WHITECAPS FC & MLS
Vancouver Whitecaps to face familiar foe Montreal Impact in mid-week tilt – Eighty-Six Forever
The Impact’s run to the CONCACAF final has resulted in them playing only 8 league games thus far. As a result, they are sitting near the bottom of the MLS standings. However, prior to this past weekend loss at Chicago, the Impact won their first two games of this campaign.
Raw Robbo: On going on the road for five straight; the centre-back situation; and facing Reo-Coker – The Province
Montreal’s a tough game for us. They’ve come off a disappointing result. We always have good games against them, so we’ll just take it one at a time. I do have a set total that I would like to try and acquire but we’ll take it game by game.
CCL Draw: Whitecaps FC drawn into Group F with C.D. Olimpia and Seattle Sounders FC – Whitecaps FC
“It couldn’t be any more competitive,” Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi told reporters on a conference call from the draw in Miami. “We’ve definitely got the most difficult group of the eight. You’ve got the Honduran champions and the Supporters’ Shield winners. Neither will be an easy game.”
The groups are made for the 2015-16 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. – Goal.com
CONCACAF conducted the draw for the CONCACAF Champions League on Monday, sorting the 24 qualified teams into eight groups. Teams will play the other teams in their group both home and away to decide which clubs will move on to the knockout stages.
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2015
Ticket Box Office at BC Place Stadium Now Open for FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ – FIFA
Soccer fans can now buy individual match tickets for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ onsite at the BC Place Stadium box office. Tickets start from just $20.15 and can be purchased in person at the BC Place Box Office Outlet at 765 Pacific Boulevard 1-26 June.
Canada to set attendance record at Women’s WC – Sportsnet
Canada will break a record without kicking a ball at the Women’s World Cup. The 42,000 tickets already sold for Saturday’s tournament opener at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium between Canada and China erases the previous attendance mark of 29,953 for a women’s ‘A’ international on home soil.
Women’s World Cup: Canada’s Sophie Schmidt is letting those words out – The Province
Sophie Schmidt’s recent reading list includes The Way of the SEAL, a book by ex-U.S. Navy Cmdr. Mark Divine that’s subtitled: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed. “It is about leadership,” said Schmidt, Canada’s excellent two-way midfielder from Abbotsford. “But it’s also about just being awesome.”
Christine Sinclair: Shy, humble and the ‘nicest person’ – Vancouver Sun
Team captain Christine Sinclair slouched at the end of the table, pulled her red team jacket up to her nose and stared unblinking at a spot just short of the rows of journalists and cameras.
2015 Women’s World Cup: Group A Preview – The Equalizer
Group A is arguably the most wide-open of the six groups, even if hosts Canada will be slightly favored. The Netherlands are the dark horses of the tournament, while China and New Zealand are both capable of beating any of the teams in this group. Winning Group A should yield a fairly nice route to the semifinals for whichever team prevails.
Sasic: Playing at a World Cup is always the greatest – FIFA
No list of the most exceptional footballers playing in Germany’s women’s national team right now would be complete without Celia Sasic. The 26-year-old is currently in the form of her life, producing goals for both 1. FFC Frankfurt and the national side as if they were rolling off an assembly line.
CANADA
CSN Report: Canadian League is Coming – Canadian Soccer News
CSN has confirmed that Canada will have a league of its own in 2017. A source close to the negotiations said that a formal announcement will be made late in 2015 or early in 2016.
FC Edmonton: No contact at all with Canadian professional league backers – the11.ca
Sources have indicated that the Canadian professional league is close to becoming reality, with key meetings expected in the coming weeks. But, if the league does indeed come to be — and, to be fair, there is still a lot of skepticism out there — the assumption that the North American Soccer League’s Ottawa Fury and FC Edmonton would simply come along for the ride is well, off-base.
BC SOCCER
Six Points Banked | Highlanders Shut Out Weekend Opponents – Victoria Highlanders
Coach Dave Dew added to his ‘Loyalty Rewards Program’ earning six points on 900 kilometers of travel this weekend. His Victoria Highlanders FC team came through in mid-season form earning shut out road victories in Kamloops (1:0) and Abbotsford (2:0). All six points desperately needed in keeping the Highlanders deadlocked at the top of the Pacific Coast Soccer League standings with Mid-Isle Mariners.
WolfPack Men’s Soccer Adds More Depth At The Back (Swanson) – TRU
Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s soccer coach John Antulov is looking to build a feared back line. The WolfPack took another step in that direction with the announcement that Adam Swanson of Sutherland Secondary of North Vancouver, BC has committed to the program starting in the fall.
FIFA CORRUPTION CRISIS
FIFA executive Valcke to skip World Cup opener – The Equalizer
FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke will not attend the opening game of the Women’s World Cup as previously planned. The news comes less than a week after several high-ranking FIFA officials were arrested on corruption charges in an investigation led by the United States.
Bribery Inquiry Drawing Closer to FIFA’s President, Sepp Blatter – NY Times
Jérôme Valcke, the soccer organization’s secretary general, is the unidentified “high-ranking FIFA official” who prosecutors say transferred $10 million in 2008 from FIFA to accounts controlled by another soccer official, Jack Warner, the officials said. The payment is a key piece of last week’s indictment accusing Mr. Warner of taking a bribe in exchange for helping South Africa secure the right to host the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA scandal puts Copa America 2016 in question, says CONMEBOL exec – ESPN
Jose Luis Meiszner, the secretary general of the South American governing body CONMEBOL, told radio in Buenos Aires: “Today one has to question the possibility of playing this tournament.”
CONCACAF official Sanz banned by FIFA – Goal.com
FIFA has banned CONCACAF general secretary Enrique Sanz and two Congolose Football Association officials from football-related activity. Jeffrey Webb, the CONCACAF president, was one of nine FIFA officials among 14 people indicted on charges of racketeering, conspiracy and corruption by United States authorities last week.
Traffic Sports’ obsession with challenging MLS/SUM may have fueled alleged misconduct – World Soccer Talk
As someone who worked at the North American Soccer League (NASL) for three and a half years including the period where some of the alleged misconduct began, the chain of events that make up a large part of the federal case against Davidson and Traffic Sports makes perfect sense.
Europe plots to stage an ‘alternative World Cup’ in place of Russia 2018 – The Independent
The plan to boycott the tournament which is due to be held in Russia – revealed to The Independent by the leading Uefa official behind it – would involve European teams and some invited South American countries breaking away from the official tournament, fatally undermining it in the eyes of the fans and sponsors.
Champagne backs Blatter to reform FIFA – Goal.com
Former FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne declared the “political controversies” of football’s governing body are not Sepp Blatter’s fault but that of the executive committee. Speaking to Perform in the aftermath of Blatter’s re-election as president Saturday, Champagne claimed the inability of the FIFA president to appoint its own government — the executive committee, or ExCo — makes it difficult to institute reform.
Sepp Blatter’s Fifa re-election causes anger but Uefa divisions weaken cause – The Guardian
Protests against Sepp Blatter’s re-election have increased the pressure on the Fifa president, with Uefa considering its options in the knowledge that a quarter of European associations defied Michel Platini’s plea to oust Blatter from power.
WORLD OF SOCCER
FIFA U20 World Cup: Flying Eagles lacked organization – Akpoborie – The Premium Times
Former National Team player, Jonathan Akpoborie, has said that the Manu Garba-led Nigeria U20 Flying Eagles lacked organization in their opening match against Brazil at the ongoing FIFA U20 World Cup.
Southern Africa: Namibia Win First Cosafa Cup Crown – allafrica.com
Namibia were crowned COSAFA Cup 2015 champions when they registered a deserved 2-0 win over Mozambique in the final of the regional championship at the Moruleng Stadium in South Africa on Saturday.