Existential dread and the CanPL

One team in; one team out (and another rebrand to boot!)

I’m tired. So very tired, really. Supporting Canadian soccer can be an exhausting pursuit, at times, and this last week has been particularly challenging.

Unless you are a Whitecaps fan, I suppose. They’re a good team and they have as good a chance as anyone left to lose to Miami in MLS Cup on a dodgy 90th-minute penalty call. Maybe I’ll talk about that more, but honestly, there are better places to get your Whitecaps news than from a tired, old fan in Toronto.

Today, I want to focus on the CanPL and the deep-felt anxiety I have about its future.

Back when this league started in 2019, a lot of people were quick to dismiss it. “It will fold in three years” was a statement I heard a lot. “It has no chance,” they would follow it up with.

My response was consistent: “The league will not fold in three years,” I would say. “There is far too much commitment from the owners to get through the early growing pains.”

Then, quietly, under my breath, I would say: “The concern is what happens after 2026. They will push to get to the World Cup in the hope that they get a bump from the big show coming to (two) town(s).

We are 5 weeks from 2026 now. So I was right. The league did last to the World Cup — I think we can safely assume they aren’t going to throw the keys on the table in the next 6 months. I think, unfortunately, I was also right to worry about the dedication of the investors to stick with it after the World Cup is over, especially if there isn’t a significant bump from having part of the tournament here.

The canary in this coal mine was the death of Valour last week. I should have written about this sooner, but frankly, I was too depressed to address it. There’s no good spin from a team giving up. I don’t think it means Winnipeg is a bad market — no more than I thought that Edmonton was a bad market — but it’s now a market that has been poisoned by the CanPL.

We all know the villains of this affair are the owners — and their lack of support was nothing short of shameful— but, unfortunately, readers of the 24th Minute don’t make up the typical soccer fan in this country. To a normie, the owners are a non-factor. The CanPL is just a failed league that they are unlikely to trust again, even if new ownership and a suitable stadium magically appear.

So, that’s two markets that have a negative feeling towards the CanPL — two of the biggest markets in the country, I hasten to add. Three, if we include Saskatoon and the mess that took place there. We ae running out of places to try and put teams. That’s not a good thing.

There are some good things, obviously. Ottawa has been very strong. Halifax has proven itself to be a soccer town and Forge and Cavalry are the rocks that make up the foundation. Four teams don’t make up a league, though.

So, we are reliant on the MLS market teams to get stronger (Strong in Laval’s case, since we don’t know what it will look like yet) and that’s been a big ask.

I mentioned the Whitecaps above. Success for the ‘Caps isn’t necessarily going to help Vancouver FC, which plays nowhere near* Vancouver, unhelpfully.

*In context. The burbs have never shown to be a great place for sports teams in either Vancouver or Toronto over the years.

Which brings me to York United.

Sigh. Sorry. Inter Toronto. Three re-brands in eight years and that is what they landed on? Seriously? Like, does the league understand that literally the least of York’s problems (I’m not calling them the new, idiotic name. It’s my blog and I don’t need accreditation) was the name?

The name was pretty good, actually. Now…it’s objectively awful and someone should stop them from doing this before it’s too late.

Seriously, don’t be daft. It’s a bad, bad, bad derivative name that will actively drive some fans (of AC Milan, of which there are plenty in Toronto) away. Someone shake some sense into these people.

ANYWAY, where was I?

Oh yeah. I’m tired. And really worried. The 2026 season sees the CanPL at a critical point with its very survival at stake. So, misguided rebrands are the last thing that is needed right now.