks between the two sides over Canadian content have been ongoing since last September. He's also optimistic the quota numbers will increase in years to come.
 
It is important they do - but with a significant caveat. Canadians playing on Canadian teams must not be signed just because their passport ticks the right box. They must be good enough to compete for a spot and competent enough to play in MLS.
 
No club with an ounce of integrity would add players as a cosmetic gesture. It just doesn't make sense. It wouldn't help the player, his team or the game's image. If, and only if, the player can add something to the roster should he be signed.
 
Inevitably the quality control debate raises its head once again. Is the Canadian talent pool big enough to sustain two, and next year three, MLS franchises? The clubs' respective academies will help but they are by definition a medium to long-term proposition.
 
Montopoli tells me "the depth is there" based on his conversations with Canada's head coach Stephen Hart. MLS may pay lip service to the importance of a strong Canadian national team, but it is absolutely essential to the future well being of the CSA.
 
U.S. model for success

The facts speak for themselves. Whatever your view of the overall quality of Major League Soccer, it has consistently produced the goods for the U.S. national team. All but six players of the squad Bob Bradley took to South Africa last summer launched their careers in MLS.
 
It is a model for Canada and its principal clubs to follow. MLS is not and may never be a league of global repute. But it is a proven breeding ground where players can hone their skills and are given the chance to play competitively week in, week out.
 
It also presents the next generation of aspiring professionals with an achievable goal. The academy teenagers of today will form the nucleus of Hart's long-term vision. The 2014 World Cup may come too soon but there is no reason why Canada should not qualify for Russia 2018.
 
The growth of soccer in Canada will take time to bear fruit. Those of us who love the game are prepared to wait for it to fully blossom. Others will follow as true rivalries build over time. Fans in Vancouver and Montreal have long appreciated its appeal.
 
Montopoli takes it one step further.

"MLS is looking to Canada to be leaders," he proclaims. The statement is not as farfetched as it might seem. Toronto has often been hailed a model franchise while tickets are at a premium in Vancouver before a ball is even kicked.
 
The CSA/MLS Joint Taskforce has found an accord. It will review its Canadian quota compromise on an annual basis and, if it does its job properly, will perhaps be redundant within five years. The clubs will have no need to be bulked up by 'domestic' Americans.
 
Academy schooled Canadians will not be such a rare commodity. They will be good enough to play for their hometown teams having earned the right to become professionals in their own backyard. When the Taskforce is permanently disbanded, Canada will have made real progress. 

Follow Nigel Reed on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/Nigel_Reed

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