"We have a lot to offer": Canadian Championship showing importance of League 1 Canada to pro pathway
It’s a matter of opportunity, not talent.
That’s been the message many League 1 Canada sides have continued to share as they look to move their players onto the next level - they feel there are many professional-calibre players within their ranks, ones who just haven’t had the chance to show their skills at a higher level.
Because of that, it made last week so crucial for the circuit, as a pair of League 1 Canada sides got to take on Canadian Premier League opposition in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship. Given that the CPL has become a key miner of League 1 talent since its inception, allowing several standouts to achieve pro dreams, it was a chance for many more to show that they can play at that level, proving to be a key audition opportunity.
Once again - there's talent to be mined there in League 1 Canada. It's not a lack of skill, it's opportunity
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 3, 2024
CS Saint-Laurent's magical upset tonight shows that these guys can play and just need the platforms to show it
And Québec, man. So much talent there. Need a #CanPL team
So as the TSS Rovers took on Pacific FC, and CS Saint-Laurent took on the Halifax Wanderers, that was the big goal for both clubs - to show that their players could play at this level. Winning was secondary, as both clubs looked to live up to their reputations as talent factories that have produced several pro players, including several that have made the jump up to the Canadian Men’s National Team.
Up first were the Rovers, who have CF Montréal and Canadian Men’s National Team defender Joel Waterman among their alumni, and made history in the 2023 Canadian Championship when they became the first League 1 Canada side to defeat a pro outfit when they beat Valour 3-1 in the preliminary round. To their credit, they gave Pacific a good fight in this match, too, nearly winning 1-0 in regular time if not for a late Pacific equalizer, before falling just short on penalties to deny them a second straight year with an upset against a CPL side.
Then, the next day, Saint-Laurent, who can count on Watford FC and Canadian Men’s National Team midfielder Ismaël Koné as one of their alumni, did one better and managed to get past the Wanderers, drawing 2-2 in extra time before taking care of the job on penalties.
Despite being in their first-ever Canadian Championship match, they didn’t look unfazed by the occasion, putting in a brave performance that they were ultimately rewarded for in the end with a deserved win.
Yet, as they noted after, they weren’t surprised by what they showed. They knew that they had players who could hang at that level and weren’t going to go down without a fight, knowing that this was a perfect opportunity for them to show what they could do at this level.
Despite being underdogs, they kept their heads down and controlled what they could control, and they ended up putting in a performance of a lifetime to get the upset.
“It says a lot because I didn't find that the Rovers were outclassed yesterday, and today, I thought that we held our own,” Saint-Laurent coach, Nicholas Razzaghi, said afterwards. “And the reality is, I don't think people understand how difficult it is to prepare for these kinds of games where you’re not used to these conditions, bigger fields, different kinds of surfaces, bigger crowds. We have a lack of experience playing at this level, I remember when we played York in our first preparation match, we got killed, as they're good and we didn't have any reference points.”
“But that’s the biggest thing about our League 1 Canada players and teams is that these (Canadian Championship runs) are done without all of the professional resources, so if we can change that context, take the best players of semi-pro leagues and put them in a higher level, there’s so much that can happen.”
“Especially in Québec, there's no CPL team, so guys have to go MLS or nothing, and that's where a lot of our players get stuck, and that's what this project is about, the guys who want to make it professionally but have not received the opportunities. I think we have a lot to offer, we just need some experience and some exposure, and we just need someone to come in and give them that chance.”
And Razzaghi’s thoughts were echoed by his number at the Rovers, Brendan Teeling, who shared a similar message the night after his team’s heartbreaking loss, noting the importance of what they showed and how it represented their league.
Especially given that League 1 BC is quite new, only entering its third season, whereas Ligue 1 Québec and League 1 Ontario have been around for over a decade, Teeling felt that what the Rovers had done was a great example of why they have to keep building that league up, with sides like his playing a big role within that.
One day, the goal will be for BC to have the resources they have in Ontario, where League 1’s infrastructure has grown enough for them to introduce promotion and relegation this year, but until then, they’re just looking to take things one year at a time until they reach that point.
“League 1 BC is in its third year, and it's going to keep growing and keep getting better,” Teeling said. “In Ontario, they’ve now got League 1 and League 2, maybe that's something that can come here eventually when we get enough licenses, but I don't think this league should be taken for granted, it’s going to keep growing, as we’ve got a lot of talent in this province."
“We’ve just got to keep doing what we do best, and then we can keep attracting players and giving them a showcase to then push them on to play pro.”
Now that the dust has settled: we want to thank everyone who supported us in our 2nd instalment of representing L1 BC in the Canadian Championship. The Club was a whisker away from advancing to the 1/4 finals again. Time to turn our attentions back to the 2024 season.
— TSS Rovers Football Club (@TSSRovers) May 3, 2024
And League 1 BC isn’t the only new League 1 Canada circuit looking to grow, either. League 1 Alberta launches this week after a test run last summer, League 1 Atlantic is aiming to launch next summer, it’s only a matter of time until Saskatchewan and Manitoba launch some sort of League 1 Prairies, and one has to imagine League 1 Territories could be in the works someday, giving League 1 coverage across the country.
All while continuing to grow the Ontario and Québec circuits, they’ll hope it can further provide players with a chance to develop and showcase themselves, joining the many success stories that have already cropped up over the last decade.
The League 1 ecosystem continues to grow in Canada, now with Alberta. Hopefully this is the start of what’s to come in the prairies, and then the Atlantic gets involved. It’s quickly becoming a key part of the developmental pathway across Canada#CanMNT #CanWNT #canXNT https://t.co/N8gkMXJWT5
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 10, 2023
And that’s something people like Tommy Wheeldon Jr, head coach of CPL’s Cavalry FC, will be keeping a close eye on.
Someone who has invested in semi-professional talent since his club launched, drawing on his knowledge of the player pool from his time as head coach of semi-pro side Calgary Foothills who once played in the same USL League 2 and PDL set-up that the TSS Rovers also used to play in, he’s seen first-hand the talent in the semi-pro set-up and the ability of its players to play at the pro level.
In fact, without that talent pool, Cavalry might not have had the success they’ve had to date, which includes two CPL regular season titles and two finals appearances, which is a credit to their investment in semi-professional soccer since day one.
Therefore, having given several semi-pro players key opportunities to play professionally, such as Waterman, Dominick Zator and many more, he continues to look for more to make that step up, making him especially excited for the start of League 1 Alberta, having inserted a Cavalry U21 side into the circuit, while remaining affiliated with the Foothills.
“Listen, I'm a big fan of (the semi-pro pyramid),” Wheeldon Jr, recently said. “We recently talked about the anniversary of the launch of our (Cavalry) team from five years ago, and that team from five years ago, we didn’t have a League 1 Alberta, but we did have USL and PDL which included the TSS Rovers, Victoria Highlanders and ourselves (Foothills) in that pro-am league for those university-aged players, and had we not had that, we probably wouldn't have had the kickstart for Cavalry FC.”
“League 1 Ontario gave (a kickstart) out east in the CPL, but (the semi-pro teams) gave us our kickstart then, and it’s giving us player pools now. When I look at the players on the TSS Rovers, I look at the players on Saint-Laurent, we've had some of them on trial and signed some, which is key. Now, we’ll keep an eye on League 1 Alberta, because it's in our backyard, and if you support local football, you're providing some great opportunities, so I couldn't be more supportive of it, as it’s an important part of our ecosystem here.”
Now, however, the big challenge for League 1 will be to continue to move players up the pyramid, as spots are limited in the professional game, with there only being 8 CPL teams and 3 MLS sides in Canada.
It helps that all 3 MLS sides have a footprint in their respective League 1 set-ups, while all of the CPL sides have League 1 affiliates, but they only have so many roster spots they can give to players.
Because of that, it’s important to create more opportunities for these players to play professionally. Whether it’s to tweak roster rules to allow for more semi-pro players to sign pro contracts, similar to how the CPL adjusted its USPORTS player rules this offseason to encourage more investment in top Canadian university talent, or the expansion of the league as a whole, the more opportunities, the better.
🥳🎉🍾 Les membres jeunes du Club de Saint-Laurent ont pleinement savouré cette qualification.
— Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) May 3, 2024
Crédit vidéo: CS Saint-Laurent pic.twitter.com/taJDSATPWc
Until then, talent will continue to be overlooked, as there can only be so much movement between the levels as it currently stands.
“I don't know if it's being overlooked,” Pacific’s head coach, James Merriman said. “I know League 1 Ontario is very strong and CPL teams are looking there, and League 1 BC is still growing, it’s in its third season now, and with the TSS Rovers, you can see the quality that they have in the group, and I don't think it's a matter of being overlooked, as it’s very competitive and difficult to get into CPL squads, but I think as the league grows, you're going to see more League 1 BC players come into the CPL and then make moves.”
“There’s a lot of quality in the TSS Rovers, even though they just came together, but as the league grows, you'll see more players coming into the CPL as they build out the form of this League 1 BC set-up.”
Until that happens, however, the League 1 Canada sides are going to continue to do their thing - develop talent.
That’s why the Rovers responded to their elimination by going and winning their first game of their 2024 League 1 BC game 4-1 over the Vancouver Whitecaps U23 team, showing that it’s business as usual there.
And for Saint-Laurent, their Canadian Championship journey continues this week. Thanks to their win over the Wanderers, they’ve earned the privilege to play MLS giants Toronto FC in their two-legged quarter-finals, which kick off this week when Saint-Laurent hosts them at Complexe Sportif Claude Robillard in Montréal.
There, they know they’ll be in tough to upset a club that has several players on salaries that could pay all of their expenses as a club, several times over, but that’s the beauty of soccer - they believe that anything can happen in that matchup.
And at the end of the day, no matter what happens in that tie, be it an expected defeat or an upset for the ages, their goal remains the same - to show that League 1 Canada has the talent to be mined.
Especially for this group of Saint-Laurent players, who have been put at a big disadvantage with there being no CPL side in Québec, they know that what they’re about to do is bigger than them as a club, as they look to prove why there should be a CPL side in their province to give these players more opportunities.
Salut Montréal 👋
— CS Saint-Laurent (@Csstlaurent_pro) May 5, 2024
As tu ton billet pour notre match historique contre @TorontoFC ? Ça part vite!
Hello Montreal ! Do you have your tickets for our game against @TorontoFC ? It’s selling fast!
Achetez ici : https://t.co/Lswf1GD3q6@CanadaSoccerEN @Ligue1QC @SoccerQuebec pic.twitter.com/LDMN0kWQSI
That’s why some of their biggest Ligue 1 Québec rivals were cheering them on when they beat Halifax, and why they’ll be supporting them as they try and do the impossible against Toronto FC - what they’re trying to do is bigger than any match.
So while this tie will be special, serving as an incredible showcase for the work Saint-Laurent does to develop players, it’s a reminder of the growing semi-professional pyramid across the country, and the importance of giving them the opportunities they deserve.
“It’s everything,” Razzaghi said of the importance of their run. “Technically our rivals in our province were cheering for us, and that's the point, everyone understands that at the end of the day, in Québec, we know what we have to offer, so for us to not have a CPL team, we’re on the same page that we deserve that, and it’s bigger than any of us.”
“When we came (to Halifax), we knew we wanted something for ourselves and that's why it’s so important for us to go next week and play Toronto FC, as that’s a chance for Québec to be put on the map as we take on an MLS team.”
