Soccer gets another path for development
TORONTO — The Canadian Premier League added depth and a place to percolate talent on Wednesday by purchasing Ontario’s League 1.
The new pro circuit says League 1 will become “an integral part of the CPL,” providing future opportunities for players “who are not quite ready, to further develop their skills and find success in the professional game.” The Canadian Premier League is slated to kick off next spring with seven teams.
Founded in 2014, League 1 started with a 10-team men’s division. It has grown to 17 men’s and 13 women’s teams. League 1 is designated as a third-division men’s league. CPL will be considered Canada’s top-flight, a top-tier league as Major League Soccer is in the U.S.
“A win-win for soccer in Ontario and really soccer in our country,” Johnny Misley, Ontario Soccer’s chief executive officer, said of the CPL deal.
“This truly provides a real solid pathway for players, even coaches and referees for that matter, to support and be one level below what is professional soccer now and a domestic league program,” he added.
“So it’s fantastic.”
League 1 is deemed a pro-am league. Most players are amateur but some teams offer a few players “modest compensation,” according to Misley.
League 1 says more than 100 of its men and women have graduated to pro soccer. Sigma FC’s Cyle Larin (now playing with Turkey’s Besiktas) and Richie Laryea (Orlando City) were selected in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. Mo Babouli, MVP of League 1 in 2014, went on to make the Toronto FC first-team roster along with fellow League 1 alumni Chris Mannella and Raheem Edwards.
Babouli, who spent a season with Al-Ittihad in the Syrian Premier League, is currently with the indoor Mississauga MetroStars while Mannella is with Ottawa Fury FC and Edwards plays for the Chicago Fire.
CPL commissioner David Clanachan says having the League 1 women’s teams provides the CPL with an entree into the women’s game.
“Because it’s one of the top three questions I get asked all the time — ‘What are you going to do about women in the future?’ Technically I’m more focused on the men’s game but this lets us at least try to help going forward.”
Clanachan says the addition of the League 1 will at the least allow the CPL to be part of the development of the women’s game. That could expand down the line.
While CPL teams will be able to put players in League 1, the new pro league sees the Ontario circuit as a place where talent can develop.
“As we grow the (CPL) we’re going to constantly be challenged with ‘OK, where are you bringing the talent from and are you developing the talent within the country as well?”’ Clanachan said.
Some CPL teams already have relationships with League 1 clubs. Hamilton’s Forge FC coach Bobby Smyrniotis, for example, is co-founder of Sigma FC which fields a League 1 team.
Clanachan says he hopes the partnership with League 1 in Ontario will serve as a model for other regions.
The seven founding CP franchises are HFX Wanderers FC (Halifax), York 9 FC (north Toronto), Forge FC (Hamilton), Valour FC (Winnipeg), FC Edmonton, Cavalry FC (Calgary) and Pacific FC (Victoria).