Time to follow Canada
Canada dropping the ball
CSA being blamed for stagnant state of our national men's soccer teams
By STEVE BUFFERY, TORONTO SUN
Jim Brennan, a national team member and Toronto FC midfielder, is determined to put the boots to the theory that, when it comes to the FIFA men's World Cup, Canada forever will be on the outside looking in.
It has been 22 years since Canada's first and only appearance at soccer's big dance, but Brennan believes the current national team is the most talented side to emerge in years, and is in good shape to qualify for the next World Cup, two years hence in South Africa.
At the same time, Brennan said the team will begin the qualifying process for the 2010 World Cup this June, starting with a home-and-away series against Caribbean side St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with the proverbial one hand tied behind its back.
"Regardless of how much of a shambles the Canadian Soccer Association is in at the moment, we feel that if we don't qualify (for the 2010 World Cup), we'll be letting ourselves down big-time," Brennan said.
The Toronto FC captain said the problem with qualifying comes back to the CSA, the governing body of the sport in Canada. Brennan has little faith in, and little respect for, the CSA, and he is not alone in his sentiments.
Former national team captain Jason De Vos also has described the CSA as a shambles, saying: "We need to draw up a completely new model because the existing one certainly isn't working."
Bruce Twamley, an ex-national team standout and Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, said: "Whatever success we have is despite the CSA."
That the CSA is a target for criticism, and blamed for the national team's failure to qualify for the men's World Cup, is nothing new. But that criticism has grown from a whisper to a full-blown scream as soccer becomes more popular in increasingly multicultural Canada, and fans begin to question why the team can't seem to earn decent results on the world stage and qualify for the World Cup, the biggest sporting event on the planet next to the Summer Olympics. (The women's teams have had better results internationally, although many soccer nations do not yet dedicate balanced resources to their women's programs.)
The frustration over the lack of results on the men's side has resulted in a serious call to action. A group of concerned fans has formed the Canadian Soccer Federation, an outfit determined to "execute the role of the national governing body" in Canada if the CSA doesn't get its act together, and fast.
"If they really care about the good of the game, they will get on board with some of the ideas that we have put on paper," CSF chief Dino Rossi told Sun Media. "We haven't reinvented the wheel. We've just put down what the practices are across the world (with other FIFA-sanctioned federations). And that is what we need here. We have to make some bold moves and if the CSA is not prepared to make bold moves, then step aside."
The CSF has drawn up a mission statement, vowing to "establish and nurture a culture of unparalleled transparency, accountability, inclusiveness, empowerment and respect."
Rossi told Sun Media that one doesn't need to look any further than the Fred Nykamp affair to see the CSA's ineptitude and why there needs to be a house-cleaning. Nykamp, a respected former head of Basketball Canada, was hired as CSA chief executive officer last May. He was then told in July his appointment needed approval of the CSA board of directors. One month later, the board, made up of the executive committee and presidents of each provincial organization, voted not to ratify Nykamp's appointment, and he was out. CSA president Colin Linford, who was instrumental in bringing Nykamp to the organization, resigned. A few weeks later, Nykamp launched a $1.75-million lawsuit against the CSA. Two months ago, an out-of-court settlement was reached. The amount is said to be substantial -- and ultimately avoidable if Nykamp's hiring had been handled properly in the first place.
