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The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum was incorporated by the OSA as a Celebration of Canadian Soccer.
Colin Jose
Colin Jose is a Canadian who has been writing about soccer in the United States and Canada for over 40 years. During that time his painstaking research and writing has resulted in a body of work acknowledged to be the definitive history of soccer in North America.
He was appointed historian at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1997 and also serves as the historian at The Soccer Hall of Fame in Canada.
History by Colin gives you an insight of soccer history that is not known by the average soccer fan.
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Opinions: Ben Knight Petition
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Posted by rhi on Monday, October 01 @ 13:18:11 EDT (1265 reads)
( | Score: 1)
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Courtesy InsideSoccer Magazine
On rumour that Sportsnet's Ben Knight Column may be dropped
A RESPONSE
I have thoroughly enjoyed Ben Knight's columns. His style of writing is unique, while the content is refreshing. A must read for anyone who is involved in our game.
I sincerely hope Sportsnet decides to maintain Ben's weekly commentary. It will be a great loss if they don't.
Alfons Rubbens
Publisher
InsideSOCCER Magazine
On how do get Ben back in broadcasting
A PETITION
 I would LOVE to do it. Put some passion in there. Give the games a bit of edge -- enfused with deep, genuine love of the sport. I called all the Lynx games in '97, I've done the national team, two seasons of Toronto Italia and Milan-Porto at Varsity Stadium in the nineties.
Also, I very nearly got the colour job on Toronto Rock radio lacrosse broadcasts on Fan 590 a year ago, but the plug got pulled before the season even started.
I very much want to start broadcasting again.
FYI // Ben
SAVE BEN KNIGHT'S COLUMN, GET HIM BROADCASTING TOO
PETITION Sportsnet HERE (feedback@sportsnet.rogers.com)
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Opinions: Perhaps The Time Has Come
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Posted by rhi on Friday, September 07 @ 11:44:53 EDT (886 reads)
( | Score: 0)
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Courtesy Bill Ault, CanadaKicks
We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us…
Well the dust has settled from the surprise announcement last week that Colin Linford was stepping down as president of the Canadian Soccer Association leaving Canada’s soccer governing body with yet another roster spot to fill.
Well perhaps not really dust but more a thin layer of powder quickly removed by the coming winds of fall …..
The reality is that seven days later the interest in the latest fiasco known as governance of soccer in Canada has passed with the mainstream media having moved on and the majority of grassroots soccer people mostly unaware and for the most part not caring about the situation.
Certainly the passionate few continue to call for revolution and the rebuilding or replacement of the CSA with messages flying through the ether on soccer discussion boards across the land.
But the cold, hard reality is even within the sport itself the majority of people involved in the day to day operation of the sport in this country just do not care. The true power brokers of the game in this country, the districts and provincial associations, have a vested interest in a powerless CSA and Mom, Dad, little Jimmy and little Jane just do not care how the game is governed or who is running it as long as their game is played and the oranges show up at half time.
Those who do care and are vocal about the need for a sustainable and productive elite club and national teams program are seen as elitists at best and extremists at worst who want everything for the few at the expense of the majority.
The reality is the CSA’s current situation is comparable to Mark Twain’s view on the weather. “Everyone talks about it but no one does anything about it.”
Whitecaps President Bob Lenarduzzi best summed up the challenge in a recent Victoria Times Colonist article regarding the Whitecaps new residency program, “While elite sport is not exactly frowned upon in this country, we tend to focus so much of our attention on the recreational end of sport. It’s almost as if there is reverse discrimination against elite athletes. We are now going to do with this program what every other pro soccer club outside North America does to develop pro players. There’s no other way to do it . . . no other direction to go.”
Therein lies the challenge to the game and the people who run it in Canada where quantity in the game has come to be more important than quality. Associations and clubs both have struggled to serve two masters – the recreational players and their parents looking for another activity to pad their youngsters resume and the elite player who now more than ever has opportunities far and wide to aspire to.
The split is everywhere in the game in this country from the provincial level to the smallest club level where endless hours are spent (wasted?) debating budgets, what monies are going where and where we should be focusing our attention and scarce resources.
The reality is that despite the wants of many, including this author, the provincial and district associations are here to stay since they would have to vote themselves out of existence and while they may be myopic as well as short of vision they are not stupid so that won’t happen. So as long as the provincial bodies continue to exist the CSA and our elite club and national team programs will always be of secondary importance because they do not generate significant amounts of revenue or voting power.
Perhaps the time has come for a complete split in how the game is managed and run in Canada – one group to manage and facilitate the recreational game and another to handle the needs and dreams of the elite player.
It is not a new model the United States has a virtual alphabet soup of organizations some dedicated to recreational play and others to the aspirations of the players who want to go beyond local play. For Canada with a much smaller player pool two organizations would surely suffice.
A simple model really – the status quo for the recreational player, register with your recreational club who pay the provincial associations for insurance and appropriate coaching materials, training and governance. This makes the provinces and districts directly responsible to the majority of their existing “consumers” and therefore accountable to them.
Clubs, to their probable betterment, would be forced to choose their path, specialize in it and make sure they deliver programs that their players want and need. Again accountability – do your job well and your players come back don’t and they won’t.
For the elite player direct registration with the CSA Version 2.0 – in exchange appropriate training, coaching, evaluation and competition through the National Training Centres with fewer interfering middlemen. This would put a heavy funding burden on the clubs who decided to follow this path but for clubs like the Whitecaps, Ottawa Fury and Toronto FC it is just one more step down a path already chosen.
Will this or anything else happen – historically unlikely as soccer in Canada has been in a self imposed 30 year walk in the wilderness because soccer people in this country as Walt Kelly said best, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
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Opinions: Black Is Black Sept 12
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Posted by rhi on Thursday, September 06 @ 16:20:15 EDT (974 reads)
( | Score: 0)
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Courtesy Ben Knight, SportsNet
It's time for big changes at the Canadian Soccer Association.
Next week, on Wednesday, September 12, the Canadian men's national soccer team will finally play its very first match at Toronto's BMO Field. It will be the senior squad's first appearance in Canada's largest city since their 0-0 draw with Mexico at Varsity Stadium on a chilly November night -- seven years ago.
This will be a night of joy and celebration. Not only is My Team coming to town (fan first, journalist second, pleased to make your acquaintance), but their opponent is Costa Rica, most-recent holders of the third World Cup qualifying spot in CONCACAF -- the ultimate measuring stick of how well Canada is doing on the road to World Cup 2010.
I cannot wait for this game to begin. I'm pumped! I'm excited!
... Oh, and I'll be wearing black -- heat to foot.
So will hundreds -- we hope thousands -- of others.
It's part of a mass protest, being organized by Canadian soccer fans all over the Internet. We will descend on BMO Field, wearing black, cheer lustily for Canada -- to demand the immediate ouster and reorganization of the Canadian Soccer Association.
Okay, this isn't very big as revolutions go. But it is a popular uprising, with plenty of media backing and the support of every Canadian national-team player who has so far spoken up. The goal is the overthrow of the present system of soccer governance in this country. That does -- in fact -- make it a revolution.
It is long overdue.
There really isn't much point digging up -- yet again -- all the sorry details of the calamitous dispute between the CSA's board of directors and freshly departed former president Colin Linford. Just do an Internet search on Linford's name, and you'll get more hits and info than you could possibly even begin to care about.
The real point: ongoing organizational paralysis and incompetence, dating back to long before Linford. Certainly the CSA played an important role in the recent Canadian soccer explosion that produced BMO Field, Toronto FC and the hosting of this summer's fine FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
But without the far more powerful wills -- and financial commitment -- of FIFA, CONCACAF, Major League Soccer, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ottawa, Queen's Park and Toronto Mayor David Miller, none of these things would have happened.
The current bureaucratic paralysis is all the proof anyone needs of the need for swift and sudden change. The president just quit. The president's choice for CEO -- former Canadian amateur basketball supremo Fred Nykamp -- is about to be turned down by the CSA board. That's the same board that vetoed Linford's choice of controversial Brazilian coach-for-hire Rene Simoes as Canada's coach.
In the ash and fallout of the Simoes snafu, Canadian U-20 coach Dale Mitchell was promoted to the position of national team coach. He then guided his Canadian youth team to the worst performance in the history of the event. In any other country, Mitchell would have been dismissed. In Canada, he was promoted.
I still have hope for Mitchell. I'll have a lot more if Canada comes out and plays inspired, daring, attacking soccer against Costa Rica. That's how they beat the Ticos at the Gold Cup. I want to know that Dale Mitchell took note.
But back at the CSA's huge and controversial mansion home in Ottawa, we're left with a group of people who refuse to talk about what they do, asking us to take their word for what they're doing.
That's what all the black shirts are for.
To me, the biggest problem is the CSA does two different jobs. It's the ultimate national arbiter of amateur soccer across Canada's four-and-a-half time zones, and also runs all of our national teams. Linford -- and many others -- have been left fuming over the internal, conflicting, small-picture agendas of the various provincial reps on the CSA board.
The solution is simple. Liberate the national teams. Bust 'em right out of there.
Let the provincial reps become the new CSA, handling the amateur game, getting together to mediate and moderate the things they know best. Turn the national teams loose to a new Soccer Canada organization, built on the sole mandate of getting red maple-leaf shirts on the field at every World Cup everywhere for the foreseeable ever.
Australia's already been there and done that. Faced with similar paralysis a few years ago, it bounced the provincials, and created a new governing body for the Socceroos. Things have improved immeasurably.
The Canada-Costa Rica game is symbolic in many ways. As the first full men's international at Toronto's new national soccer stadium, it is emblematic of all the growth and change that has been wrought in Canadian soccer -- largely by big-money "outsiders" -- in the past five years.
That makes it the perfect time and place to say "enough is enough." All that black is coming to tell the CSA it has lost the fans, lost the players, lost the media -- and it's only a matter of time until it loses its funding and all its cushy perqs, as well.
But we're still cheering like crazy for Canada. Players, I know you already know this, but we love you and are with you all the way. If hundreds of us turn up in black instead of red, that doesn't change the depth and intensity of our support. We all want to sing and stomp and cheer you to victory, and sent the Ticos back to Central America carrying the ominous message that Toronto is one tough place to try to get a result on the road.
So fans -- come to the game, wear black, and cheer.
It's time to show these bickering, embattled bureaucrats just who exactly owns Canadian soccer -- and to get our beloved national teams into safer, more trustworthy hands. If painting BMO Field black for one night will do that -- while we're still making all the noise we possibly can to back Our Lads -- then break out the AC/DC, and I'll see you at the game.
The future is red. Wednesday, September 12 is black.
Onward!
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Opinions: Letter From An Editor
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Posted by rhi on Tuesday, August 28 @ 11:52:50 EDT (277 reads)
( | Score: 0)
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Courtesy Lino Terra, OntarioSoccerWeb
Soccer Fans, Stand Up!
Over the last 16 hours I have been reading with interest the fallout from the announcement that CSA President Colin Linford had resigned. There have been many different theories and opinions put forward on whether Linford was trying to make things and just got fed up, or that he was rightfully pushed out by the board because he wasn't the right man for the job.
One theme, however, was very clear the mismanagement and ineptitude at the top levels of soccer administration in this country has hit the boiling point and the soccer community is not going to take it anymore.
"sometimes I just feel like giving up and cheering for the auld country. why oh why oh why"
"This board has to be forced OUT!"
"The game is a in chaos from the top to the bottom. Too many fiefdoms and too much politics."
"With the CSA in disarray, the MNT will be distracted by the infighting, will struggle in the qualifiers, and in the end, we will be in our familiar place in two years time - looking from the outside in."
"Well the time is now to de-certify the CSA and get some new blood. A new organization is this country. It is the only way this sport is going to move forward."
"What, exactly, do these idiots think they are accomplishing? Seriously. There is no rational explanation for any of this."
"If this type of lunacy was going on in Hockey Canada there would be a national uproar."
"It's like they don't even care! Others have said to me that they don't care. They care only about their little provincial/territorial fiefdoms and only a select few actually care whether or not Canada makes it to another world cup."
"In the next week we will know if there is a change in course or the status quo of the CSA even if the Prez seat is vacant until the next AGM."
"what bothers me mainly is the level of dysfunction in the CSA it looks very bad that they should vote someone President and then consistently go against his leadership. It certainly confirms that the position of the CSA President is one without much power - the Board of Directors appears to be the ones to run things."
"the CSA is still a mess and is doing nothing to present an image of potential."
The above quotes are just a few of the printable reactions collected from two of the most active online soccer communities in the country The Voyageurs and Ontario Soccer Talk. The public wants a change, but the way the system is set up, the public has little say in the way things are run at the CSA.
In order to affect change, a person must get support from his/her local club, the club must then convince the district, and the district then goes to the provincial association. If the district can convince a majority of the other districts that there is a problem, then the province may take it to the national association, where every province, regardless of size, has an equal vote.
Not exactly an easy route, so what is it going to take? A few online soccer discussion regulars have suggested some radical ideas which I have taken to suggest a two stage approach.
Money Talks. As the largest contributor to the CSA's player registration income (roughly 43% of an estimated $5,000,000 annually), the OSA should stop remitting payment to the CSA immediately. And, if necessary, completely decertify itself from the CSA.
Ontario is a large enough province to be able to carry out high quality self-sufficient soccer programs in the short term while the current CSA withers away and dies due to lack of funding.
Vive la révolution. Once the government has been toppled, how do we go about replacing it? Well, we simply need to travel halfway around the world to Australia to find a country that was in a similar predicament a few years back. The Aussies commissioned a review (The Crawford Report) into the governance and management structures of soccer in Australia, which effectively lead to a complete overhaul of their system.
We need a Canadian version of the Crawford Report with Canadian solutions to our Canadian problems.
Who Can Lead Us?
Everyone can do their small part.
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Send a copy of this editorial to every soccer loving person you know.
- Send it to every newspaper, television and radio station.
- Send it to your club, district and provincial organization.
Do your part to make sure this issue does not just blow over and get forgotten like every previous one that has hit our beloved game.
Get your club to put out a release stating their position on the matter. All we need are a few of the bigger clubs to put aside any petty differences and stand up for the game.
A quick visit to some website shows me that there are some pretty big clubs out there - Oakville SC (10,000 members), Ottawa South United (6,000 members) and Ajax SC (7,000 members) just to name a few. Will they be able to mobilize and produce a common voice to announce the need for change? Can the volunteers that make up these and other long-standing clubs look past their little spheres of influence and realize that they have the power to do much, much more?
The Time is Now
There is no better time throughout the history of the game in Canada to bring the game to its rightful place of honour. The birth of Toronto FC and the recent hosting of the FIFA U20 World Cup has brought the game to the forefront of the national consciousness. It is now our chance to make sure the lasting impact is one of victory and not defeat.
Yours in Soccer,
Lino Terra, Editor
www.OntarioSoccerWeb.com
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Opinions: Canada's Mission Impossible?
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Posted by rhi on Friday, August 03 @ 14:37:21 EDT (659 reads)
( | Score: 5)
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Courtesy Paul James
Some years back, the vagabond yet extremely successful Bora Milutinovic was asked whether he would be interested in coaching Canada. When he answered an emphatic no, he was asked why.
His simple answer was Canada is "a mission impossible."
While I fundamentally disagree with his assertion, at the same time I understand his perspective. A minuscule professional soccer system, very limited funds, very limited coaching development, a politically fragmented landscape, few high-level coaching opportunities and no clear direction as to where you are going as a soccer nation.
Yet if you are a national team coach for Canada, you are expected by all and sundry to qualify for world championships, win at world championships, produce world-class players, play a modern attractive style of play, cater to players' wishes just in case they disagree with the approach and all this, for meagre compensation.
Hmmm, on second thought, maybe I should agree with Milutinovic's claim.
Watching the recent performances of our team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup (exiting the tournament after three straight losses and without a goal to its credit) and then reading the various critiques and interpretations of why we were so poor and how good we should be, it in many ways highlights how really immature and naive our soccer industry is in Canada.
Unrealistic expectations, a misunderstanding of the level of play, and an ignorance of the true purpose of national youth teams has unfortunately blinded people of the true realities.
As much as we get excited about our participation rates, our women's program, our ability to host tournaments and even the invention of Toronto FC, it is clear when compared to our competitors on the world stage that we are still far behind - we simply do not have the soccer culture or system capable of regularly producing internationally competitive players.
The conclusion we should take from this particular under-20 group is straightforward and uncomplicated. The majority of players were not good enough to effectively compete on the world stage beyond what they displayed. Relative to the competition, our passing and first touch was collectively poor; the tactical behaviour of players was naive (goals conceded against Congo are perfect examples); physically some players have unrealistic fitness standards and psychologically, as a team, they could not handle the pressure - a result of a lack of experience and confidence.
It appears everyone is looking for answers, along the way blaming the coach, the players, and the Canadian Soccer Association. Yet the reality again is quite simple.
Early exposure to the day-to-day demands of training and competing in a legitimate professional soccer environment have been missing from the majority of our current players.
In other parts of the world - and for a few Canadian players - this kind of environment prepares them over a 10-year period. It fuels the motivation to train properly, it corrects technical/tactical deficiencies, sets realistic physical standards and, through tough competition, psychologically prepares players for the rigours of professional and international competition.
While it is too early to be retrospective with this particular group of players, five years on it is certainly possible with the 2001 Canadian squad that competed in Argentina.
Just compare the Brazilian and Canadian teams who met in a first-round game, with Brazil winning 2-0.
While all the Brazilian players were stationed at significant professional levels prior to the tournament, our own squad included a few minor-level university players, some unattached players (without clubs) playing nowhere (including a very young Atiba Hutchinson) and a spattering of players training at varying professional levels.
Meanwhile the Brazilian squad included, to name a few, Edu, Eduardo, Julio Baptiste, Maicon, Adriano, and Kaka - today all footballing stars of Europe. Keeping in mind this Brazilian team were knocked out at the quarter-final stage clearly gives perspective as to the true standard of play at the tournament.
From the 2001 Canadian squad, most players are not playing the game at any significant level today and in some instances not playing the game at all.
Before the tournament itself, some people suggested we should be winning our group. In hindsight, clearly a delusional assessment.
Let's review our history of this tournament with some sobering statistics: our under-20 teams have competed in seven of the 16 tournaments. In 27 games played, the teams have won four, tied five and lost 18.
Remarkably at the under-17 level, it is even more revealing. Having only qualified for four world tournaments out of a possible 11, Canada has never earned a single point. No wins, no ties. Three goals have been scored, 42 conceded.
In 1993, a Canadian team that included Paul Stalteri, Jim Brennan, Jeff Clarke and Jason Bent lost all three games, scored no goals and conceded 18.
We really need no more evidence to suggest that the level of play at this stage is beyond us. Until we accept this fact and face the reality that without improving our professional and collegiate soccer systems here in Canada, we will be limited in our progress.
While the addition of TFC is a move in the right direction, it is not enough without expansion into Vancouver and Montreal and a willingness by the clubs to be a part of the Canadian development process.
In the meantime, we should view qualifying for world youth soccer championships as significant successes, and then appearances at these events as opportunities to expose our players to the realities of international soccer, knowing that a few will one day have the opportunity to play at the senior World Cup level.
And in regards to coach Dale Mitchell, one should keep in mind that he was at the helm for two of the four wins we have attained at this level.
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Cold Articles |
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| Tuesday, June 26 | | · | Concerning The Women's National Program Dear CSA Letter (0) |
| Sunday, June 24 | | · | Inside the Gold Cup 06.22.07 (0) |
| · | No Comment (0) |
| Saturday, June 23 | | · | Voyageurs Protest Canada vs USA Debacle (0) |
| Wednesday, May 16 | | · | Thunder on the Lakeshore (0) |
| Friday, May 11 | | · | CSA Fans, Fed Up! (0) |
| Sunday, May 06 | | · | Canada Soccer Supporters Protest (0) |
| Wednesday, February 28 | | · | Sports, Politics and Religion Don't Mix (0) |
| Sunday, January 07 | | · | Wanted: One Archrival (0) |
| Wednesday, December 13 | | · | Canadian Soccer's $50 Million Question (0) |
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