Quote:
Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn
Soccer definitely should be bigger as a major spectator sport in Vancouver, but as popular as the Whitecaps Football Club are, they will always be limited by the reputation of the MLS. So I'm not sure why moving into a smaller stadium helps “grow the game”...
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Having a team with recognizable players, and matches that have 30 000 people attend, and decent television exposure, grow the game far more than having a no name 2nd tier league playing in your city. Kids will not be inspired by a sparsely attended, no name team in the CPL.
For the first time in history, Canada qualified for the World Cup in 1886, and that was because of the NASL, which brought soccer to the forefront in Canada, but then after that the momentum fizzled after the NASL folded.
We had the Vancouver 86ers and the Canadian Soccer League, but that did nothing to move the needle for soccer in Canada.
MLS came to Canada in the 2010's, and by the time of the 2022 World Cup, Canada had finally qualified again, for only the 2nd time in history, and that's because there was a recognizable soccer league, with recognizable names in our country. We are now at a point where the mens national team is ranked 27 in the world, and headed to the 2026 WC, where we will actually be favoured in at least one game. A far cry from when we were ranked in the 80's. We are at this point because of MLS.
To continue to grow the game in Vancouver, a stadium is needed so that the team can make more revenue, attract bigger names, be more successful, inspire more young players.
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