CSL LOOKS TO KEY ONTARIO CENTRES.....offering new Player Member status for qualified groups
2009-12-04 (from CSL news release)
Lower cost Playing Member status for qualified groups
The Canadian Soccer League is seeking community-based partners in key Ontario soccer centres as the first step in a long-range plan of regional expansion across Canada.
A partnership with the CSL will appeal to groups in towns and cities with an already strong soccer base and a proven record of local expansion in both youth and senior systems and poised to play at a higher first entry professional level.
Ontario communities identified as ideal candidates are Barrie, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, North Bay, Oakville, Oshawa, Ottawa, Sudbury and Windsor.
Domenic Di Gironimo, chairman of the CSL sees the need for Canada to bridge the gap between the excellent, longstanding developmental work that has taken place in certain Ontario communities and the almost out of reach professional soccer in North America and overseas.
"The local CSL club should be the soccer leader in the community, working with the youth clubs to provide world-class training and opportunities for talented young men and women to excel at their maximum potential," explains Di Gironimo. "While doing so, talented players need to be showcased for colleges and universities and for higher level professional teams in North America and Europe--all while close to home."
The CSL--Canada's only professional soccer league--with its forerunner leagues playing attractive high level soccer going back 80 years, has been conditionally approved by the Canadian Soccer Association for national membership, the first step in the creation of a strong foundation for a comprehensive CSL national program.
To remove financial barriers, membership in this program--for men and women’s teams--does not require a franchise purchase. A Playing Member status removes the high cost usually associated with the established professional clubs requiring equity league ownership.
High level competition with the exisiting10 teams (including reserve teams of Toronto FC and Montreal Impact) a higher profile for good visibility in the community and the media, marketing assistance, are some of what the CSL is offering prospective new members.
It's time the soccer industry provided a Canadian solution for the development needs of Canadian soccer players and the CSL is determined to fill that role like no other organization has done in the past," said Di Gironimo.
For the 2010 season, the CSL is inviting letters of interest by December 20 and a full commitment in January.
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