Canadian Soccer: By the Numbers
0 wins since 2012.
2 goals in 14 months in the men’s game.
110th ranking in Men’s soccer, out of 209 registered nations.
1 World Cup appearance. 0 goals. 0 entries since 1986.
1 Gold Cup.
7th ranking in Women’s soccer of 129 registered nations. [Only 1 other of those nations have our infrastructure and the number of girls we have playing. United States.]
A bronze medal at the Olympics in Women’s soccer.
16 allocated spots for women’s soccer league in the USA. 14 used.
0 professional women’s teams in Canada.
Nearly 1,000,000 registered players. By far the most of any sport in our country.
1 Canadian playing in the world’s top tier leagues. [England, Spain, Italy, Germany. Not many elsewhere.]
At last count 12 regular starters in the MLS who wear a maple Leaf. [Many more on rosters but as yet not regularly playing.]
Approximately 30 regularly ply their trade in the NASL.
3 Major League Soccer Teams
3 NASL teams.
2 Canadians head-coaching in the MLS.
3 head coaches in the NASL.
553 qualified A or B level coaches of which the vast majority are B level. [This does not include those involved in Canadian soccer that have UEFA badges and we are not sure how many of the 553+ are actually working within the game. Germany has over 34,000.]
10 Provinces and 3 Territories but not one organized in the same way.
0 centrally registered players.
1 newly developed semi-professional league with 10 teams for post 18yr old players.
2 newly developed High Performance youth leagues servicing approximately 1500 of our approximately 600,000 registered boys and girls youth players.
0 Private Academies competing in youth leagues.
0 National curriculums.
0 reward, financial or otherwise, for any grassroots clubs for focusing on player development.
0 specifically defined pathways for a young player to develop from youth all the way to a professional level.
A highly ranked athletic history in almost every other sport.
35,000,000 citizens of all ethnic backgrounds proud to claim Canada as home.
Top 5 ranked economy on the planet. Arguably the best place on earth to raise a family.
High quality facilities in most major cities.
20,000+ (largely female) fans showing up for Women’s qualification games in Vancouver.
As of today over 21,000,000 views by fans of World Cup coverage from our National broadcaster and countless sell-outs for our professional and national teams.
These are some of the numbers and facts. Now for some questions.
Why are we so poor on the world stage? Do we need to be?
With so many people involved in the game why do we continue with the status quo?
Why do we rarely ask hard questions of our leadership?
Why do we not demand more for our country?
When will we stop arguing that everything is fine and demand a higher standard for every player?
How can a country with our facilities and participation not do better on the world stage?
Why do we have so few qualified coaches to train our kids?
When will we put together a comprehensive plan to address these shortcomings?
A curriculum?
A league to support our U23’s?
A place for our girls to continue to develop?
When will we start to demand more from those running the game?When will you stand up, be a part of the solution and be counted?
Our country deserves more from us. You deserve more from your soccer leadership. Together we need to create change and begin to build a new future for Canadian soccer.
There is no time like the present. Will you add your name to our list? Will you spread the word to create a united voice for the future of the game in Canada & our children who now play?
A last number to consider.
1.
The person that can join in, make a difference and start real change.
You.
Please click the link and add your voice to the growing list.
notdownthemiddle.com
Go. Play Better.
Will
@WillCromack
P.S. Our solution to player development and to a team culture dedicated to supporting young players is ready and waiting for you to take advantage of. Ask how we can support you.
