CSL NEWS

Canada’s attempts to strengthen its professional soccer structure suffered a set- back during November with the termination of membership of FC Edmonton in the Canadian Premier League. The club has been a high profile member of the CPL after competing in the North American Soccer League until 2017 and has been a CPL member since the league’s inaugural season in 2019. The Alberta club will no longer be in a position to play in the CPL in 2023 following a unanimous decision by the CPL board of governors to end the franchise.

Low attendances and low revenues were two of the of the reasons given for the surprise decision, which raises questions about the league’s overall attendances in an environment where a satisfactory fan presence at the games is necessary to develop media attention.  It is also one of the financial income generating components to maintain a viable business that includes considerable long distance travel for the teams, often a deterrent to coast to coast expansion in Canadian soccer.

FC Edmonton is owned by Tom and Dave Fath and was coached by Alan Koch, a former South African player including the South Africa U-23 youth national team  and who was head coach of FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer before moving to FC Edmonton. Koch was disappointed by the league’s decision, expressing to the CBC that terminating Edmonton as “one of the few historic professional clubs in the country and with the club folding, that’s not a good day for Canadian soccer.”

The CPL’s average per match attendance during the 2022 season was just over 3,000 from each of the eight teams in membership. As a comparison, the National Soccer League, which played as a regional league in Ontario and Quebec during the period 1926 to 1998 reached a similar average attendance during its later years when all matches were played at Stanley Park in Toronto. In 1998 the NSL merged with the Canadian Professional Soccer League and the CPSL was rebranded in 2006 to be known as today’s Canadian Soccer League (CSL).  The Canadian Soccer League hit that attendance number on occasion, but only following the addition of Serbian White Eagles in 2006, a team with a reputation for success after reaching the final of the North American Championship in 1975.

The termination of  FC Edmonton and the attendance level of Canada’s coast to coast professional league following its fourth year of operation has again raised the question of what defines an ideal professional soccer structure to accommodate elite players in Canada and position Canada as a serious contender on the world stage.

It’s been a decade since the Rethink Management Group, based in the United States, was commissioned by the Canadian Soccer Association (now Canada Soccer) to study level 2 soccer in Canada. The study included recommendations for a restructuring with emphasis on player development in a pro league environment, which triggered a CSA decision that the Canadian Soccer League would cease to be sanctioned.  (The CSL first received the news from a media person following a CSA office leak and was then advised by the Canadian Soccer Association with a formal notice on February 13, 2013.)

The CSL was Canada’s top soccer league at the time with a history going back to 1925, was in good standing and had a clean sheet without any guilty discipline issues off the field of play. It was a direct member of the Canadian Soccer Association following an arrangement to separate from its previous direct governing body Ontario Soccer Association. The league, which also had aspirations to expand on a regional basis across Canada, was rocked by the decision.

The CSL sought the advice of a constitutional specialist who advised that in the decision to de-sanction there were numerous contradictions to the CSA Constitution and Bye-laws, including that it is the CSA’s duty to act fairly with the right to a fair hearing. There are specific rights afforded CSA members when their membership is in jeopardy, all of which were ignored. With just weeks away from exhibition games and  a new season close to kickoff, there  was no consideration given the league’s member clubs, their financial investments, their sponsorships, hundreds of player contracts and agreements, their livelihood.

The league appealed the decision to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC), a branch of the federal government which released its findings on April 23, 2013. Justice Hugh L. Fraser considered the  decision to de-sanction the Canadian Soccer League heavy handed, that the Canadian Soccer League was denied fairness and natural justice. Justice Fraser ruled that the CSL be reinstated  immediately and that the league be given 12 months to February 13, 2014 to  minimize disruption to its operations, and to seek and be given the opportunity to be  accepted into membership with an alternative governing body.

The Canadian Soccer League did not accept new governance and has soldiered on to play attractive soccer as a private league in the Canadian soccer community with a large number of seasoned professionals with international experience, as well as local players who benefit in a player development environment.

The Canadian Soccer League was never consulted when the Rethink Management Group filed its recommendations for a future professional soccer structure in Canada late 2012. The recommendations were similar to the CSL’s beliefs that given Canada’s vast geography professional soccer be played  on a regional basis to avoid the high cost of travel. The CSL also favoured a player development environment and in the three years leading up to the Rethink Management Group study more than 40 CSL players were selected for various national teams – mostly youth teams. Bermuda-born Andre Manders, a 26 year old full back  with the CSL’s York Region Shooters commented at the time: “Playing for the Shooters definitely helped me get into the national team of Bermuda and probably helped me get into the starting 11”. Mississauga Eagles FC, the professional team with the Erin Mills Soccer Club, head coach Josef Komlodi had several players on trial in Europe and commented at the time: “Playing in the CSL has helped these players polish their skills to now play at international levels,” while Thomas Rongen, academy director for Toronto FC and former U.S. U-20 men’s national team head coach said he prefers the CSL to the highly touted United States  Soccer Development Academy where the competition is considered to be the top tier of youth soccer in the United States. Paul Beirne, Director of Business Operations for Toronto FC also said “When we needed to find a league that would test the mettle of the best players we wanted someone that would test then technically, physically and tactically.

While the CSL gained much sympathy, the match fixing scandal that plagued the league from 2009 to 2016 was certainly on the minds of the Canadian Soccer Association, but the CSA has been steadfast when questioned many times, explaining that the decision to de-sanction had nothing at all to do with manipulation of games. That being the case, however, does not mean the CSA believes the CSL is lilly white innocent.

The match fixing allegations all began when an accused in a German court commented that match fixing was everywhere, even in Canada. A Canadian Soccer League match at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec was fixed, it was said under oath. The match details and result – a win for the home team- were considered to be a reasonable reflection of where the two teams stood in the league standings. It was considered that the accused was attempting to give a perspective by playing down his small match fixing activity against what is  common practice world-wide.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper in England also reported that suspicious betting activity was evident in the CSL following a report by the International Centre for Sport Security. There were rumours abound.

The CSL management considered the allegations becoming unmanageable and sought help from the Canadian Soccer Association, but was turned down. Both CONCACAF and FIFA also refused to assist, with explanations that it was a local problem that needed help from within Canada. The Ontario Provincial Police carried out a brief investigation but handed the case over to the RCMP due to any fraud that may have developed is considered international activity. Bets were being placed overseas on the Canadian matches. The RCMP ceased its investigation with a conclusion that the manipulation of certain games by a small minority group may be taking place, but considered the league needed support to work through its difficult time to a satisfactory conclusion.

The Canadian Soccer Association had experienced match fixing after all when the men’s national team, eliminated from the 1986 World Cup in Mexico then played in the Merlion Cup competition in Singapore. Several players accepted a bribe to fix a match and  funds were distributed to certain players. The fix was confirmed and charges were laid but the Canadian court ruled that prosecution could not take place in its jurisdiction and should be dealt with in Singapore where the criminal offence took place.

The Canadian Soccer League sought help and ended up with a decade of privacy. It concluded that all members of the soccer community, including soccer governance, must do their part to believe in the beautiful game, that in doing so will make sure it stays beautiful.

UPCOMING –  Looking back, a CSL retrospective of highlights from 2022

Stan Adamson

Goalkeeper Anatoly (The Wall) Starushchenko is well named and for those fortunate enough to see the cliff hanger championship final won 2-1 by Continentals FC  at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto on August 27, it became obvious as the match progressed that opposition Scarborough were facing a special challenge with its numerous second half rallies on the Continentals’ net.

Continentals took an early second half 2-1 lead in the final match of the 2022 season and as the 40 minutes remaining in regular time went by, Scarborough became relentless and desperate to score an equalizer, fighting for a chance at extra time and eventual victory in the fast-paced increasingly physical encounter. The two sides were the most successful during the past five years in the Canadian Soccer League and the match was one of the most attractive during the current season.

Starushchenko, 34,  would be a standout with any team is the impression from a stadium seat. The Ukrainian-born ‘keeper appears always to get in the way of a ball that might reach the net. Yet his journey in soccer while impressive, fails to reveal the rewards expected for an obvious special player during the 15 years he has toiled in the higher levels of the game on both sides of the Atlantic.

Starushchenko played most of his soccer in Ukraine and Tajikistan in Central Asia before signing for FC Vorkuta in 2019 where he featured prominently in first division league titles, championships and the ProSound Cup victory .

Continentals FC look for more of Anatoly Starushchenko in 2023.

A WELCOME WORLD CUP

With a November 20 Sunday morning kickoff of host Qatar against Ecuador, the World Cup gets underway and it’s always of special interest to CSL members — players, club officials and volunteers – many with their homeland teams taking part. We all have at least one team to cheer for in Canada, while some members have two with Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, England coming to mind.

A special thought for our Brantford Galaxy’s Bosko Borjan with son Milan Borjan in goal for Canada and let’s not forget that two players in this World Cup for Canada– Jonathan Osorio and Atiba Hutchinson = were players in the CSL.

The group matches are daily with Canada’s first game against Belgium (2^nd in the FIFA rankings) this coming Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2 pm. Quarterfinals start December 9 and 10, Semifinals December 13 and 14, the third place will be played on December 17. The World Cup Final is December 18.

Stan Adamson

Sasa Vukovic is making an early start to his club’s preparations for the 2023 season. The owner and general manager of Hamilton City is concentrating on his coaching in an effort to move the combined BGHC 1 team more competitive.

File Magdenovski is under a new 2-year contract as an assistant coach following the one year agreement when signed on arrival from his native Macedonia in 2021.

“File has a strong technical background in Europe and we again look forward to his coaching and fitness skills as we step into a new season,” said Vukovic.

Hamilton City and Brantford Galaxy merged during the restrictions of the Covid 19 pandemic to be represented as BGHC 1 and this arrangement between the two close neighboring communities just west of Toronto is expected to continue into 2023.

There was plenty of excitement but no surprises from the bench when Mykola Temniuk struck that winning goal for Continentals FC early in the second half of the 2021 CSL championship final against Scarborough SC at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto that Saturday night last August 27. There was no surprise when the talented Ukrainian striker tied the game 1-1 just before half time after opponents Scarborough took a 1-0 lead shortly after kickoff.

Temniuk is a prolific goalscorer with a history of similar match-winning efforts in Europe and in Canada. After establishing himself as a standout in the amateur leagues in Ukraine, followed by a season in Poland, Temniuk returned to Ukraine where his goalscoring assisted FC Ahrobiznes Volochysk in its promotion to the Ukrainian Second Division. Temniuk was also the league’s leading goalscorer with 18 goals in 18 games.

Temniuk signed for FC Vorkuta in 2019 to be the CSL’s leading goalscorer that season, helped by a hat-trick on June 15 and ending the season with 18 goals to top the first division scorers. That was the year FC Vorkuta’s led the first division with a goals tally of 66 while winning the first division title.

The long-time adage ‘it’s goals that count’ is given emphasis by the FC Vorkuta/Continentals goal scoring record while winning 11 titles in the six seasons since entering the Canadian Soccer League in 2017.

That’s surprising. And outstanding.

It sometimes takes a decade, but a promising striker from earlier days in the Canadian Soccer League has finally hit the $1 million a year mark.

Jonathan Osorio, who started playing soccer in Brampton and Mississauga on the fringes of Toronto and was signed on a professional contract with the CSL’s  SC Toronto in 2012 to be  awarded the semi-pro league’s Rookie of the Year award while one of the league’s top scorers, has reached a milestone with an annual salary of $1,026,250 with his present club Toronto FC.

Osorio played 17 times for SC Toronto in 2012, helping his side finish third in the CSL first division to make the championship playoffs before being eliminated by Serbian White Eagles.

Doneil Henry, a talented centre-back with Toronto FC, who in 2009 and 2010 also took his first step into professional soccer in the CSL, is presently earning an annual salary with the Toronto MLS team of $403,000. 

Seven Toronto FC players earn more than $1 million, including recent signing Lorenzo Insigne being the highest paid with an annual salary of close to $15 million. Insigne, who was signed from Napoli of the Italian Serie A, has a four-year contract to mid-2026. Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley is paid $1.5 million.

 There are 11 players with Toronto FC in the information released by the MLS Players Association that were earning during the past season less than $100,000 annually.

Osorio is one of a procession of CSL players  to reach a high level in Canada or other parts of the world, including midfielder Atiba Hutchinson who made a brief appearance for York Region Shooters of the CSL before being transferred to the Toronto Lynx of the U.S.-based A-League. Hutchinson was then signed by Oster of Sweden, is now captain of Besiktas of Turkey and captain of the Canadian World Cup team on its way to Qatar. He has made 97 national team appearances.

The list of CSL players having reached top flight soccer has grown since Hutchinson stepped on a ground in Scarborough for the York Region-based Shooters in 2002, and the list continues with one of the most recent been Israeli-born striker Fadi Salback who was  transferred by FC Vorkuta (now Continentals FC) to FC Podiliava Khmelnytskyi of the Ukrainian Second Division.

 Stan Adamson

The Enio Perruzza Memorial Trophy competition, originally scheduled to be played at the end of the 2022 season, has been postponed to early season 2023.

The right stadium availability late in the season and other difficulties led to a recent Canadian Soccer League decision to move the competition into next year.

 Enio Perruzza, who died unexpectedly on January 15, 2021 at the age of 54, announced over 3,000 mostly Canadian Soccer League and Ontario Cup matches over two decades. Known in the soccer community in southern Ontario as the voice of the CSL, Perruzza’s booming voice also raised the volume at international matches involving high level teams from overseas, including Benfica, Red Star Belgrade, the Mexican under 20 side and the Italian military team. Perruzza  held a pride also in being invited to announce 18 Ontario Cup finals and the occasional appointment to provide colour commentary on television.

“Enio was an important member and colleague in the CSL for many years while serving the soccer community and a delay enables us to pay tribute adequately,” said Dragan Bakoc, president of the CSL.

Canadian Soccer League  2022 – SUMMARY

 CSL LEAGUE TITLE: Serbian White Eagles   RUNNER-UP: York Region Shooters

 CSL CHAMPIONSHIP

 QUARTER-FINALS

Serbian White Eagles and York Region Shooters gained a bye to the semi-finals.

Continentals FC 2, Toronto Falcons 0

Scarborough SC 3, BGHC 2

 SEMI-FINALS

Serbian White Eagles 0,  Continentals FC 2

Scarborough SC 3,  York Region Shooters 1 (after extra time)

 CSL CHAMPIONSHIP – FINAL

Scarborough 1 Continentals FC 2

There is little doubt that the Canadian Soccer League has earned a reputation for attractive soccer with good pace while being confined for decades to a regional location in the middle of the country. The league has become well-known also for importing many high level players and a select number of coaches on visas. Most return to their various countries, usually in Europe, while others decide to remain in Canada and eventually become Canadian citizens.

 There are two sides to Serbian White Eagles. On one side the club has been a prominent player in the import game, resulting in considerable success on the field of play, while the less known and less obvious side is the encouragement and development of its young kinship that has resulted in a number of players of star quality in the Canadian soccer community.

 The transfer of good players from overseas to the Canadian club began in earnest when in 1973 nine players were brought from the former Yugoslavia to form a more serious professional structure and  more competitive in the National Soccer League, the forerunner league of today’s CSL. Serbian White Eagles has usually exhibited a proud stance and anything less than impressive does not bode well in the local Serbian community.

 Success came in 1975 when Serbian White Eagles became the first Canadian team to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The Toronto area team lost to Mexican side CF Monterrey in Mexico, but  to reach the final was a gigantic step which attracted a lot of attention in the community and with the media.

 Serbian White Eagles then took a step back to play at the amateur level and re-grouped in 2006 to become a member of the semi-professional Canadian Professional Soccer League, today’s CSL. Dragoslav Sekularac, a former Yugoslav international with more than 40 national team appearances and a reputation for having been one of the top players in Europe, was brought to Canada as head coach. It all paid dividends as Serbian White Eagles were back in the spotlight to become one of the most successful clubs in the CSL’s long history. The team was also one of the most popular attractions in Canadian soccer while breaking records with high home and away attendances.

 While players brought from Europe take most of the credit for the Toronto team’s considerable success, there has also been an underlying player development program going on in the local community and the recent appearance of Dejan Jakovic in the past season’s CSL games is a reminder of this.

 Born in the former Yugoslavia, Jakovic was kindergarten age when in 1991 he arrived with his family to settle in Canada. He played his youth soccer in Toronto, Brampton and Vaughan and also at the University of Alabama. He was a standout to eventually be considered good enough to earn a trial with Red Star Belgrade. Jakovic was retained to play several games for the top Serbian club and it was during this period he was also considered by coaches at home to be one of the top youth defenders in Canada. He was impressive while appearing for Canada’s under 23 side and debuted for the Canadian national team in a winning game against Martinique in 2008. During the following decade, Jakovic made 41 national team appearances.

 Jakovic signed for DC United of Major League Ssoccer in 2009, making approx. 100 appearances over four seasons as a well-established defender. He then ventured to Japan to accept a contract with Shimizu 5-Pulse, a top club in that country, playing for three years before returning to MLS with New York Cosmos and Los Angeles FC. This was followed by a brief stint with Las Vegas Lights of the USL.

 Returning to Canada in 2021, Jakovic joined Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League and was then signed by Serbian White Eagles in the 2022 season, playing his first game, a 1-1 draw against Toronto Falcons on June 26.

 At 37 and in the twilight of a great career Jakovic played in his usual centre-back role while playing out the CSL season. At 6ft. 2 inches he was one of the tallest players on the field, showed good positional play including moving up for his team’s corner kicks, challenged hard when necessary, distributed the ball with accuracy and exhibited a style that reflected the great player he has been, and still is to this day. “It’s great to have Dejan on the side and he’s made a big difference,” said club president Dragan Bakoc at a game early August.

 Following a slow early season start, Serbian White Eagles went on to win its fifth CSL regular season title since entering the league in 2006.

Stan Adamson

Scarborough will extend an unusual achievement to now be in the CSL championship final for the sixth time in succession when the Toronto east side team meets opposition Continentals FC at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto on August 27.

Scarborough defeated York Region Shooters 3-1 in the second game of a double-header semi-final at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday, while Continentals FC eliminated Serbian White Eagles 2-0 in the opener.

Serbian White Eagles kicked off with confidence in the first game of a double header following a regular season ending with a four-game winning streak that decided the league title. Several early attempts following kickoff  came close to scoring, including a drive by midfielder Nikola Durkovic intended for the left corner and saved by Continentals’ goalkeeper Anatolii Starushchenko. Serbian White Eagles’ defender Adrian Cann drove over the bar at 13 minutes, and other near misses followed.

But it was a breakaway opportunity for Continentals that changed the course of the game at 28 minutes when White Eagles’ goalkeeper Marko Kostic met the ball in a 50/50 challenge on the edge of the box. Kostic was still handling the ball inches outside of the 18 yd. line, causing the assistant referee to raise the flag and leaving a yellow or red card decision for the offence up to the referee. The referee chose the red card which suggests a deliberate attempt to stop an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Kostic was replaced by Bojan Zoranovic who was beaten by a deflected shot by Continentals midfielder Bogdan Borovskyi three minutes later and the ball crossed the line inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.  Serbian White Eagles had near misses closing in on the end of the first half, including a strong drive from 20 yars that crashed the crossbar. It was 1-0 at the interval.

Continentals midfielder Basel Rashrash struck from seven yards at the 78^th minute for a 2-0 result at the final whistle.

Continentals’ coach Viktor Raskov commented following the game of Serbian White Eagles being a good team “But following the goal we were in a position to control the game and that went well with our players,” he said.

Scarborough took the lead at seven minutes on a goal by Misel Klisara and York Region Shooters tied on a goal by forward Mahmood Mehdi at the 33^rd minute mark. The second half was well played and at times physical with frequent cautions and ended with a 1-1 tie and extra time.

York Region Shooters defender Sabree Doka was shown a second yellow card and was ejected, followed by a Scarborough penalty kick for Klisara’s second goal 17 minutes into extra time, a 2-1 lead resulting from a hand ball in the box.  

Scarborough forward Taha Ilyass struck Scarborough’s third goal 23 minutes into extra time for a 3-1 result at the final whistle.

Scarborough head coach Mirko Medic was surprised to not be playing against Serbian White Eagles in the upcoming final following that team’s recent form in winning the league title, “but we are pleased to be in there after missing so many early chances to score. We picked it up and then played well. I now look forward to the final with Continentals and expect a tough game,” he said

The CSL Championship Final is set for Saturday, August 27, an 8 pm kickoff at Lamport Stadium in Toronto