An invitation to us all
Some reflections on the relationship between our current footballing success in Canada, and sustainability in the game.
And an invitation to us all.
On the men’s side, when we last appeared in the World Cup, it was 1986. The NASL had folded two years before and there had been no pro soccer in Vancouver for two years. Our team was substantially made up of BC players.
In 1986, the Canadian Soccer League got started and ran for six years. Locally, the 86ers played in this league, dominating it, and BC continued to develop and send players to the national team. The 86ers had 86 investors who all bought $500 shares in the West Coast Soccer Society to get the team going. They played out of Swangard. Every kid wanted to play for them. Our own Will Cromack was on a youth contract with the team. It was a team of dreams.
The 86ers went on a record setting run of 46 matches undefeated in ’88-89 and won four consecutive league championships. When the CSL folded, the 86ers jumped to the APSL and continued growing.
The CSL could have kept going. It has been said that If every youth player in the country paid 5$ a year, that would have sustained the league. It would have been ours forever. For the past 30 years we could have had a top level league supported by every player in the game. I truly believe that we lost decades when that league folded. MLS started in 1996 with the explicit goal of developing the US team after the ‘94 World Cup. They never looked back. We lost our chance to run neck and neck with them until this year.
The idea that it takes a couple of rich people to throw away billions to develop professional sporting talent is just one story. It doesn’t have to work that way. We don’t need to passively watch and hope that a few MLS teams will secure the future of our national team. In many other top 50 soccer countries, strong communities, fan ownership, passionate local support and shared vision drive the success of players and teams on the world stage, even if their leagues aren’t top rated. We need more of that here.
In this moment in time we are witnessing the birth of a new Canadian soccer pyramid for both men and women. We are finally getting the development system we deserve and it’s down to the hard work of tens of thousands of people at every level. There are all kinds of ways to help make this work. Get a ticket for your local pro side. Take an interest in our national teams. Go to watch youth soccer and support youth players. Volunteer at a club, but understand the bigger project.
And also, invest.
If you have the millions to spend, we need you. If you have enough for a 10$ ticket for a League 1 BC match, get in. If you have $265 buy a share in TSS Rovers: www.frontfundr.com/tssrovers
What we are witnessing now is the result of just the CURRENT level of investment and effort we have put into this game as a country. There is SO much more space to grow the game. Imagine how much better we are going to be when we all chip in to sustain and build on this moment?
Don’t let this past 7 months be an amazing blip in time. Don’t let it be ‘86 all over again. This gold medal, this possibility of going to the World Cup, this is the start. Imagine what we will be with a women’s pro league, with a CanPL first and second division. With regional pyramids.
In every direction the next easy step to take looks AMAZING. Take it. Do one thing this year you haven’t done in past years to deepen your commitment to the Canadian soccer. What ever next step you can take, you’ll find people waiting to welcome your support.
To quote members of our Canadian XNT/WNT:
L F G.
– Chris Corrigan, TSS Rovers co-owner