FIFA World Cup 2026

[SharperDingaan]

Less of the scholarship thing, as there just aren't the scholarships, and its not part of the culture. Hence the next step calls for improved soccer development infrastructure ... and only small grants to help with travel and living costs while you continue to train/develop.

 

The bigger concern is the coach abuse and corruption within the sports organisations managing this very one-sided power arrangement. Changing now as the women's games are emerging, and they aren't putting up with it. Good on them.

 

SD 

[bizaro86]

1 hour ago, SharperDingaan said:

Ice Hockey is great, but it's a rich persons sport and you only see the best players of that available. If mom/dad weren't rich enough to constantly get you the equipment as you grew through it, the extra coaching, to/from the practice and away games, etc, etc .... you never got to the farm/pro levels. The best of a small and rich population.

 

 

Yeah. The path to being a potential NHL player out of Canada is now a $200k commitment for the parents. Places like Rink Academy or Edge are hockey focused schools starting at middle school age for $20k+ per year, plus gear, travel team fees/costs, etc. 

 

Not many people coming from the pond behind the farm to the NHL anymore.

[Jaygo]

Football / soccer is absolutely not cheap in Canada. We are spending roughly 8K per year between my kids. 

 

The reasoning is very simple, Canada has absolutely shit weather and outrageously expensive and prohibitive real estate and development fees. 

 

A single indoor soccer pitch with an hour of Toronto is going to cost about 10 million bucks. Many will cost multiples of that and if you want to play all year and actually get good you need indoor 6 or 7 months a year. 

 

Our yearly fee for my son who is U2017 is 5k and more than half is going to field rentals. He's on the field 3-4 days a week. Maybe in Victoria, Windsor or Vancouver you can get away with outdoor all year round but not anywhere else. 

 

Watching Canada and the US play this WC just shows you our kids are just not getting the touches on the ball that other global citizens are. We suck plain and simple when comped to the Europeans. We rely on  speed and strength because we need to compensate for lack of ball control and Football IQ.

 

The reason the Spanish players are less athletic ( smaller and slower ) but still excel is that they play the purest form of football, the type that comes from playing every single day in a small court in Barca or Cadiz. They play with the ball like it is glued to their feet because that is the life they live. They grow up playing on a concrete surface in a Plaza or a school courtyard so they are used to a much faster, closer game. 

 

In Barca if you play on grass you are rich and at a disadvantage because the tiki taka comes from playing street ball. The more money that gets poured into north American programs will help but a fundamental shift is required to get world class. 

 

My son is a top player in his age group here and when we play in a park in Spain he cant get close to the ball, the game is just too fast for him because he is used to playing on long grass or super expensive turf. The reason Canada couldn't get a pass completed against Morocco is because they had no time so panicked, but that is football everywhere else in the world. Pass and move, pass and move.