A Canadian Mindset: MLS Academies

Part Four of "A Canadian Mindset", a series looking at the problems with Canadian soccer outside the CSA.

Do Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea have a obligation to develop English talent? No.

Do the Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact have an obligation to develop Canadian talent? YES!

People seem to have a difficult time grasping this concept. When confronted with the question "Do Canadian teams have an obligation to develop Canadian talent?" they often point to the European example I've just given. However theses are two completely separate issues.

First off the four English clubs I mentioned are four of ninety-two professional clubs in England. The three Canadian clubs I mentioned are the only three professional clubs in Canada. Other clubs in both countries offer part time pay, but there are a limited amount of "full-time job" clubs around.

The second main issue is that the game has reached its peak in England and isn't likely to gain any more fans in England (gaining foreign supporter is something completely different). Canada on the other hand has a completely untapped market waiting to accept Canadian soccer (as mentioned in the previous article).

Finally a somewhat I have a somewhat redundant point to make. The English national team is ranked seventh overall in the world. Canada is ranked sixty-sixth. Just imagine for a moment that the English national team was ranked sixty-sixth in the world. There would be all the pressure in the world on the English teams to produce English talent.

So yes, the professional teams in Canada do have an obligation to produce Canadian talent.

In order to best facilitate Canadian talent being developed a few things need to happen. The money needs to be there. Sorry to all the USL lovers out there but the money and infrastructure just isn't there in the USL. I know the Vancouver youth residency program has produced some great players with the Whitecaps in the USL, but in order to pay the number and quality of staff needed to make a bigger impact on the national team there needs to be an MLS infrastructure.

The salary cap may hurt developmental players who make the team (with salaries often being only $20,000/year), but it is great for academies. With Toronto so successful off the field, along with the anticipated success of Vancouver both organizations will have lots of money to spend. Academies are the way to spend this money with the end reward not only being able to raise quality players, but being able to raise quality homegrown players.

The second hurdle to overcome is of course to convince MLS to allow academies/ residency programs. Vancouver looks like they are on the road to changing the MLS rule against these types of programs. Whitecaps' president, Bob Lendarduzzi, has said that he is optimistic about the MLS implementing new rules on academy restrictions. Toronto is already laying the foundations for a full academy, and if the Montreal Impact make that jump to the MLS in the near future (which is a large possibility) they will most likely look at the benefits of an academy as well.

With the Vancouver residency program success stories such as Ethan Gage and Adam Straith is proof that the academy system in Canada can work, it just needs to be expanded on.