When yuh not producing, yuh got to go I suppose 
Canadian Soccer Association fires longtime chief operating officer Kevan Pipe
Nov 2. 2006 7:30 pm
By Neil Davidson
(CP) - Kevan Pipe never kicked a ball for Canada but it could be argued that he paid the price Thursday for Canada's failure on the soccer field.
The Canadian Soccer Association fired the chief operating officer after more than 20 years on the job. "
We're looking for a new direction and we felt that a change was needed," association president Colin Linford told The Canadian Press in an interview.
"We're looking for someone that maybe can give us the vision for the future," he added.
Linford did not specify the direction, but safe to say it's up.
The Help Wanted sign is now firmly up on the governing body of Canadian Soccer. The association needs to find a new technical director and men's head coach in the wake of resignations by Dick Bate and Frank Yallop.
There is much work to be done, especially on the men's side.
Canada has not qualified for the men's World Cup since 1986 and is currently ranked 71st, sandwiched between Lithuania and Venezuela.
The Canadians are ranked seventh in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The only other Canadian senior men's side to reach a FIFA global championships since 1986 is the beach soccer squad currently in Brazil.
Former Canadian captain Jason deVos called the Pipe firing "a changing of the guard."
"There will be people, I think, who feel it's long overdue," the veteran defender said from England, where he plays for Ipswich. "Inevitably Kevan bore the brunt of a lot of the frustration on the players' part, but I don't think that anyone held him personally accountable for all the wrongs of Canadian soccer."
Still, DeVos said the players have long campaigned for more accountability within the CSA.
"The association was never run as a business," deVos said. "If you're unsuccessful in business, the people at the top are held accountable. The biggest frustration that we had as players is there wasn't a great deal of accountability. It seemed like the same people had been running the association for the last 20 years."
For players, that's hard to accept. They make a living in a business where if you don't do your job, someone will take it from you.
"It's survival of the fittest at its most basic element, being a professional footballer," deVos said.
"We didn't feel that same sink-or-swim mentality was present in the association as it was for us on the field," he added.
Pipe joined the Canadian Soccer Association as executive director on Nov. 1, 1985. His title changed to COO some 10 years ago.
Under his watch, soccer has grown into the largest participatory sport in Canada with more than 850,000 registered players. His achievements including bringing world championships like the women's under-19 and men's under-20 events to Canada.
And like a sailor lashed to the helm in a nasty storm, he rode through one failed stadium plan after another until he helped put together the public and private parties needed to build the $62.9-million BMO Field in Toronto.
"I'm just incredibly proud of my record in soccer, particularly in the last five years," a subdued Pipe said in an interview Thursday.
"(I'm) very surprised," he added. "And I've been advised just to say nothing else."
He learned of his firing Thursday morning, saying he had "no inkling" it was coming.
The decision to remove Pipe was made by the CSA's executive, Linford said.
"And incidentally, it was a united decision," he added.
DeVos, who has retired from international play, says not being able to represent Canada at the World Cup is his biggest regret.
He said the players will ultimately have to put up their hands for Canada's failure to reach the sport's greatest showcase. But errors on the administrative side did not help.
"Because for a country like Canada to qualify for the World Cup we've got to get everything right."
"If you speak to anyone who's represented the men's team in the last 10 years, they'll probably all say the same thing," he added. "That there were a lot of things that were done by the association which were completely contrary to our main goal which is to qualify for the World Cup."
DeVos recalls a World Cup qualifying game in Edmonton against Trinidad and Tobago where he left the dressing room to find a reggae band on the pitch "trying to make them feel at home."
"And I thought to myself 'You must be kidding me. Would we go to Mexico and have the Barenaked Ladies playing on the pitch?"'
Players also chafed at having to fly eight times zones or more and negotiate complex itineraries to arrive in Vancouver for a qualifying match.
No doubt, Pipe did not book the reggae band or the plane connections. But he was the top paid official at the association.
"A lot of the frustration we felt as players inevitably landed on his doorstep," said deVos.
DeVos said he had never had a problem with Pipe on a personal level, calling him courteous, open and professional.
"But like I said there was so much wrong with the way things were done, the way things were run, inevitably ... most people held Kevan accountable for that."
Said former national team coach Bob Lenarduzzi: "Kevan is a guy who's put his heart and soul into the CSA over the last 20 years. You never like to see a guy in any business get let go. And certainly in Kevan's case, no one could question his work ethic and his desire to try to elevate the game in this country."
While the CSA looks for its next leader, it will have to figure out its priorities.
Most federations build around the senior men's team, because the World Cup is where the money and star power is. But Canada, lacking in pro ranks, has a huge number of women playing the game.
Attempts to split the pot has caused frustration on the men's side, knowing the team has to play more games to get better.
And in contrast to the men, the 10th-ranked Canadian women are enjoying success on the field, although a public show of dissent from three suspended veterans has spoiled the party of late.
The association has had its trials and tribulations with the women in the past, with a decision to remove player carding following the disastrous 1999 World Cup leaving Pipe and others with an ugly mess.
Now the CSA must figure out who is going to lead the men's team out of the wilderness. And how to restructure its organization.
Will it follow Alpine Canada and install a former athlete with presence like Ken Read at the helm?
Former national team players like John Catliff, Nick Dasovic and Mark Watson were cited in some quarters Thursday as savvy footballers with something to give Canadian soccer.
Pipe's firing comes exactly one week after the COO and Linford sat on a dais together while FIFA vice-president Jack Warner raved about their preparations for the 2007 world under-20 championships.
The day before the news conference with Warner, Pipe had toured the Toronto stadium site with FIFA delegates.
"I do feel a sense of pride here today," he said at the time. "To actually see it come to reality."
A happy Pipe then left the tour to climb to the top of the west stand to see the view over downtown Toronto.
Asked Thursday about his accomplishments on the job, Pipe said "a whole whack of things."
"It's been quite a ride," he said.
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