Quote:
Originally Posted by Matty81
And one more thing I meant to say... this is exactly the kind of faceplant you'd predict from a country that appoints a chartered accountant as the President of it's national soccer body and has an MBA as the vice president both of whom have no background in professional soccer.
I know it's low hanging fruit but holy crap does something ever smell rotten at the CSA when it comes to optics and appointments.
FFS purge the board, kick all of these small time self-interested political idiots from the provincial bodies out and bring in guys with a background in the professional game, it's not rocket science.
We're like the Oilers of international soccer except at least their buddies who they give jobs to won something even if it's ancient history and irrelevant to mgmt.
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The one thing the CSA have used as a crutch as a last resort and cried about after previous poor results was lack of funding to properly train and set up friendlies etc. It was an excuse becuase they were unorganized and basically lazy. Well, they have a financial windfall now with the 2026 money, but it's not going anywhere except in to the board, executives, and the handful of provincial directors that have influence.
Provincial associations, those that aren't part of the group thet got the current executive in place and play the political game, that is, best not question where the money goes as far as grass roots development or they are shut out for any future funding. Shut out just like Mango says the press is.
It's been a rotten organization for decades. As mentioned though, much of the actual power and influence Imo is sitting at the Ontario and Quebec provincial level, who then dictate and prop up the executive, and the massive board of the CSA. That power is there because of the control of sponsors and players that those groups, and are well organized, and compared to the other provincial organizations which have a handful of people, a technical directors, and some admin staff, so they make the mandate that the national board follows.
So even if there was an independent white knight coming in to pressure and question and be able to affect change at the CSA itself, and make changes there, those provincial bodies would just replace with likeminded colleagues.
The only glimmer of hope is that somehow, someway in the build up of 2026, when national sponsors start coming aboard, there are ones that actually care about long term soccer development, and see how grossly mismanaged the CSA is and how unprepared they are for handling that development, and force change there. It needs a renaissance like the "Own the podium" movement was among corporate sponsors working inline with the COC.
But that movement was borne out of previous Olympics, which is still very high profile in this country, and the terrible results in the 90s and early 2000s, and athletes and public alike voicing displeasure, to get things and corporations moving in that direction. Not enough people care about soccer to that level (nevermind hockey, where anything outside of the medals generates national symposiums) to question why we are crashing out and choking away competitions and not making World Cups for the past 30 years. And those that try and question change, at a smaller level are shut down and shut out like Mango says.
So, CSA will clumsily approach national sponsors for 2026, promise the moon and how thier contributions will go to fund Canada in soccer for generations, in exchange for seeing their name on ad boards at Commonwealth. Companies will pay becuase of the massive international audience and to be associated with the WC, but not care past those two weeks of 2026 after all the Fifa parties (and OH yes the games too) are over, that the people part of the organization in the country that had run soccer for the past 30 years, and is the stewards for the next 30, don't care one way or another if Canada grows the game and the development. That the group in in the country that should be striving to push Canada higher and higher and getting corporate sponsors on board and getting soccer in the lexicon of every casual Canadian like the Olympics are, and it not being publically acceptable to fail over and over at qualifying for the WCF. But the CSA doesn't have time for those national long term goals and working each day, slowly but surely, they are more individually concerned about staying in the good books of those propping them up and who voted them in to worry about paper mandates.
And I am sure the arrogance of the organization also is at at play... "hey we have the 2026 World Cup games, so that should fuel development all on its own, we don't have to do much outside if say we will spend some of the money on adding new fields (in Ontario and Quebec, and make sure press release that and put it in our presentation to Fifa in Bermuda which we will all attend for 2 weeks) and recognize some coaches an appoint an international technical director for $300k a year, and call it a day.
Mark my words, the women's program is going downhill fast too. Other countries are spending much more then the CSA is. We had an early program a decade or so ago, and got some results when most countries didn't care. Now other countries do care and are blowing past Canada, and in 4 or 8 years that gap widens. How long until the same lame CSA, throw hands in air excuses they use for the men with geography and a national league etc? How much of the WWC funds the CSA got fom 4 years ago are? Should be in some legacy fund for ladies soccer in this country. While not massive like the Men there is money and prestige that comes with hosting that and the money is long gone, pissed away by the CSA.
The CSA are corrupt and in the job solely for the perks it brings them personally, and the widely encompassing soccer part is second or third down the list in order of priority. They've got decades old built in excuses (Geography, not a true National League (You can see the give a #### level they think about the CanPl with the Ottawa Fury situation and the racism allegations with Calvary and Forge), inability to attract top technical soccer people (Zambrano was far too vocal internally at the CSA clearly and the CSA can't have people that stir the pot, that is crystal clear) etc, when the real reason it's a disjointed, politically and territorialy motivated oligarchy of a governing body which has embarrassed this country on the global stage since the late 80s.