Charlie Cuzzetto

As we approach the four-month countdown to the debut of Major League Soccer in British Columbia, there is considerable excitement around what the new era could mean for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in particular and for soccer in BC and across Canada in general.

It’s only natural that palpable media and internet chat will surround all things MLS in the coming months, including the debate around potential changes to Canadian content rules for Canada’s Major League Soccer franchises.

Whether Canadian content rules are indeed relaxed or removed entirely remains to be seen, but what matters above all are the net results in favour of Canadian player development and our National Team programs for the long-term -- on behalf of all stakeholders in the game, from the Canadian Soccer Association and the professional clubs to provincial associations such as BC Soccer and our membership of clubs, districts and leagues at the community level.

Of course, BC Soccer is fully committed to the development of British Columbian talent in support of Canadian National Team programs. It is a priority for BC Soccer to continue to engage all its members and stakeholders -- including the Vancouver Whitecaps FC -- on the foundation of a strong commitment to a BC player first development approach moving forward.

The MLS Canadian content issue – which in its current form established a six-player quota for Toronto FC in its roster of 26 professionals -- falls clearly under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Soccer Association as our parent body and we support it as it endeavours to represent the best interests of Canadian player development. We understand that dialogue about the proposed policy change is ongoing between the CSA, the professional teams and the MLS and, in this context, BC Soccer is confident that the issue is being taken seriously by all stakeholders.

The short-term content issue, which belongs strictly in the realm of professional soccer and in the discussions between the CSA and the MLS clubs, is only a small subset, however, of the larger player development issue.

The work and commitment required around the CSA’s Long-Term Player Development Philosophy is more compelling simply because it is more complex and multi-faceted. On behalf of the Board of  Directors of BC Soccer, I think it’s important to make the distinction between short-term content issues at the MLS level as opposed to the bigger picture of long-term player development considerations which BC Soccer brings into its collaborations with its members and partners, including the Whitecaps as the pro club stakeholder in western Canada.

In embracing the principles of the CSA’s Long-Term Player Development philosophy, it is our strong belief that in order to give our BC boys and girls the best chance to play for Canada in the future, we collectively need to facilitate the best possible youth development programs, from Under-5 players in strong community clubs, all the way through to the national program.

As far as the Whitecaps are concerned, we are glad to have a professional club in BC wanting to help us achieve that goal. To that end, our partnership activities with the Whitecaps have been and will continue to be predicated on the best interests of soccer as a whole in BC.

Speaking more broadly, we acknowledge the investment in the game which has been made by various individuals and organizations in order to secure a dynamic footprint in North America’s premier professional league by Toronto FC in 2007, now the Whitecaps in 2011 and then the Montreal Impact in 2012. We appreciate the tremendous value that the MLS brand will have in support of media attention, television coverage and corporate investment in soccer in Canada. This is all good news for soccer in BC and in Canada – and we believe it is good news for our membership working hard to promote the game at the community level.

The key from our perspective is that long-term player development is truly a team effort. It’s a team effort spanning the clubs, districts, leagues and others in the system that are as much a part of the equation as is the CSA and the pro clubs. The stronger that team effort at the grassroots, the stronger the Canadian-based pro clubs will be, the stronger the Canadian national team will be and the stronger Canadian soccer will be.