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Canada Pulls Out of 2020 Olympics
The Canadian Olympic Team has announced that they will not be sending any athletes to the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan because of COVID-19 risks. The Canadian team also called on the International Olympic Committee to postpone the games for one year.
Canada Soccer supports the @teamcanada and @CDNParalympics call for the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games @Olympics to protect the health & safety of our players, staff and their families. https://t.co/6ILZ59fnnk
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) March 23, 2020
This is tough news for the Canadian Women’s National Team who already qualified for the Olympics with their second place finish at the recent Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The Canadian Men’s National Team was also set to begin its qualification campaign in March but that has been postponed until further notice.
Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committeehttps://t.co/XNcaa4Gvx8
— Olympics (@Olympics) March 24, 2020
Obviously a big part of what the Canadian team does next depends on the decisions made by the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee. Based on a recent press release by the Olympic organizers it looks like every attempt will be made to postpone the games until 2021 rather than cancel them entirely. This is a similar strategy to the UEFA Euro 2020 organizers who have also said that they will push back their tournament by 12 months into the summer of 2021 as opposed to cancelling it.
UEFA today announced the postponement of UEFA EURO 2020.
— UEFA (@UEFA) March 17, 2020
A working group has been set up with the participation of leagues and club representatives to examine calendar solutions that would allow for the completion of the current season...
Full statement:
What Are the Canadian MLS Doing During The Break?
So with all this time off from playing, what have the Canadian teams in MLS been up to? Luke Wileman from TSN recently checked in with each of the three Canadian teams to get an update.
Toronto FC - Bill Manning, President
What are @TorontoFC doing to keep their players ready to play during this break? Club President Bill Manning fills us in and provides some updates on Michael Bradley and Pablo Piatti #TFCLive pic.twitter.com/KAxB8g1fB2
— TSN Soccer (@TSNSoccer) March 19, 2020
Montreal Impact - Kevin Gilmore, President & CEO
With @MLS on hold, @impactmontreal President & CEO @kgilmore88 updates us on what's happening at the club while they wait for play to resume #IMFC pic.twitter.com/3pz6VHrZzo
— TSN Soccer (@TSNSoccer) March 19, 2020
Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Mark Pannes, CEO and Axel Shuster, Sporting Director
What is happening with @WhitecapsFC during this break? Their leadership team joins @LukeWileman to provide an update #VWFC pic.twitter.com/F0gUL98mvT
— TSN Soccer (@TSNSoccer) March 19, 2020
Canadian Premier League Delays Beginning of Season
On Mar 20 the Canadian Premier League officially postponed the start of the 2020 season indefinitely. This followed an announcement by the CPL on Mar 13 that they would be putting a hold on all pre-season training. More updates on what will happen with the season will be provided as they become available.
The CPL has made the decision to postpone the start of the 2020 season#CanPL pic.twitter.com/7kFOWbJALH
— CanPL (@CPLsoccer) March 20, 2020
Meet The Supporter Groups Hoping For A CPL Franchise
The Canadian Premier League has the ambition to expand to 14-16 teams by 2026 according to league commissioner David Clanachan in an interview posted on their website. Commissioner Clanachan stated, “we’ve always said if we can be between 14 and 16 teams … that’s very doable by 2026.” The run up to the FIFA 2026 World Cup could really help to spark interest in this domestic league.
Mike Miller from the Premier League Podcast recently did a wonderful series where he interviewed supporter groups from around Canada who are trying to raise interest in their communities with the possibility of establishing new CPL franchises.
Can you name all the supporters groups in #Canadian cities which are still waiting to be awarded a #CanPL franchise?
— Premier Podcast (@CPLPodcast) March 1, 2020
I'm looking for #activegroups with a minimum of 10 members which have #organized at least one event in the last 12 months. pic.twitter.com/A4IiiRbeyB
Mike reviewed 6 possible regions for new franchises and spoke to a representative from each supporter group in each location. Links to the interviews and the supports groups are below.
Kitchener-Waterloo - Adrian Martin, Grand River Union
This week, on the Premier Podcast, @MikeMillerFC chats with Adrian Martin of @grusupport and discuss Kitchener Waterloo as a potential #CanPL expansion market. @CPLPodcast @CPLsoccer@NorthernXI @kanfootballclub
— Premier Podcast (@CPLPodcast) March 8, 2020
⚽️https://t.co/cZtIhrGQCk
Greater Vancouver Region - Chris Corrigan, Swanguardians
Premier Podcast: Second episode in two days! @MikeMillerFC chats with Chris Corrigan of @swanguardians about Burnaby as a potential #CanPL expansion market. @CPLPodcast @CPLsoccer @NorthernXI @kanfootballclub #CanChamp #CANMNT #CANWNT
— Premier Podcast (@CPLPodcast) March 9, 2020
⚽️https://t.co/lWd6kU0E6d
Mississauga - Adam Ducker, Sauga City Collective
This week, on the Premier Podcast, @MikeMillerFC discusses Mississauga as a potential #CanPL expansion market with Adam Ducker of @SaugaSG. @cplpodcast @CPLsoccer @kanfootballclub @NorthernXI #Sauga4CPL
— Premier Podcast (@CPLPodcast) March 11, 2020
⚽️https://t.co/qM6nIIJVHV
Saskatoon - Jeff Salisbury, The Wheatpool
Today, on the Premier Podcast, @mikemillerfc discusses #Saskatoon as a potential #CanPL expansion market with @jeffdsalisbury of @TheWheatpoolSK. @CPLPodcast @cplsoccer @NorthernXI @kanfootballclub
— Premier Podcast (@CPLPodcast) March 15, 2020
⚽️https://t.co/ZwOoV7ZRKi
Greater Toronto Region - Dan Baldwin
This week, on the @CPLPodcast, @MikeMillerFC discusses #Toronto and @League1Ontario with @Danbaldwin87 of @NorthernXI. @kanfootballclub @CPLsoccer #CanPL #TFCLive
— Premier Podcast (@CPLPodcast) March 17, 2020
⚽️https://t.co/SQeNbzRj3u
Greater Montreal Region - Mike Miller, Metro Soccer
New @CPLPodcast: @MikeMillerFC talks about #Montréal as a potential #CanPL expansion market and launches the @MetrosoccerCPL movement. #CanChamp #CANMNT #CANWNT @kanfootballclub @NorthernXI ⚽️ https://t.co/WugQh5Zsht pic.twitter.com/mlwHdbfDzV
— Premier Podcast (@CPLPodcast) March 23, 2020
Feeding Your Footie Fix
Are you suffering from footie withdrawl? Well here are a few helpful resources to help you feed your fix. Fingers crossed that we won’t have to wait much longer to see the return of the beautiful game!
Join football fans around the globe by watching the live premiere of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Official Film on @YouTube!
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 20, 2020
We're now under way #WorldCup | #WorldCupAtHome
FIFA is opening up its World Cup video archive for free to give fans something to watch while the coronavirus shuts sports down around the globe https://t.co/OJAqgRoxu1
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) March 20, 2020
Introducing OneSoccer Stories
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 20, 2020
Our crew recently traveled across Canada to tell compelling tales of the beautiful game.
On Van Isle, we spoke with Native FA technical director Dano Thorne of the Cowichan Tribes First Nation.
: https://t.co/qemgjmnTye#CanPL | @Pacificfccpl pic.twitter.com/ZyrLRXARq1
Some soccer book recommendations I put together: https://t.co/OyljmTqCOt
— Phil West ⚽️ (@philwest) March 20, 2020
New at @CPLsoccer
— John Molinaro (@JohnMolinaro) March 19, 2020
CPL’s launch a dream come true for @CPLCavalryFC 's Mason Traffordhttps://t.co/J4avTUMvaT
Top 10 soccer books to read while in self-isolationhttps://t.co/DyIw7TU1Ic
What soccer movie are we watching today? https://t.co/KKKD77BRiF
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 19, 2020