Catching Them All

A Letter to the President of Canada Soccer

To the President of Canada Soccer,

I’m not quite sure how to start this message. I’ve tried numerous times over the last few weeks. The best I can conjure up is a simple thank you.

To be clear, we don’t know each other, but I followed your journey across Canada through posts shared by my friend, Matthew Young of FSQ Sports, on social media. I am a diehard soccer man from Canada, which, as I’m sure you can relate, has not been easy for the last thirty-plus years.

Being on the ground level in the football world, with all its battles and politics, is challenging. So upon hearing of your cross-country tour to listen to problems and issues firsthand, I was pleasantly surprised. Although it may be difficult to eliminate my skepticism, I felt it was probably the single best thing a Canada Soccer official could do, regardless of an approaching World Cup or the recent success of our national teams suggesting everything is dandy in soccer land.

It is not.

There is little trust between almost any layer of this chaotic, overinflated albatross we call Canadian soccer. Seeing you put yourself out there, in what could easily have been shelved due to the time constraints of the coming World Cup, was, simply put, emboldening.

This was even more impressive following the Future of Sport Commission report, which concluded that sport in Canada needs systemic change. It released seventy-plus recommendations that very few in our country have read or even synthesized. I’m not sure why all national sport organizations aren’t treating this report with the seriousness it deserves, but I can only assume our population is as apathetic to these calls to action as they are to war, climate change, or any number of things scrolling past their daily feeds. Sadly, this is the world we live in. Again, thank you for handling these recommendations with the respect they require and being first to mobilize, despite the likely barbs and arrows one receives when they step out in public.

Anyway, I digress.

Trust-building through real conversations, however short, is probably the only way to begin to unravel and reimagine this sport in Canada. Without knowing the details of these face-to-face meetings, I expect you were heartily welcomed but also subjected to hearing things that weren’t particularly pleasant. To listen and start real conversations is impressive, and I’m quite sure nobody has stated as much, at least publicly. Your organization didn’t say anything either, and besides, starting honest dialogue isn’t exactly fodder for the doomscrolling crowd who want entertainment, not substance.

As a Canadian football supporter, I want you to know I noticed, and I am thankful for the time and energy you put in.

Now, if you have time to carry on reading, I’d like to add some thoughts.

Canada Soccer is not alone in its desire to promote or commit capital to the top of the pyramid. The national teams and pathways to excellence are, after all, what sells. I have travelled many countries as a football player and, especially now as a coach, I know we are not unique. “Player development” has become a catchphrase that simply means “find me the best players available, no matter the cost.” Winning at the top means more eyeballs and thus more capital.

But everywhere we look, the base of the pyramid is eroding. coaches are exhausted, and costs are on the rise for almost everything. The excellence pathway continues to skyrocket to unattainable levels for many families in Canada. You have listened to many board members and regional operators, but while I don’t think local clubs have it all together, let me simply say, it’s difficult down here.

When I think about what it feels like to work in Canadian soccer today, I keep returning to one image, one that captures both the innocence of the players and the weight of responsibility on those of us trying to protect them.

“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some games in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids and nobody’s around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they are running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out of somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d like to be. I know it’s crazy.”
— J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

I watch and try, like so many of my peers, but we are losing players, and we can’t catch them all. Personally, it’s sad. I watch as a new batch of parent coaches enrol to try their luck; no plans, no north star before them, and not a clue what development means. Owners and operators take the money, and it flows out in all directions, for escalating field costs, registration fees, and to support, we hear, our national teams. Everybody is lost. Falling over the cliff, and we can’t catch them. I wish we could.

Yet the veneer of new pro leagues and improved national teams keeps smiles on the faces of those who don’t know the boat has a leak, and has had one for many years.

As I finish this letter, I see a new, shiny document has dropped from your partners, Canada Soccer Business, operators of the Canadian Premier League. A new vision for soccer in Canada, one seemingly ready to take advantage of the glow from a home World Cup. At first, I thought this was another PDF delivered from Canada Soccer itself. You know the kind: another “Wellness to World Cup” concept without accountability or even a clue how to make it come true. I gave it short shrift, as my soccer skepticism remains a problem.

However, upon further inspection and after more outlets picked up the story, I realized this wasn’t your organization sending us the One Vision. Frankly, I’m a little surprised nobody at Canada Soccer even mentioned it publicly.

It was a different “One Vision for All.” Another version.

In this document, there is talk of unifying every registrant in Canada under an entity that presumably wants to enhance soccer’s footprint, but also to own the sport in Canada. Mention is made of youth leagues and women’s football, alongside national team ambitions.

I’m left a little perplexed, so perhaps you could help me, and maybe the rest of the country, understand: who is running the show?

There appear to be four “top of the pyramid” entities with a say in how all this works, all presumably with the best interest of the game in mind, so forgive me for misunderstanding. There’s the American owned Soccer United Marketing arm, which our new men’s league models itself after and which has a big influence on our best young talent as well as on fan attention. Then Canada Soccer Business, which runs the CPL and is from our understanding, partnered with Canada Soccer, at least contractually. The new women’s league, the Northern Super League, has partnered with Canada Soccer as well, at the very least in funding terms. Did the NSL support or know about the One Vision from CSB? And finally, there’s Canada Soccer itself, your organization, the leader as authorized by FIFA itself and the entity that manages with its regional partners (Provincial and Territory Sport Bodies) the masses of youth and adult soccer along with national teams (amongst other things I am sure.)

Vision presentation from Canada Soccer Business: https://cansb.ca/article/canadian-soccer-business-introduces-new-vision-for-its-role-in-the-future-of-the-game-in-canada

The above may sound critical, but it comes from a place of genuine care. I don’t raise these points to assign blame, only to express how disorienting the landscape feels for those of us working within it. Amid all the competing visions and ownership structures, it’s hard to see where accountability begins or ends, and even harder to see who truly cares for the supporters and the players, beyond their wallets. That’s why your decision to step out, listen, and engage directly matters so much: it cuts through the noise and reminds people that leadership can still be human.

Mr. Augruso: somebody taking the time to begin an honest and long-needed conversation about the state of the game, with stakeholders across the country, is actually incredible from where I sit. I’m struck by how simple it is to do, yet how complicated the solutions are. I’m reminded of the Belgian football renaissance, when the country’s top technical director drove from corner to corner, listening and strengthening the trust between the federation and the clubs so they could reach their potential.

Thank you for beginning this process. Thank you for suggesting new ways Canada Soccer can reach its potential. Thank you for listening.

And please, remember us down here, standing for these very young kids. They may only wear a red jersey in the crowd one day, but they are vastly important to the future of the country and our game. Because we can’t catch them all — and yet we must keep trying.

At your service, and with regards,
Will

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Past articles you might like on The Art of Football:

The Examined Game: Bielsa In Bilbao

No Longer The Beautiful Game

The Death of the Playground

He Told Me to F##k Off… So I Gave Him the Captain’s Armband

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