2009 BC Provincial Cup Finals - Men’s Open

EVENT: 2009 Provincial Cup Playoffs - Men’s Open
DATE: April 2009
LOCATION: Burnaby Lake West
Photos by Lucas Teodoro da Silva
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (6 min. in length), CLICK HERE

2009 Women’s Provincial Cup Finals (Women’s Open and U-21)

EVENT: 2009 Women’s Provincial Cup Finals (Women’s Open and U-21)
DATE: May 2009
LOCATION: Percey Perry Stadium, Coquitlam
Photos by Wilson Wong
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (3 min. in length), CLICK HERE

BC Provincial Cup Finals - U-21 Men

EVENT: 2009 Provincial Cup Finals - U-21 Men
DATE: May 2009
LOCATION: Percey Perry Stadium, Coquitlam
Photos by Chrissy Teodoro da Silva
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (6 min. in length), CLICK HERE

2009 Provincial Cup Playoffs - Men’s Open

EVENT: 2009 Provincial Cup Playoffs - Men’s Open
DATE: April 2009
LOCATION: Burnaby Lake West
Photos by Lucas Teodoro da Silva
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (6 min. in length), CLICK HERE

Imperial Cup Photo Albums

EVENT: Imperial Cup 2009
DATE: Sunday March 29, 2009
LOCATION: Kinsmen Stadium, North Vancouver
Photos by Wilson Wong Lucas Teodoro da Silva
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (6 min. in length), CLICK HERE

North Shore Coaches League Div. 2 Championships

EVENT: Norvan vs. Warriors (JIM LOWE CUP), North Shore Coaches League
DATE: Sunday March 29, 2009
LOCATION: Confederation Stadium, North Vancouver
Photos by Lucas Teodoro da Silva
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (4 min. in length), CLICK HERE

Kerrisdale Chaos Gold 2 League Champion

EVENT: Kerrisdale Chaos vs. Legends - Gold 2 League Champion
DATE: Sunday March 8th, 2009
LOCATION: Vancouver West, Shannon Park
Photos by The Soccer Paper
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (4 min. in length), CLICK HERE

U21 VMSL Championship: Westside Rinos vs. RCIU Legends

EVENT: U-21 VMSL Championship
DATE: Saturday March 21st, 2009
LOCATION: Vancouver Tech Turf
Photos by The Soccer Paper
TO VIEW PICTURE SLIDESHOW (4 min. in length), CLICK HERE

British Parliament threatens independence of Scottish, Welsh and Irish Football Associations, say critics

Great Britain has traditionally entered the Olympics as one kingdom, despite consisting of four member nations. Never has anyone put much thought into the implications of this, until now.

With London hosting the 2012 Olympics, British Sports and Tourism Minister Gerry Sutcliffe remarked that it would be a “farce” for Britain to stage an Olympic soccer tournament without having a team to play in it.

Lord Moynihan, chairman of the British Olympic Authority, told media “we must have a team at the 2012 Games, and we will have a team.”
Continue reading British Parliament threatens independence of Scottish, Welsh and Irish Football Associations, say critics…

Good-bye USL, Hello MLS? What Will Become of the USL?

by Lucas Teodoro da Silva

The truth is the Whitecaps will still be playing in the United Soccer League’s First Division for the next two years.
With the announcement in March 2009 of a Vancouver-secured MLS franchise, most local soccer fans immediately began thinking of a bright and glorious future for soccer in British Columbia – one that includes a major league team, a renovated BC Place Stadium, and perhaps even a Waterfront Stadium.
First the Seattle Sounders franchise, and now (2011) the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers are leaving the USL league to greener pastures; green, as in the colour of money.
The USL believes that its league will stay strong, though. Financially stable, the USL boasts competitive play in the CONCACAF Champions League and in the US Lamar Hunt Open Cup.
Chris Economides, Senior Director of the USL First Division spoke to The Soccer Paper. Economides has been involved in the league for over a dozen years, founding both the Carolina Railhawks FC in 2007, and the Rochester Raging Rhinos in 1995.
Economides, who is from Rochester, New York, has also owned a variety of restaurants in the Rochester area, as well as a lacrosse team and an indoor soccer team.

Soccer Paper: It seems that the USL has a pretty healthy ownership group at the moment.
CE: Yes. Right now we’re fortunate to have an extremely deep-pocketed, well-financed core of owners, which adds stability to the league. Being involved in the USL for all these years, it’s probably the strongest I’ve seen in a core group of owners.

The quality of USL play seems to be strong as well, judging by recent performances against MLS competition.
CE: I’ve been saying that for the past twelve years. Look at the success we had in Rochester, winning the [Lamar Hunt] Open Cup [in 1999, defeating three MLS teams along the way], and some of the success that we had in the [CONCACAF] Champions League Cup. If you look at what has transpired over the past twelve years…I think if you look at the USL-MLS head-to-head comparisons, they’re basically .500. The upper-echelon of USL teams – the Vancouvers, the Montreals, the Puerto Ricos, the Rochesters, the Seattles – they could compete and would make the playoffs in the MLS. The disparity between the leagues is minimal at best.

If that’s the case, what’s the appeal of the MLS? Why are teams so excited to join?
CE: Well, you know, they have the big TV contracts and the national team players. There is a perception difference. It’s the “in” thing. I don’t know how you explain Seattle…suddenly selling 20,000 season tickets [for the MLS games]. I personally can’t explain it, to be honest with you.

The USL and MLS both have very different approaches to the way they run their leagues. Which do you think is a better and more sustainable model for soccer in North America?
CE: The MLS is more centralized…the league controls the signing of the players and the salaries. Here in the USL, the franchises have more control. This is my personal opinion: I would rather have control over my own market rather than have to depend on a league where, for example, if your team is making money and the rest of the league is losing money, you have to go into your pocket. I would say that the USL model would be a more attractive model to an investor than the MLS model. Again, they’ve done some great things. When you look at David Beckham and their TV contracts and the perception of the league…but I think that our league has a lot of qualities to offer that the MLS doesn’t – one of those being more flexibility for the individual franchises.

The USL is compensating for losing Seattle by adding two new franchises this year. What is the mood at the league office?
CE: We’re very excited. If you look at the parity that the league had last year – I’ve never seen such a competitive league as I saw last year. Looking forward to this year, I see even more parity. Looking at the non-playoff teams from last year, they’ve up-graded. There’s not one team that you can say ‘Oh, that’s a guaranteed three points.’ Every game is going to be a battle. On any given day, any team can beat any team.

What does the new Austin Aztex have to offer the league?
CE: You look at [owner and president] Phil Rawlins in Austin and what he brings to the table. That franchise is going to be a very good franchise. Phil is a minority stakeholder in Stoke City in the [English] Premiership. There’s an affiliation there with player transfers back and forth. There are other franchises in the league that are doing that as well, forming overseas partnerships. That’s an exciting project for our league this year.

How about Cleveland being promoted this year?
CE: [Cleveland City Stars] were the Division Two champions last year. I think there’s a natural rivalry with Rochester, who is just three or four hours down the road. That will add a level of excitement.

There are a lot of rumours floating around about USL expansion this year. One rumour says that a new team will be starting in New York in 2010, and will call Queens home. Others mention Canadian cities like Hamilton or Halifax. Any comments?
Well I can’t comment on that. None of those talks have been made public yet. I can tell you that there were some quality ownership groups in some very attractive markets and it bodes very well for the future of the USL First Division.

Have you spoken to any of the cities that came up short with their MLS bids?
CE: As MLS makes their announcements, we have had some brief contact with some of the other potential MLS candidates. The USL is a very attractive alternative, and as things weed themselves out, I’m very hopeful that we’ll approach those groups and we can work something out for them to come into the USL First Division.

What do you see as Vancouver’s relationship with the USL after 2011?
CE: The USL and MLS can’t co-exist in the same market – I mean, that’s just my personal opinion – but Vancouver still has a PDL [professional development team] franchise within our pyramid, and the Super-Y League connection. I don’t know all the MLS regulations regarding them continuing to maintain those, but I hope that they are able to. The Vancouver model of player development is a “model” model…it should be imitated. They’ve done a tremendous job forming their academy, and Bob Lenarduzzi, who has been a friend for the past 15 years and is one of the class acts in soccer, has done a great job. I hope MLS allows a continued relationship with Vancouver in the future.

Your pyramid model of developing youth players in the Super-Y leagues, moving them up to Professional Development Leagues and USL Division 2 is a very different idea than that of the MLS, which sees itself as a professional league with a very limited development role.
CE: I use the term one-stop-shopping. We’ve proven over the course of our history that our record of player development speaks for itself. We’ve sent players to Europe and all around the world. Now we’re forging these European partnerships and I think that’s the wave of the future also. If you were to model player development, you could look no further than our pyramid structure here. We’ve been around before MLS and before there was a first division league. The USL has been a stepping-stone and a model structure for youth development and hopes to continue to be that in the future.

The USL has been around for a long time, even through the lean years when there was no other professional soccer in North America. Doesn’t it hurt to have the MLS coming along and scooping up your most successful franchises?
CE: No. It’s good for the game. You don’t find classier individuals than Mr. Kerfoot and I’m sure he’s analyzed the business aspect of it and if the people who make those business decisions see [the MLS] as being right for them, then so be it. There’s no animosity…we wish them the best. As I said, Greg Kerfoot and his partners…we wish them a successful Major League Soccer franchise and there’s no bitterness.

Here in British Columbia, another USL team, the Victoria Highlanders FC, has been mentioned as a possible replacement in the USL-1 for the Whitecaps when they exit. Do you think Victoria Highlanders will be ready in two years to take the place of the Whitecaps in USL-1?
CE: We have certain criteria, which have grown over the years. There are certain criteria that they would have to meet. We would love to continue to have a franchise in the Pacific Northwest and if they can meet those guidelines, then we look forward to working with them.