As reported by Rollins (who else?) this morning, it seems as though Canada will have a fourth fully professional soccer team in 2011, the NASL’s Edmonton Drillers. Now, this has yet to be “officially” confirmed (though I don’t doubt the validity of Duane’s sources), and there’s the tricky issue of what, exactly, will become of the NASL in 2011 (will it continue to function alongside the USL under the USSF Division II banner, or break away on its own?) And will the league attain sanctioning by the USSF, without which its member teams would be ineligible to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League (the endgame for the winner of the Voyageurs Cup)?
For now, let’s defer all of those questions. There was much talk of revamping the format of the Voyageurs Cup after the debacle in the closing game of last year’s tourney, wherein the Whitecaps were deprived of the crown by a listless, disinterested Montreal B-squad allowing Toronto FC to thump six goals past them. But as I said on an episode of It’s Called Football last week, there’s really only so much you can do with a tournament that only has three teams involved. With four, the possibilities are much wider.
Here are some ideas for how the 2011 Voyageurs Cup might look, and feel free to add your own. Read more »
