Canada Cup bringing high-quality soccer
By MORRIS DALLA
COSTA, Free Press Sports Columnist
Two years ago, it was the Primus
Cup. This year it will be the Canada Cup.
London City coach and general
manager Harry Gauss continues to do his best to bring top-quality soccer
competitions to London.
The Canada Cup is the Canadian Professional Soccer
League's league cup championship. The 14 teams play each other throughout the
year in double-elimination competition with the surviving teams meeting in this
tournament.
Five teams, including London City, which qualifies as the host
team, will play at Cove Road Field in London Sept. 27-29.
London City will
play an elimination game on the Friday night for a chance to advance to the
semifinals.
An opponent for London City has not yet been determined.
Joining London will be Ottawa and Brampton, along with one of either
Mississauga Olympians or Toronto Croatia and Hamilton Thunder or Vaughan Sun
Devils.
The Canada Cup will be followed the next week by the Rogers Cup, the
league playoff championship, in North York.
Getting the Canada Cup is
considered a coup for London City. Hamilton was granted the tournament but had
to withdraw.
"There were just too many questions with them. We kept setting
deadlines for things to be done and they just weren't being done," said Vince
Ursini, chairperson of the CPSL. "Then we had problem with the venue. We didn't
want to be embarrassed. Hamilton graciously withdrew."
The Cup was then
granted to Ottawa, which staged the competition last year. At least, that's what
the league executive wanted. The owners had a different idea.
"It's safe to
say that London was the overwhelming choice of the team owners to hold this
event," said Ursini. "We know that we don't have to worry about London at all.
We show up on the Friday and everything will be taken care of. London has a
great reputation for their organization."
It's the first time for the league
cup to be played in London. Two years ago, the Primus Cup, now called the Rogers
Cup, came to London for the first time.
The Canada Cup is so named because
the federal government granted the league $100,000.
A news conference was
held at Cove Road yesterday announcing details of the event.
"We just want
to bring the best soccer we can to the city," Gauss said. "It's going to be a
good event."
City hasn't had the best of seasons but Gauss isn't worried
about how his team will perform.
"I think we have a really good team," Gauss
said. "We are a nice team to watch."
Having to put together a tournament on
such short notice isn't going to be easy, especially since such events don't
have much room between the red and the black financially.
Orsini indicated
the league intended to heavily publicize an event that he said was going to
provide the best soccer yet for such a tournament.
"We just want to pay the
bills," said Gauss.
Tickets are $10 for Friday and Saturday, $15 for Sunday.
A tournament pass bought in advance is $15.
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