football thread No11
- Thread starter Carras Dad
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warpus
In pork I trust
So Canada is getting a top-flight football league. I think we are the last country on the planet to get one, I think we just sort of forgot. Ah well, better late than never! Here are the 2 teams announced so far:
Cavalry FC
York 9 FC
The league will kick off with 8-10 teams in the spring of 2019, covering 7 of the top 10 Canadian markets in terms of population. According to league officials 22 markets in total are currently in discussions to eventually join the league, which will have promotion and relegation once there's enough teams (and no playoffs, just a regular Euro style regular season).
Most markets (of the 22 in discussions) aren't ready yet, so for now we will have these cities represented: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmoton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Halifax, and maybe Victoria and/or a mystery market (I've heard maybe Saskatoon)
When I say that Toronto is represented, it's "sort of" or "basically" depending on who you ask. York 9 gets its name from York region, which contains 9 municipalities. The region is one of the 5 regions of the Greater Toronto Area and contains about 1.3 million people
Cavalry FC will be based in Calgary, and the name is derived from.. well, the city has a rich history involving horses, but over 100 years ago some farmers formed a Cavalry unit, which has fought in many wars, and remains in existence to this day. The team will also play their games at the famed Spruce Meadows, which is an equestrian ground, with horse shows and whatever else that is done at equestrian grounds. The ownership group of Cavalry FC is basically the same group (family?) that owns the complex and all the related horse stuff. So the name is really on point
Anyway, I'm quite excited about all this. My city (London) isn't getting a team yet, but I have heard that it is one of the 22 wanting to get in. If I had to guess in 5-10 years I will be able to get season tickets to Forest City London (or whatever, but that's our actual city nickname so..)
The main objective here is to give Canadian youth a reason to continue playing the sport once they reach a certain age. For the longest time there just wasn't anywhere for these young players to play, if they wanted to have professional careers in the sport. MLS has arrived, but that mainly caters to American soccer priorities, and most Canadian communities do not have MLS teams anyway (there are only 3). So if the Canadian Premier League is successful, it will help Canada develop a lot more local talent and in theory improve the state of our national team. I also read that at least 50% of all players on the teams will have to be Canadian, and that the salary cap will be at first somewhere in between MLS and USL standards. For those of you who are not familiar with North American soccer, it will basically mean that the quality of play in the Canadian Premier League should be.. maybe around the level MLS was about 10 years ago. That sounds about right to me given what I've heard, but the owners backing this project have a LOT of money so who knows. All I know is that there aren't that many expensive Canadian players, so..
A lot of people don't realize that soccer/football is actually the #1 played sport in this country. There is a lot of love for the beautiful game in Canada! And this league will be broadcast on youtube for free from what I heard, but.. that might change I guess. Either way, this is a great day for Canada and therefore the world
Cavalry FC
York 9 FC
The league will kick off with 8-10 teams in the spring of 2019, covering 7 of the top 10 Canadian markets in terms of population. According to league officials 22 markets in total are currently in discussions to eventually join the league, which will have promotion and relegation once there's enough teams (and no playoffs, just a regular Euro style regular season).
Most markets (of the 22 in discussions) aren't ready yet, so for now we will have these cities represented: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmoton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Halifax, and maybe Victoria and/or a mystery market (I've heard maybe Saskatoon)
When I say that Toronto is represented, it's "sort of" or "basically" depending on who you ask. York 9 gets its name from York region, which contains 9 municipalities. The region is one of the 5 regions of the Greater Toronto Area and contains about 1.3 million people
Cavalry FC will be based in Calgary, and the name is derived from.. well, the city has a rich history involving horses, but over 100 years ago some farmers formed a Cavalry unit, which has fought in many wars, and remains in existence to this day. The team will also play their games at the famed Spruce Meadows, which is an equestrian ground, with horse shows and whatever else that is done at equestrian grounds. The ownership group of Cavalry FC is basically the same group (family?) that owns the complex and all the related horse stuff. So the name is really on point
Anyway, I'm quite excited about all this. My city (London) isn't getting a team yet, but I have heard that it is one of the 22 wanting to get in. If I had to guess in 5-10 years I will be able to get season tickets to Forest City London (or whatever, but that's our actual city nickname so..)
The main objective here is to give Canadian youth a reason to continue playing the sport once they reach a certain age. For the longest time there just wasn't anywhere for these young players to play, if they wanted to have professional careers in the sport. MLS has arrived, but that mainly caters to American soccer priorities, and most Canadian communities do not have MLS teams anyway (there are only 3). So if the Canadian Premier League is successful, it will help Canada develop a lot more local talent and in theory improve the state of our national team. I also read that at least 50% of all players on the teams will have to be Canadian, and that the salary cap will be at first somewhere in between MLS and USL standards. For those of you who are not familiar with North American soccer, it will basically mean that the quality of play in the Canadian Premier League should be.. maybe around the level MLS was about 10 years ago. That sounds about right to me given what I've heard, but the owners backing this project have a LOT of money so who knows. All I know is that there aren't that many expensive Canadian players, so..
A lot of people don't realize that soccer/football is actually the #1 played sport in this country. There is a lot of love for the beautiful game in Canada! And this league will be broadcast on youtube for free from what I heard, but.. that might change I guess. Either way, this is a great day for Canada and therefore the world
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Serutan
Eatibus Anythingibus
Props to West Brom for hiring Mr. Moore instead of reaching into the recycle bin. I thought American pro leagues
were bad about recycling the usual coaching suspects; the PL has shown itself to be a peer.
were bad about recycling the usual coaching suspects; the PL has shown itself to be a peer.
Snerk
Smeghead
So Canada doesn't have a normal football league (until now) or did I read that too fast? How does that work? Anyway, sounds good!
RockTheCazbah87
Pacal's pal
Until in a few years time, he joins the Allardyce-Pardew-Moyes-Hughes-Hodgson-Pulis old boys club.
warpus
In pork I trust
We had a "Canadian Soccer League", but it was just basically teams in Ontario, mostly near/in Toronto from what I remember. The quality of play was not very high, I think it was semi-amateur. For some reason it was also fraught with corruption. The league was eventually shut down because Balkan mobsters were betting on it and rigging games.. or something like that? It was a bit of a mess
We're a huge country geographically, and have always been a hockey country, so a country-wide football league was just never put in place (I don't think?) because that means a certain amount of $$ invested right off the bat, due to the distances. Until recently there was just never a demand for a league like that, playing at a decently high level. But the arrival of MLS in 3 Canadian markets has convinced people with money (the owners of teams in the new league are all billionaires) to start up a new league and try to make it work. Whenever Toronto FC play Montreal in the MLS playoffs, millions of Canadians tune in on TV. Those are crazy numbers. In the U.S., with over 10 times the population, they get 200-500k TV viewers a game, and I think about a million for the MLS Cup. I think people with $$ saw these numbers (3.4 million Canadians tuned into some part of the Toronto - Montreal playoff game 2 years ago, that's like 10% of the country) and decided that the time was right to launch a league here and try to make it profitable
I watched the Women's Champions League Final. It was good. And nothing more.
There was the issue of OL not being awarded a goal in regular time and Wolfsburg taking the lead in extra time, but Popp's second yellow gave Lyon a decisive advantage and won the match anyway so UEFIFA will probably do nothing.
There was the issue of OL not being awarded a goal in regular time and Wolfsburg taking the lead in extra time, but Popp's second yellow gave Lyon a decisive advantage and won the match anyway so UEFIFA will probably do nothing.
warpus
In pork I trust
New Canadian Premier League club announced today, the Halifax Wanderers
There's all sorts of references to the local community in Halifax in the crest. The bridge that connects Halifax to its smaller neighbour (Dartmouth?), the citadel outline, which locals will be able to spot from a distance, the waves (of course), there is a W in there, and the thingy sailors use to anchor their ships. And probably stuff I'm missing
Oh and the motto. I'll let you guess what language that is and why
As for why they are called "The Wanderers", they will be playing at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, which has been in existence for over 100 years. Plus this Halifax team (and its fans) will have the furthest to travel in order to play the other teams in the league
I realize many don't care, but I think some of you will like the crest
There's all sorts of references to the local community in Halifax in the crest. The bridge that connects Halifax to its smaller neighbour (Dartmouth?), the citadel outline, which locals will be able to spot from a distance, the waves (of course), there is a W in there, and the thingy sailors use to anchor their ships. And probably stuff I'm missing
Oh and the motto. I'll let you guess what language that is and why
As for why they are called "The Wanderers", they will be playing at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, which has been in existence for over 100 years. Plus this Halifax team (and its fans) will have the furthest to travel in order to play the other teams in the league
I realize many don't care, but I think some of you will like the crest
Snerk
Smeghead
We say that Norway's premier league is the only football league where you have local derbies between cities over 500 km apart. Are we getting challenged on this?
warpus
In pork I trust
Which teams in Norway that are 500km apart have local rivalries?
The main rivalry in the first year that I can see will be Edmonton vs Calgary, they are about 300km apart. There is an existing rivalry between these cities. There is also Hamilton vs York Region, they are about 100km apart. This one is more like a local derby, as both teams are in the extended Greater Toronto Area. A lot of people who live in York region consider themselves Torontonians, so that will feed into the existing local Toronto vs Hamilton rivalry.
If Victoria, BC joins the league in the first year (they might), then there will be a bit of a local rivalry between the Surrey/Vancouver team and the Victoria team. They are about 100km apart but separated by water (Victoria is on a big island, Vancouver is on the mainland). Victoria is the capital of the province and Vancouver is the largest city.
One of the most intense rivalries in MLS is Toronto vs Montreal. Some say Portland vs Seattle is more intense, and perhaps it is, but Toronto and Montreal dislike each other very much, especially when it comes to sports. Toronto vs Montreal games are always more emotional than other games, and it has been dubbed as a derby. The cities are about 550km apart though
Personally I think we should be calling these things farbies
The closest rival to Halifax will eventually be Moncton. There is a group trying to bring a team to that city and they are supposedly 2-3 years away from joining. These cities are 260km away from each other, but it's a LOT closer to Halifax than any other city in the league (right now). To drive from Halifax to Ottawa, the closest team, would take about 14 hours, it's about 1,400km away by car. The furthest team in the league from Halifax is about 6,000km away by car. Of course people will fly in and not drive, but it's easier to look up distances this way
On the other end of the spectrum we have AC Milan and FC Inter sharing the same stadium (although, of course, each club's fans has a different name for the stadium) and a close second in Racing Club and Independiente here each having their stadium one block apart (I've been to both).
Our harbour, our home, our name.
warpus
In pork I trust
Close! Last one is "Our soul", at least judging by a translation by one of the supporters
It's Gaelic and it's actually spoken in the area, and I do believe I read somewhere that it's the largest community of Gaelic speakers in the world, but don't quote me on that. It's possible I am misremembering and it's simply the largest community speaking the language in North America
It's Gaelic and it's actually spoken in the area, and I do believe I read somewhere that it's the largest community of Gaelic speakers in the world, but don't quote me on that. It's possible I am misremembering and it's simply the largest community speaking the language in North America
Snerk
Smeghead
Tromsø - Bodø, the battle for the north. It's a local game for local people. Though the distance might be a little less if you draw a direct line between the cities.
Aaargh! The problem is that I pronounce ‘anam’ and ‘ainm’ the same and I'm so used to not reading it… *facepalm*
warpus
In pork I trust
Oh yeah, that does make sense. The most interesting football pitch I saw in Norway was in Reine. Probably not a pro team, but the pitch seemed to be in very good condition from what I saw from the top of Reinebringen
This is a bit unrelated, but I was reading the other day that teams in the north were not allowed to get promoted to the top flight until recently? Must have been a great time for the locals the first time one of them got promoted
You actually do speak Gaelic? That's pretty impressive
Looking at the numbers the largest population of Gaelic is probably in Scotland, so good thing I threw up that disclaimer after making that claim
Snerk
Smeghead
TBF it might have been astroturf. Fake grass is becoming more normal throughout Norway's football fields, but specially in the north. It's kinda lame but also understandable with the long winters and all.
I haven't heard of this but you might well be correct. It won't be in the top leagues as northern teams have played there for decades. But I can see it being an issue further down in the system as there might be insufficient finances for the travelling costs involved for some teams up north.
Snerk
Smeghead
Liverpool was the best team on the field then Salah is out and they've been chasing the ball ever since. Sad. Looks like this is RM's to take unless Lallana can play the game of his life or something.
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