BC Soccer News, Thursday, December 8, 2016

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC & MLS NEWS

Is Honduran Romell Quioto to Join Vancouver Whitecaps? Eighty-Six Forever
Long on the wishlist of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Romell Quioto has played his last game with CD Olimpia and there are rumors that he could be heading to Cascadia to continue his career. Will the groundwork laid over the last year with Quioto help get him to sign?

A Fan’s Farewell to Pedro MoralesEighty-Six Forever
Morales was arguably the most skilled player we have seen in a Whitecaps jersey in the MLS era.

Toronto vs. Seattle: Everything you need to know about MLS CupESPN FC
Looking for the full skinny on MLS Cup? Search no further! Below, ESPN FC breaks down all the nuts and bolts ahead of Saturday’s grand finale between Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders.

How to build an MLS Cup champion: a Jekyll-and-Hyde blueprintThe Guardian
The 20th season of Major League Soccer arrives at a dramatic climax on Saturday when the Seattle Sounders face the attacking juggernaut that is Toronto FC at BMO Field. For the neutral, this should be an absorbing encounter as it features two talented, physical squads who love to go forward and exploit defensive frailties. The fact that both will take part in an MLS Cup final for the very first time suggests that the atmosphere inside the stadium will be nothing short of electric.

Toronto FC’s “rejuvenated” Drew Moor anchors rugged Reds’ MLS Cup chargeMLS
When Toronto FC took a hard look at themselves after last year’s MLS Cup Playoffs defeat at the hands of the Montreal Impact, it was decided that something was missing: a defensive rock.

Despite growing hoopla, Toronto FC remaining focused on ‘biggest MLS Cup yet’ SN
MLS Cup fever has struck Toronto, and it’s hard not to notice. From city buses sporting “Come on you Reds” signs in their front windows to #MLSCUP signage adorning the square adjacent to Toronto City Hall, indications that Canada’s biggest metropolis is playing host to the biggest game of the Major League Soccer calendar are abundant.

TFC’s Will Johnson reclaims permanent role at right timeSportsnet
Will Johnson’s relationship with Toronto FC was sparked during his downtime. As a member of the Portland Timbers last year, Johnson often conserved game-day energy by stretching out on the couch while watching TFC use all of its juice three time zones away.

Loyalty pays off with MLS Cup opportunity for Sounders’ Brian SchmetzerMLS
Brian Schmetzer could have left. Before he took over as the Seattle Sounders’ head coach, initially on an interim basis halfway through the 2016 regular season, Schmetzer was the top assistant for longtime Sounders boss Sigi Schmid for seven years. During that time, other teams around MLS took notice and he even interviewed with FC Dallas and the Montreal Impact.

Toronto FC: A decade of highs and lowsCBC
A decade after their debut in Major League Soccer, and a lot of ups and downs, Toronto FC has the opportunity to hoist the MLS Cup on home soil on Saturday night.

MLS Cup, Toronto FC and soccer’s fight for relevance in CanadaThe Guardian
After scoring five goals, eliminating their rivals Montreal Impact from the MLS playoffs, and advancing to the first MLS Cup in team history, Toronto FC got down to the important business of discussing Drake. “You’re going to join Drake and company on the town,” a member of the club’s staff – probably Jeff Bradley, the communications chief – yelled to players across a crowded locker room.

Report: Crew set to trade Parkhurst to Atlanta United SBI
The Columbus Crew will part ways with defender Michael Parkhurst this winter, and their loss is another team’s gain.

Real Salt Lake, “Burrito” Martinez mutually agree to terminate contractMLS
Real Salt Lake bid farewell to forward and Designated Player Juan Manuel “Burrito” Martinez on Wednesday, as player and club agreed to mutually terminate his contract so he and his family can return to their native Argentina to be closer to friends and relatives.

NYCFC look to part ways with DiskerudEmpire of Soccer
After spending a year on the bench, Mix Diskerud is preparing to leave New York City FC. In an interview with MLSsoccer.com Tuesday morning, Vieira commented on Diskerud’s situation. “He is looking for playing time,” Vieira said. “We are having a discussion with him and try to find the best way to satisfy Mix and ourselves.”

Insider Notes: MLS to significantly increase TAM spread across the leagueSI.com
In the next week, MLS is expected to announce an $8.8 million increase in Targeted Allocation Money over what had been previously earmarked for 2017. That’s an increase of $400,000 per team to $1.2 million per team of TAM for next season.

Many Serie A players earn less than MLS counterparts – studyESPN FC
An in-depth study by the Norwegian Axo Finans group has found that there are more players in MLS earning over €100,000 per week than in Serie A.

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BC SOCCER NEWS

Lakehill earn big draw against Bays, VISL this weekSaanich News
Seventh-place Lakehill Maple Glass men’s team managed a massive 2-2 draw against second-place Bays United Div. 1 of the Vancouver Island Soccer League last week.

Another win in the books for Cowichan LMGCowichan Valley Citizen
Glen Martin didn’t have much to say after Cowichan LMG’s uneventful 2-0 win over the V.I. Wave last Saturday.

EA Sports Include Brain Cancer Survivor Kenton Doust In FIFA 17The Sport Bible
EA Sports have made a brain cancer survivor’s dreams come true by inserting him in FIFA 17. 15-year old Kenton Doust, a staunch Vancouver Whitecaps fan, battled cancer after it emerged that he had three brain tumours on or near his pituitary gland.

PHOTOS: CANADA WEST WOMENS FINAL, UBC 3, TWU 0, NOVEMBER 6, 2016BC Soccer Web
Exclusive photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

VMSL PHOTOS: Richmond FC Hibs 1, ICSF Columbus FC 0, November 5, 2016BC Soccer Web
Exclusive photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

Tickets now on sale for Canada Soccer Women’s National Team celebration match 4 February in VancouverCSA
Individual tickets to the Canada v Mexico Women’s National Team Bronze Medal celebration match on 4 February 2017 in Vancouver are now on sale to the public. Complete ticket information can be found at CanadaSoccer.com/Tickets.

MWSL PHOTOS: Van United Primas 0, Fraser Valley Action 2, October 30, 2016BC Soccer Web
Exclusive Photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

PHOTOS: GNAC Women’s Soccer: SFU 1 Concordia U. (Ore.) 0, October 20, 2016 BC Soccer Web
Exclusive Photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

BC Soccer Assoc. Releases their 2015-2016 Year in ReviewBCSA
After another successful year of soccer in British Columbia, BC Soccer Assoc. is pleased to release their 2015-2016 Year in Review.  The creation of the BC Soccer Club Charter Program, delivery of a FIFA Live Your Goals Festival, along with the numerous Grassroots Festivals across the province and Coach Education highlight some of the major successes this past year.

BC Soccer Assoc. Delivery of Coach MandateBCSA
IMPORTANT:  If you are coaching in the ages U6-U12 you are required to complete the age appropriate course(s) even if you have a higher level of certification (ie. Soccer for Life, B pretest, C License, B License or A License). In order to enable our membership to deliver on the coaching mandate, BC Soccer Assoc. will be scheduling Learning Facilitator training sessions to assist organizations to have qualified individuals to deliver in-club coach certification courses to their coaches.

2016 BC Soccer Provincial Cup Photo Galleries BC Soccer Web
Westhills Stadium & Goudy Park in Langford hosted the 2016 BC Soccer Adult Provincial Cup Finals. It was a thrilling weekend of soccer on Vancouver Island that saw seven champions crowned. Richmond FC & Surrey Pegasus qualified for the National Championships this Fall in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Both Coquitlam Metro-Ford Masters & Classics sides qualified for the Western Canadian Masters Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In all, it was a clean sweep for teams from the VMSL & MWSL. Monique Lamoureux & Bill Currie from BC Soccer Web were on location that weekend, capturing the all the action.

Free Physiotherapy Clinical Trial for Achilles Pain at UBC – UBC Centre for Hip Health & Mobility
Do you have Achilles pain? Interested in free Physiotherapy? If yes, join our clinical trial to look at the effectiveness of intramuscular stimulation (IMS), a form of acupuncture therapy, in treating Achilles tendon pain.

The BC Soccer Web Guide to Empire Field BC Soccer Web
Empire Fields and Plateau Sports Park is the lofty and formal name given to Vancouver’s newest addition to the soccer scene. Yet, anyone who’s ever kicked or carried both kinds of footballs around these parts knows the place by heart.

Introducing BC Soccer Web SyndicationBC Soccer Web
You can now add BC Soccer Web news to your website simply by adding our new RSS Feed! Find out more.

Send your Soccer News to BC Soccer Web! BC Soccer Web
BC Soccer Web is the hub for soccer in British Columbia. We want to share your soccer news with the entire province, and you can help by letting us know! We want your match reports, club news, league standings, and info on upcoming tournaments and clinics. Whether you submit links to existing news on the web, or your own original writing, we want to share it with the soccer community in B.C.

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CANADA SOCCER NEWS

Pro soccer league wants to include HalifaxLocal Xpress
The top official with a new Canadian pro soccer league, planned for a 2018 start in several major Canadian cities, was in Halifax Wednesday for talks with those behind a proposed local franchise.

Canadian international defender Kadeisha Buchanan a nominee for Honda AwardYorkton This Week
Canadian international Kadeisha Buchanan is one of four nominees for the Honda Sport Award for Women’s Soccer. The 21-year-old from Brampton, Ont., helped top-ranked West Virginia to the NCAA tournament final, where the Mountaineers were beaten by 3-1 by No. 7 USC.

A competitive USSDA winter showcaseMontreal Impact
Once again, the Academy U18 and U16 teams took part in the USSDA winter showcase in Florida, each of them playing three games in four days.

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WFC2, USL & NASL NEWS

FC Montreal to cease operationsMount Royal Soccer
After two years in the USL, Montreal Impact’s USL affiliate FC Montreal are set to cease operations. After many speculations in the past couple of days about FC Montreal shutting down and Ottawa Fury becoming the new USL team affiliate, it seems the rumors were true.

Sources: NASL on Last Legs With USL Deal “99% Complete”Fifty Five One
FiftyFive.One has learned that a completed deal to make the USL the sole second-division league is 99% complete. The deal wouldn’t involve the NASL becoming a third-division, leaving the league dead in the water. The USSF’s extended deadline would allow any transferring clubs extra time to get their ducks in a row to avoid litigation with non-moving teams.

NASL’s struggles could mean changes for Armada in 2017Jacksonville.com
The future is becoming increasingly unclear for the Jacksonville Armada. With three teams officially exiting the North American Soccer League, and more perhaps to follow, the next two weeks appear crucial for the league’s future – and could determine what Armada soccer will look like in 2017.

USL Winter Summit Commences in Clearwater BeachUSL
The 2016 USL Winter Summit opened on Thursday morning as the league’s Board of Governors convened for the annual convention in Clearwater Beach, Fla. USL Chief Executive Officer Alec Papadakis and President Jake Edwards both addressed the group as the league continued to plan for the 2017 season.

USL: Roughnecks hire Vaudreuil as head coachSoccer America
David Vaudreuil, who started all five playoff games on D.C. United’s 1997 MLS championship team, was hired as the Tulsa Roughnecks new head coach, replacing David Irving, who now serves as the USL club’s director of football operations & technical director.

Riverhounds Exercise Hertzog’s Contract OptionUSL
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds announced on Wednesday the club had exercised its contract option on 2016 USL All-League forward Corey Hertzog for the 2017 season. Hertzog played in all 30 regular-season matches for the Hounds last year, leading the team in minutes, goals, assists and shots.

What happened to the TOA’s Original NASL FoundersFifty Five One
On Tuesday, US Soccer released a statement saying they postponed a decision for 7-10 days on the NASL/USL sanctioning of second division. The current NASL crisis (where teams are hemorrhaging money) has brought up the discussion of what the original NASL was attempting with the Team Owners Association (TOA). Those TOA members started breaking away from USL in 2008.

Open Overtures: How Cutthroat League Competition Undercuts U.S. National Soccer DevelopmentMidfield Press
The American soccer pyramid is a quite bizarre structure. Eclectic at best and disorganized, disjointed, and incoherent at worst, the divisional system of soccer in the United States is rather scatterbrained. Obviously, there’s no connectivity: there’s no promotion and relegation in place to unify these leagues. Instead, they are assigned their divisional status by US Soccer.

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WOMEN’S SOCCER NEWS

AUDIO: Fury over treatment of Nigeria’s football championsBBC
Nigeria’s Super Falcons may have won the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations. But they still haven’t been paid. And they are refusing to leave their hotel in Abuja until they get the money they are owed. Nigeria’s sports minister told us there is a structural problem but attempts are being made to resolve the issue. Mercy Akide Udoh is one of the greatest ever players in Africa women’s football and she is horrified by what is happening.

Morgan Andrews, Katie Johnson and the USC Trojans find perfect endingThe Equalizer
We all love a good comeback story. Sports in a way are a microcosm of life, the good, the bad, the ugly. Transforming the bad or the ugly into something good resonates with us.

Italian Morace is T&T women’s coach T&T Guardian
Carolina Morace, a former Italian striker turn coach is the new coach of the T&T Women’s team and technical director of women football in T&T.

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WORLD SOCCER NEWS

FIFA Club World Cup: Kashima Antlers fight back to overcome AucklandFIFA
Kashima Antlers advanced to the second round of the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup Japan after coming from a goal down to defeat Auckland City at the International Stadium Yokohama.

Champions League: Dortmund draws Real Madrid to win group; Porto, Sevilla through Fox Sports
Borussia Dortmund came back from a 2-0 deficit at Real Madrid to salvage a draw and win the group on the final day of the Champions League group stage.

New World Cup proposal gets thumbs up at FIFA meetingSportsnet
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said a proposal to expand the World Cup finals to 48 teams, with 16 groups of three teams, received enthusiastic backing at a meeting of national federations on Thursday.

Europa League: Who is through, who can join them?UEFA
The last 11 places in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 will be decided on Thursday with 22 teams in contention: we explain who is through and how the rest can join them.

Boca Juniors’ Carlos Tevez won’t rule out Shanghai Shenhua offer ESPN FC
Boca Juniors striker Carlos Tevez has said he is aware of an offer to play for Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua but has not decided what he will do.

Leeds owner Massimo Cellino banned for 18 months by FAThe Guardian
The Leeds United owner, Massimo Cellino, has been banned for 18 months – effective from 1 February 2017 – for breaking the Football Association’s agent regulations, the governing body has announced.

FA Vase: Newton Aycliffe sack boss after players force way into rival dressing room BBC Sport
Newton Aycliffe sacked their manager Peter Dixon after players from the non-league club fought their way into their opponents’ dressing room.

Has Warner trumped US justices over extradition legalities?Inside World Football
The US Department of Justice’s attempts to get former CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president Jack Warner to the US to stand trial looks set to suffer further delay.

Fifa chief Infantino calls for zero tolerance on child abuseSN
Infantino’s comments come amid a scandal engulfing British football, with the Football Association (FA) having launched an investigation into claims of sex abuse at professional clubs.

CONCACAF calls in feds (the football ones) to pass its 2015 accounting honeypotInside World Football
CONCACAF is holding another extraordinary congress this Saturday, this time to approve the Confederation’s 2015 audited financial statements, remarkably almost a full year after the financial year ended. The positive from this is presumably that they managed to produce a set of accounts.

Barcelona invite Chapecoense for Joan Gamper TrophySN
Barcelona have invited Chapecoense to play in the Joan Gamper Trophy next season to pay tribute to the 71 people who died in a tragic air disaster.

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