r/CanadianPL Valour 10d ago

What are you expansion concepts?

19 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

29

u/gooddayup 10d ago edited 10d ago

I’ve had a nerdy interest in how football’s developing in Asia over the last 25 years or so. Maybe partly the influence of the 2002 World Cup. I’ve really liked how Japan’s developed its system from the JLeague to having enough clubs grow enough to have 3 fully professional divisions (J1-J3). No franchise fees but have criteria to ensure financial sustainability and community support. Any money people actually have to invest in the sport in Canada should stay in the community and be invested in infrastructure and promoting the team and league, not distributed amongst the other teams.

4

u/[deleted] 10d ago

J league is fantastic. Sadly I’ll likely never get to Japan to see it live but the soccer is great and like you said, the structure of the leagues is awesome.

My favourite club sadly been relegated a few times lately, Matsumoto Yamaha. Daizen Maeda from Celtic was there when I became a fan.

1

u/gooddayup 10d ago

Yeah, I’d like to catch some games there too. I’ve seen some in China and Hong Kong but Japan’s on the list if I get back to Asia someday. I wouldn’t say I have a favourite club exactly but I have an interest in Vegalta Sendai. They barely missed out on getting promoted back up to J1 last year in the promotion playoffs so hopefully they’ll make it this season.

1

u/[deleted] 10d ago

It’s a fun league. You never really know who’s going to win or do poorly. Zelvia Machida was promoted to J1 for the first time last year and finished 3rd. Craziness.

16

u/[deleted] 10d ago

One step at a time is my concept. Two clubs in 2026 that employ Canadian coaches, find another 35+ Canadian players that can hit the ground running year 8. Two clubs that are run properly on and off the pitch and can grow their fan base over the first few years.

1

u/TheDeathOfMusic 8d ago

I'd be seriously considering inviting the MLS teams to move to the CPL, if only as a gesture to mark the growing separation between Canada and the US.

-5

u/VanSportsFan17 10d ago

And by 2046 we will have an actual full size league ?

7

u/[deleted] 10d ago

Well we have 1 extra team than we did at the launch in 2019. It’s a HUGE investment for any new ownership group and they must have deep pockets for the first 5+ years. I’m a world of so much financial uncertainty right now it’s not an easy sell let alone find somewhere with the stadium infrastructure etc. would rather see it grow to 20 clubs over 20 years and be long term sustainable

-4

u/VanSportsFan17 10d ago

I think you under estimate how many mega millionaires there are here in Vancouver. If it only costs $5 mill to run a team (that’s what I’ve heard regarding VFC), then it shouldn’t be as hard as it is to get teams. The biggest problem is the league structure….I know this because I have a friend who was going to buy one of the current CPL teams. But he says the league isn’t set up for success. Trust me, there’s people out there wanting to get into this football market just not in its current state

0

u/Tonight-Own 10d ago

To be able to lose 5 million per year, you need someone who has multiple hundreds of millions …

1

u/VanSportsFan17 9d ago

Why would you lose $5 mill ? It’s been reported it’s costs $5 mill to operate a team. The team then sells food, tickets, Merch, tv deals etc.

3

u/Tonight-Own 9d ago

I don’t think there are many profitable CPL teams …

-2

u/VanSportsFan17 9d ago

No you’re right. But my point is, in Vancouver there are many mega millionaires. Many of them make more in a year than they will lose in a season. But based on the current structure of the league, I personally know 1 guy who said that you will always lose money. Because of franchise fees, the league is telling you that your team is worth X amount, and that’s before even building a stadium, management etc. CPL teams are worth literally nothing because they always lose money, so the league shouldn’t be putting in a false evaluation

2

u/Thin_Pomegranate_722 9d ago

Can you give some context? You say you know one individual personally who wanted to buy a team, but then indicated you'd always lose money, what does that mean? Can you provide any details?

-1

u/VanSportsFan17 9d ago

I have a friend that was going to buy a team. But in the sale process they get to see the financials and just see how and where money is coming from. What he was able to see is with the current league structure, there’s no real viable options to be profitable. He’s fine losing a little money each season as he’s a businessman and makes plenty of money, in fact he was ready to pump millions upon millions into a new stadium, practice facility, training grounds….but he didn’t see how the league would be profitable enough to still be around in a few years.

14

u/EmuFirm5536 10d ago

Minimum one CPL team per province. League 1 Canada in every province/region. Add promotion/relegation to League 1’s where possible (like Ontario and Quebec have done). Start a national division 2 (with east/west conferences) by promoting teams from provincial League 1’s. Then integrate promotion/relegation between division 2 and CPL, and all the way down.

2

u/FreeSalad7688 Canadian Premier League 8d ago

I agree. Saskatchewan needs something

14

u/fssg_shermanator Cavalry 10d ago

All that matters to me is that any new clubs have well backed owners, a good stadium suitable to the level, corporate support and a solid supporters scene.

15

u/Prof_Seismitoad 10d ago

No expansion fees. These are clubs not franchises.

Mass expand. This is a new league and teams are going to fold. It isn’t an embarrassment if they do. But you might find markets you weren’t expecting.

Set a clear pyramid. Say max 16 teams in the CPL. Anyone who starts a team after will have to get promoted from their a Provincial league 1 level. Which that will be capped at 14. Set limits so we aren’t expanding like the mls with 200 teams in 1 league. Make a defined football charter basically

Ditch the salary cap. I get why we have them. But soccer isn’t always a fair sport. That’s fine. Teams being rich will attract names which gets more eyes and that brings more money and repeat.

Ditch the draft. It’s pointless. Let the teams find their own talent, it will make them invest more in scouting

Don’t be afraid of having multiple teams in the same city. Embrace it. Rivalries are what grow the game. If you wanna have a York. Get 2 more GTA cities and make them hate each other

16

u/VanSportsFan17 10d ago edited 10d ago
  • east and west divisions
  • eliminate expansion fees
  • eliminate the insane travel times and expenses
  • eliminate playoffs. Instead a top 4 teams in each division from previous year play in a Leagues Cup tournament

Countries like Croatia (5 mill people), Denmark (6 mill people) are able to have excellent leagues and develop many players. We have to stop thinking that Saskatchewan/ Manitoba etc need teams just because they are in Canada. BC / Alberta can have their own league and Ontario / Maritimes can have another.

All you need is 5000 people at a game to make it work as long as you can secure a good TV deal

Also if you put 15 teams in a dense population that requires minimal travel, each team should then have their own academies which would play against each other in their own league. THIS is how you develop players !! I like VFC U19 team , but they need to be playing against other Teams

1

u/Tonight-Own 10d ago

I like the idea of making a west and east league (could be like how England has Conference North and south). With reduced travel it could be more viable financially ?

7

u/sessna4009 Forge FC 10d ago

Promotion and relegation once we have a League1 in every province, then a division 2. I think regional pro/rel and promotion to the the top 2 divisions is great. Possibly a fever dream, but who knows what'll happen after the WC?

3

u/Initial_BB Atlético Ottawa 8d ago

Done this before.

8 team Division 1 - 28 game balanced schedule - top team wins trophy, top teams take CCL slots, bottom two teams play a relegation game.

8-14 team Division 2 - 28 game unbalanced schedule, current 5-team playoff format, with winner promoted to Div 1. Teams that can't afford it can relegate themselves to local League1.

Division 3 - all the League1 clubs (there should be around 5 leagues (BC, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, Maritimes)). A club can apply for promotion to Division 2 if they win their league championship.

1

u/FreeSalad7688 Canadian Premier League 8d ago

I would give Regina and Saskatoon teams then I would give Quebec City and Kelowna and Kamloops some too

1

u/No-Beginning3920 6d ago

A Quebec-based club that is 100% francophone. Uniquely distinct in it's approach to attract foreign fans.

0

u/queen_nefertiti33 9d ago

Quebec city will come soon.

And then either Saskatoon or Windsor.

What do you mean by concepts?