A Modest Proposal For The Voyageurs Cup - 2011 & Beyond
http://viewfromthesouthstands.com/20...dest-proposal/
A Modest Proposal to re-jig the future editions of the Voyageurs Cup Tournament for the Canadian Championship. Comments always welcome.
--------------------------------------------------
Without a doubt there has been controversy surrounding the format for the Voyageurs Cup Tournament since its inception three years ago. Vancouver Whitecaps fans have felt aggrieved for two years now, none more so than of course in 2009... Slightly less so in 2010, but aggrieved nonetheless.
The format of the competition since inception is six matches in total played home and away for each club, with the clubs playing three games each in total to decide the winner on points (or additional tie breakers such as head to head, goal difference, etc.). In the past two seasons Montreal has been eliminated before going into their last game and this of course has been the point of contention, especially on the left coast.
In the Canadian Soccer Association's defence it would be hard to come up with any other format involving three teams that did not potentially lead to this sort of eventuality, especially with league form being so important to teams trying to make a profit.
However there is light on the horizon, and that light is coming from northern Alberta in the form of FC Edmonton. Edmonton will be launching a D2 club next season, playing at the same level that Vancouver and Montreal currently play at. With four professional clubs playing in North America's top two divisions (MLS and USL/NASL) now the opportunity presents itself to re-jig the Voyageurs Cup tournament to make it bigger and better in years to come. And it is very easily accomplished. Here is what I propose for 2011, 2012 and beyond.
2011
Toronto would play FC Edmonton in a home and away series with the first game in Edmonton and the deciding match played in Toronto. Vancouver and Montreal would do the same and whichever team finished ahead of the other in 2010 would get the second game at home. The winners of these two match-ups would play a one game, winner take all, Championship match at BMO Field, the home stadium of the 2010 Voyageurs Cup Champions.
- Toronto FC, as Canada's only 2010 MLS club, and 2010 Champions, are seeded first in the 2011 pool
- Vancouver or Montreal are seeded second or third respectively based on their order of finish in the USL/NASL regular season
- FC Edmonton, as the newcomers, are slotted into the fourth position
2012
The tournament would run in the same five game fashion as 2011, with the final being held in the stadium of the 2011 Cup Winner.
- The Vancouver Whitecaps or Toronto FC are seeded first or Second in 2012 based on their respective finishes in the 2011 MLS regular season
- FC Edmonton or the Montreal Impact are seeded third or fourth respectively
2013 and beyond
By 2013's edition of the tournament there will be three MLS clubs in Canada. Assuming one of them (due respect Edmonton) is the 2012 champion, then that club gets to play the D2 club. The other two MLS sides would play each other home and away for the right to make it to the Championship game. If other D2 clubs (Ottawa, Hamilton, Victoria, etc.) are established in years ahead then they can play a round robin for the right to be the D2 qualifier for the final round of the tournament.
One might take issue with how I chose to set up the seedings and I am sure that there are many models out there to choose from. However I feel that the overall structure of the tournament makes a whole lot of sense. Six games is about as big a tournament that these teams can reasonably fit into their already busy schedules. My proposal cuts that by one game to five, and most importantly creates something that I think would be the best thing to happen to Canadian professional Soccer since MLS came north, and that would be the establishment of an Annual National Championship Game.
The single game final is to me the attractive model for both the committed and non committed Canadian Soccer fan. Purists would liken it to the Champions League or World Cup Final and be familiar with the model. Casual fans would be attracted to a format (a single game final) that would be as familiar to Canadian sports fans as the Grey Cup is.
Sponsors would be more likely to get behind this tournament and television ratings would undoubtedly rise. Canadian Soccer has the chance here, if done correctly, to build upon the first three years of the Voyageurs Cup and use it as a springboard to get Canadian club soccer further into the Canadian sports mainstream, a place where our beautiful game definitely belongs!
Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.