I don't blog on the Canadian soccer scene as much as I should, but I aim to write a few more posts in the future. From Jason de Vos at the CBC comes news of significant changes that the Canadian Soccer Association made to its governance structure at their AGM in Winnipeg last weekend. The executive board of the CSA will now consist of six elected members from the six geographical regions of the country (British Columbia/Yukon, Alberta/Nunavut, Saskatchewan/Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic provinces) and six appointed members from any other sector of Canadian society. None of the executive board members can be members of a Territorial/Provincial Board, and at least 1/4 of the executive board must be composed of women.
The idea is to allow the CSA to be able to incorporate members from outside the traditional soccer structures, in particular from the private sector. It sounds like a good idea to me -- get fresh thinking and new perspectives on the current state of soccer in Canada and how to improve it. What was left unsaid was the criteria for forming the pool of candidates from which the appointed board members will be selected. The article mentions specific guidelines for selecting candidates who bring "credibility and respect" to the Association, but it should be apparent that as long as people make the decisions, there will be political maneuvering.
That brings me to de Vos' shock that such a "sensible" plan was not approved unanimously and even faced opposition from some quarters of the CSA. Well, yeah - the CSA is a democratically-run structure and there will be debate, and maneuvering, and attempts to use the by-laws of the association in one group's favor. That is always true in the democratic system, no matter how much the band of "experts" find that idea repellent. I do think that the plan was a good one and stands a good chance of moving Canadian soccer forward, but the promoters still need to convince half plus one of the association members that the plan is in their interests and in the overall interests of the CSA.
There is some additional work that needs to be made at the executive level before the new board is seated, but it looks that the CSA is serious about changing the way it is run. It remains to be seen how this new structure will affect the sectors of the game that touch the average player and fan such as talent development and the growth of solid amateur and professional clubs.