A pathway to success
World Cup success starts a long way from the bright lights
News out of Halifax might not seem like it has much, if anything, to do with Canada’s World Cup journey. And, if you are only focused on the here and now, it’s hard to argue that it does.
However, for those with a longer vision, there should be an understanding that for Canada to be more of a role player at a World Cup then the country needs to do more than take advantage of a couple world class players happening to develop at the same time.
For that to happen, we need the overall system to be strong and for there to be a recognized pathway for talent to be discovered, developed and moved up to a higher level.
Pretty basic stuff, really. But, if you are new to following Canadian soccer you might not be fully aware of how lacking the system here has been in this regard.
So, for the newer fans, a brief primer:
Up until 2019, Canada did not have a domestic league of its own. We were one of three countries in the world to not have one. To say that was embarrassing is an understatement.
We did have (still do) three teams in MLS, which gave us the beginnings of a system, but since that is an American league the needs of Canada were always an afterthought — not completely ignored, but not prioritized either.
If you stick with me in the days that follow the World Cup, you’ll get coverage on what the MLS teams do for Canada, but you’ll get more coverage on what they do for their market — those teams should be focusing on doing what’s best to produce a winning MLS record. That’s not always going to vibe with what’s best for the Canadian system. There’s a lot more to this conversation, but, for now, we will leave it at that.
The Canadian Premier League is where you need to look to build the Canadian system. That’s where we should demand Canadians be prioritized.
Ok, background established, let’s get back to Halifax.
The news I referenced at the top of the article was the hiring of Patrice Gheisar as the Wanderers new manager. Alone, that may not seem like much, but Gheisar’s hire represents the first time that a coach has been “promoted” from the highest amateur level of the game (League1 Ontario) to get a shot at the pro game. It’s the type of opportunity that coaches in other countries have long taken for granted but has been denied to Canadians.
It should be self-evident as to why you would want to encourage talented people to stay in coaching, but in case it isn’t, it’s because they are the people that will be developing the next generation of players.
Make no mistake either. Gheisar is talented. He had the best record in League1 over the last two seasons and absolutely earned his shot.
The hope is that this type of hire won’t be out of the ordinary in the future, but the reality is that we are still getting the basic stuff down. New fans may not be at the point yet where they are interested in following the nitty-gritty of CanPL (or even MLS for that matter) and that’s fine. We hope you might get there one day, but we’re also glad to have you along for the ride now.
However, please do understand that for the good times to keep rolling at the National Team level, we need the base to be healthy. Today’s news out of Halifax is a sign that its trending that way.
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