[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by browna

The CPL will have a pretty critical junction after next season.
I’m sure the plan back when Canada got the hosting rights to the WC before the CPL started up, the 5-6 year business plan was set up to have a lot of things up and running a lot more successfully by this point then it is. Covid of course derailed that for at least a year maybe two, but the unexpected WC from Canada maybe helped.

But my guess is that the hope would be that the CPL would be expanded, attendance well everywhere, and that it wasn’t if there was a TV contract, it would be how much.

Well, a few teams didn’t make it under that plan and going into the biggest soccer spectacle
in the country’s history and for a couple generations to come, the COL, outside of a couple markets, is not sustainable.

When the WC is gone, so soon will be the TV coverage (that isn’t likely making money) of the CPL from the TSNs, and the ramped up corporate sponsorship too, at least until the next lead up to 2030.

The CSL, hoping to capitalize on the WC appearance and getting some of that WC money to start up, lasted 4 years post 1986 WC. Of course that was a bit different, with eastern centric shady business practices from the league and the CSA, but bottom line is that public interest waned or was never there, and clubs they were holding on to hopefully get a 1990 WC appearance from Canada to help once again fund the league further, didn’t materialize and the league fell apart.

Things are different now, but issue remains; popularity of the league isn’t enough country wide to make this a longer term venture, and unless the WC in this country can directly affect positively the CPL attendance on 2026 and maybe 2027, more teams wills fold.

This, because the 2018/19 hope of how the lead up to 2026 would have the league look and how the business strategy was structured to capitalize on the WC, is vastly different and some teams just can’t sustain losses when this was their best chance at capturing interest and attendance.

Calvary and Forge and Halifax will probably be ok but you can’t have a 3 team league.

You make a good point. That said, the league/owners are crazy to back out right now, the league will grow after the buzz of a world cup. Especially if Canada plays well. Peoples anticipation for the world cup will be small compared to the hype after it.

I think the league is in fine shape, they have 5 of 8 teams that are stable if not growing, 1 new team coming into the league.