You might be aware that in the past few weeks, thanks to the launch of BetScorum, I have been developing a big interest in soccer. I have been a betting machine in recent days and today I even placed a bet on the Columbian Premier League. I never thought that I would actually say that but here we are. My new found interest in soccer has me paying attention to soccer news on my side of the world as well. Here in North America, the big league is the MLS but there are many other leagues that compete as well. It turns out that there is lots of soccer drama right here in my own backyard.
Here in Ottawa, Canada, there has been some big soccer news that has some Ottawa soccer fans looking for answers. For the past several years, Ottawa has been home to the Ottawa Fury Football Club, a professional soccer team in the United Soccer League. The club joined the league two years ago after moving over from the North American Soccer League. The team has become very popular in the Ottawa community and has been showing some solid development within the USL. The USL is a professional soccer league that has teams all over the United States and Canada. It is sanctioned as a Division II league and its close relationship with the MLS makes it a strong development league for potential higher level pros.
The Ottawa Fury's future became very murky last week when CONCACAF, the governing body for North American football associations, revoked the Fury's authorization to play in the USL in this upcoming season. The reason for this roadblock being put up in front of the team is that there is a new Canadian League set to start in 2019. The Canadian Premier League is a new tier 1 professional league that will feature only Canadian based teams. Although the Ottawa Fury is Canadian based, they decided that they wanted to continue playing in the USL. The USL is considered a higher level league and it has connections with the MLS that make it a more desirable league to play in. The Canadian Soccer Association has already given the team permission to stay in the USL for 2019 but CONCACAF has determined that this should not happen.
CONCACAF has determined that there are no strong enough arguments for the Canadian based team to continue to play in the US-dominated USL when there is a perfectly viable league right here in Canada to participate in. This last-minute decision has Ottawa Fury management and officials looking for answers and trying to decide how to proceed. There is concern that the Fury's season might be in Jeopardy if they don't give in and commit to playing in the CPL, a commitment that would need to come soon given the timeline for the beginning of the season.
Fans are on the fence about the decision and views seem split. While it is unfortunate that the team can't stay in the USL, it is also nice to have a strong organization be part of the inaugural season for the CPL. Having said that, it is very possible that the team will be playing in a lower quality league and therefore the development of the players within the organization could be in serious jeopardy. This could make it difficult for the Fury to continue signing the same quality of players to play for them. Fans have been very supportive or the organization and the sport of soccer has grown in popularity significantly since the Fury came to town.
My biggest question is about the affiliation that the Fury has made with the Montreal Impact of the MLS. This affiliation is built on the Fury being part of the USL and the MLS has no connection with the new CPL at this point. It concerns me that the team is being forced into this decision by a governing body for all of North and Central America when the Canadian Soccer Association has already given the team permission to remain in the USL. I think that having a Canadian team playing at a higher level is good for soccer in the country as a whole. It is an unfortunate situation and I understand that the Ottawa Fury are the only Canadian team in the USL, but it has been showing some really strong growth in that league and the move will be a step back for the entire organization.
It's not the English Premier League or La Liga but soccer is growing in Canada. Every year, more and more people are watching and playing soccer. Soccer always has to compete with Canada's game for popularity. Hockey rules here in Canada but soccer is steadily gaining. Having two MLS teams and an affiliated USL team has been a big part of that growth and I feel that these teams should be left to continue playing in their current leagues for now. My long-term hope is that the CPL will be successful and the quality of the football will be high. Maybe in time, the CPL will become a strong thriving league with affiliations and relationships with bigger professional leagues but for now, Ottawa needs to continue growing in the stronger USL. Sadly, it doesn't appear that this will happen.
What are your thoughts on the situation here in Ottawa? Should the higher governing body be intervening and overruling the CSL's decision to let the Fury continue playing in the USL? Do you think there will be a negative impact on the team as I do?
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