Introduction

This is the Northern 90 Podcast with Pat Sweet, Episode 11.

Welcome to the Northern 90 Canadian Premier League Podcast, covering the beautiful game in the great white north. For more Canadian Premier League content, head over to Northern90.ca. That’s Northern Nine Zero dot ca.

Welcome

Hello, Canada, and welcome to the Northern 90 Canadian Premier League Podcast!

This week, I’m giving a state of the union address, and will discuss where things stand with the league today, and what to look for as we near the very first CPL match on April 27.

But before we get to the main content and the headlines, I wanted to share a contest I’m running to give away an authentic Canadian Premier League Jersey.

CanPL Jersey Giveaway

That’s right, folks, you heard correctly: I’m giving away an authentic Canadian Premier League jersey. All you have to do is enter your name at Northern90.ca/jerseycontest and boom, you’re in. You get to chose the jersey and the size and I take care of the rest.

The contest opened on April 1 and will close at 11:45 PM EST April 12. The winner will be chosen by random draw.

Once you get to the website, you’ll see that there are ways of getting extra ballots so as to increase your chances of going home with your very own jersey.

Just go to Northern90.ca/jerseycontest to enter.

News

In this week’s headlines:

  • In preseason action, Cavalry FC topped FC Edmonton 2-0. What’s probably most interesting about this game is that FC Edmonton’s Son Yongchan got two yellows and was ejected from the game. The coaches agreed, however, that since this was a preseason friendly, that Youngchan could be replaced so that it was still 11-a-side.
    • Love the sportsmanship – very Canadian
    • Also interesting to note that Edmonton Coach Jeff Paulus chalked Youngchan’s two yellows to being used to a much more physical league in Korea. I imagine many players will have to adjust to the way the game is officiated here.
  • As you’ve no doubt heard, the Canadian Men’s National Team finished CONCACAF Nation’s League qualifying with four wins, which qualifies them for both Gold Cup as well as League A in Nations League. Les Rouges were drawn into group A, along with the United States and Cuba.
  • As I already aluded to, the league’s kits will be unveiled on April 4, with local parties happening accross the country to stream the event. Most of the events are by invitation only, so just reach out to your own local supporter’s group for details on that.
  • The Sooke News Mirror had a fun piece on Pacific FC mascot tryouts. It’s not official, but a dude dressed up as a panda got the most votes. Find a link to the video on the shownotes.

If you want even more CPL content, including the most important headlines delivered straight to your inbox, then sign up for the Northern 90 Supporters’ group. When you join, you get a weekly newsletter with the top headlines, podcast notifications, access to private supporter’s group Facebook group, and much much more. Also, it’s free. Check it out at northern90.ca/join.

Next up, the state of the CanPL Union.

CanPL State of the Union

In this segment, I’m going to do a bit of a roundup in preparation for the madness that will unfold over the next few weeks. I’ll tell you about the most interesting things we know, what we’re about to learn, the questions that have not been answered, and what I’m most excited about moving ahead.

Things we know

  • This is a very Canadian league, but with significant international influence
    • Approximately 2/3 of the league is made of Canadians
    • Almost 5% is from England, and almost 4% is from Trinidad and Tobago.
    • Only Cavalry FC and HFX Wanderers have significant non-Canadian contingents. About 20% of Cavalry FC is from England and almost 24% of HFX Wanderers is from Trinidad and Tobago.
    • No other team has more than 10% of their club coming from any single country, other than Canada.
  • Mediapro can produce a solid soccer game
    • Mediapro produced a recent Canadian Men’s National Team game against French Guyana, and it was really quite good!
  • The league can weather a couple slow years financially – the deal with Mediapro secures that.
  • We know what the schedule will be like – apertura/ clausura format.

Things we’ll know soon

  • Kits drop on April 4, and they promise to be excellent. Kurt Larson of the league’s front office has promised that these will be the antithesis of boring MLS jerseys.
  • How rosters will be filled out. There’s still a lot of work to do – 128 players have been signed of a maximum of 161.
  • Who the league’s best players are. We know a lot about a few players, but not much about the vast majority.

Things we still don’t know

  • How exactly we’ll watch the games
    • Mediapro has made noise about providing the games over the top, but the last CanMNT game was broadcast by TSN.
  • What salaries and salary caps will look like.
  • What other roster rules might be in place and how non-player assets might be traded or managed.
  • Who the next teams will be – though there’s been a lot of buzz about dealings in Quebec, and in Ottawa as well, with Dwayne Rollins reporting that discussions between Ottawa Fury and the league are basically not happening.

Things I’m Excited About

  • Game day, and experiencing the atmosphere, as well as the football.
  • Seeing supporter’s groups really take shape, sing songs, and start traditions.
  • Seeing Canadians perform at their best
  • Seeing new Canadians rise to prominence with the men’s national team by virtue of having gotten minutes with CanPL teams.
  • Hearing scores be read on the CBC morning news and discussing games around the water cooler at work.

What do you think?

If you’ve listened to the show, you know I love to hear from you guys – especially with this being my first episode featuring an interview. I’d love to know what you think of this deal. You can:

  • Leave a comment at northern90.ca/episode11
  • Write to me at pat at northern90.ca
  • Fire me a note on Twitter @northernninety

Next up, the mailbag.

Mailbag

Some great messages and ideas this week to share with you.

  • Colin wrote me through the contact form on the website thanking me for the show and supporting Canadian soccer – Colin, thank YOU for supporting me supporting Canadian soccer.
  • Reddit user Keep-the-ball left on comment on Reddit about the last episode on under-the-radar signings, making the argument that Stephen Hart’s strategy looks to be to have recruited Canadians who have experience overseas, and combining that with other established internationals, and that all this outside experience will serve the team well.
  • And on Twitter, Fort MacMurray FC Edmontron Supporters are *very* excited about the jersey giveaway – thanks guys!

Outroduction

That’s all we’ve got for the show today. If you liked the show, don’t forget to subscribe to it, and when you do leave an honest review. That helps me make the show better and others find it.

Don’t forget to join the jersery contest!

Northern90.ca/jerseycontest

Also, if you’ve been enjoying this show, you should join my supporters’ group. When you join you get a weekly newsletter with curated CPL content, access to a members-only Facebook group, contests, giveaways, fantasy leagues, all sorts of good stuff. And it’s free. Check it out at northern90.ca/join.

Until then, have a great week.

 

Credits

Featured Image

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash.

Intro music

Move Like This by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: Texas Radio Fish, Alex Beroza, and Snowflake

Main Content Intro Music

260809 Funky Nurykabe by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.

Mailbag Music

I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

Outro music

Urbana-Metronica (wooh-yeah mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: Morusque, Jeris, CSoul, Alex Beroza