BC Soccer News, Weekend, February 7-9, 2020

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS & MLS NEWS

MLSPA and MLS Reach Tentative Agreement on New CBAMLSPA
Historic agreement includes significant improvements to free agency rights, increases in player compensation, and a first-ever media rights revenue sharing arrangement.

MLS, MLSPA agree on new CBA to run through 2024 seasonMLS
Major League Soccer and the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) have announced they’ve reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which covers five full seasons from 2020 to 2024 (term runs from Feb. 1, 2020 through Jan. 31, 2025).

MLS players spread their wings and fly with new CBAThe Province
Last time the CBA was negotiated between the MLS and MLSPA, the players had their lunches eaten. This time around, there was plenty of food for all as they came to a cordial five-year deal.

Labour Lifeline: A look at the new MLS CBA and how it affects the Vancouver WhitecapsBTS
Early Thursday morning, a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the MLS and the MLS Players Association (MLSPA), putting any worries of a potential labour stoppage to rest. Here is how the deal shaped up, and how it stands to impact the Vancouver Whitecaps in the short and long term future.

Development Squad’s Nathan Demian called up to Egypt U-19 national teamWhitecaps FC
Whitecaps FC Development Squad centre back and BMO Academy System product Nathan Demian has been called up to the Egypt U-19 national team for the 2020 Arab Cup U-20 tournament in Saudi Arabia.

Vancouver Southsiders 2020 memberships now openVancouver Southsiders
We are excited to announce that the 2020 memberships are now available for purchase!

LA Galaxy offering Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez meet-and-greet to fans for $500 eachESPN
LA Galaxy fans keen to rub shoulders with the Major League Soccer giants’ new marquee signing, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, can now do just that… for a price.

PACIFIC FC & BC SOCCER NEWS

VISL Division 1 Matchweek 18 Previews BC Soccer Web
It is crunch time, and the weekend ahead could answer a lot of unknowns as the VISL’s division 1 regular season comes to its completion.

Pacific FC Sign Mexican Forward Alejandro DiazPacific FC
“Alejandro is an ambitious and talented player with experience from Club America,” said Pa-Modou Kah, Head Coach, Pacific FC. “It says a lot about him to choose to play for the Pacific family and I am looking forward to working with him.”

Richmond-based TSS part of BC Premier League expansionRichmond News
Academy welcomed into BC Soccer’s top tier for youth players with U13 teams competing next fall.

Blackout keep on winningNew Westminster Record
The New Westminster Soccer Club women’s Blackout gutted out a 3-1 win  over Delta on Sunday, stretching their undefeated streak to 14 consecutive games.

Ex-Whitecap DeMerit in Surrey to talk soccer at new private schoolSurrey Now-Leader
Former Vancouver Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit will be in Surrey to talk about his Rise & Shine Program at a new private school. As Glarea Elevated Learning’s head soccer instructor, DeMerit will discuss his development philosophy at an open house there Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Tickets on sale for Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team return to VancouverCSA
Tickets to the highly anticipated Canada-Australia Women’s International Friendly Match set for Tuesday 14 April at BC Place are on sale to the public today 29 January 2020 via Ticketmaster.ca and by phone at 1.855.985.5000.

Penticton & PCSL revives Kennedy Cup Tournament for 2020BC Soccer Web
The John F. Kennedy Cup has a unique history amongst North America’s trophies for soccer. Founded in 1960, the Kennedy Cup was the first (and only) sporting trophy to be sanctioned by the late President of the United States. It also was the base for some of the first meaningful matches between clubs from British Columbia’s PCSL, California, Oregon, Washington and Mexico. When President Kennedy was assassinated in November, 1963, it was one of the few sporting events in the United States to take place that month with the family’s blessing.

BC Soccer Web’s 2019-20 Guide to Soccer on TV and Online in CanadaBC Soccer Web
In our 2019-20 Guide to Soccer on Canadian TV, we do our best to sort through the leagues, service options and hardware needed to help you get the most out of your soccer weekends this season. The TV situation is constantly changing as leagues are added and Canadian broadcast rights are sorted out at the last moment, so come back for updates!

PCSL CHALLENGE CUP FINAL PHOTOS: FC Tigers Vancouver 4 Victoria Highlanders 4 (FC Tigers win 4-2 on PKs), July 28, 2019BC Soccer Web
Exclusive Photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

Power Soccer in BC SportAbility BC
We believe that everyone deserves an opportunity to participate in physical activity. We currently have programs in Vancouver, Surrey, Nanaimo, Penticton, and are still looking to expand. We are always looking for more athletes, officials, volunteers, and sponsors. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Becoming a BC Soccer RefereeBCSA
Whether you are an experienced referee new to British Columbia or if you are new to the discipline of refereeing BC Soccer Assoc. has a clinic and a pathway for you. The minimum age to become a referee is 12 years old (small sided) and 14 years old (11-a-side). Please enjoy the short video showcasing some Referee programs that BC Soccer offers and continue below for more on how to become a referee in BC!

Free Physiotherapy Clinical Trial for Achilles Pain at UBCUBC 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.

CANADIAN PREMIER LEAGUE & CANADA SOCCER NEWS

Canada ready to face Costa Rica for a spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic GamesCSA
Canada is ready to face Costa Rica in a must-win Semi-final playoff match on Friday 7 February for a spot at Tokyo 2020. The two winners of the Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship Semi-finals will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as well as advance to the Sunday 9 February Concacaf Final.

Sophie Schmidt closes in on exclusive 200 cap-club as CanWNT seeks Olympic berthCanPL
Canadian footballer Sophie Schmidt is an interesting case study in the dichotomous nature of the human personality.

Wanderers complete goalkeeping tandem with signing of Jason BeaulieuHFX Wanderers
The Wanderers have signed a second goalkeeper for the 2020 season with the addition of former Montreal Impact academy keeper Jason Beaulieu.

Christine Sinclair, the canny hunter, scores her way into history booksThe Guardian
It was a long time coming. A slow climb. Many expected the Canada striker Christine Sinclair to break the USA legend Abby Wambach’s record of 184 international goals at the World Cup last summer. Except that was unlikely. With Canada playing a defensive game and Sinclair having managed nine World Cup goals in her four previous tournament finals, it was unlikely she would get the four needed to shift the crown over the US-Canada border.

WOMEN’S SOCCER NEWS

USWNT Has All the Motivation it Needs in Olympic Qualifying Decider vs. MexicoSI.com
A decade ago, Mexico stunned the U.S. in a Women’s World Cup qualifier, putting the Americans on the brink of missing the competition altogether. That hasn’t been forgotten as they battle for a place at the 2020 Olympics.

Everton – Liverpool Derby shows WSL AmbitionBBC Sport
Everton have shown “they are true to their word” about being ambitious by hosting Sunday’s Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Goodison Park, says boss Willie Kirk.

Utah Royals set to name Craig Harrington as next head coachThe Equalizer
Multiple confirmed to The Equalizer that former Chicago Red Stars assistant coach Craig Harrington is set to be named the next coach of Utah Royals FC.

Discovery phase continues as May trial looms in USWNT’s equal pay lawsuit – The Equalizer
There’s been little talk about the United States women’s national team’s equal pay lawsuit during Concacaf qualifying, but before the team seeks gold on the field in the 2020 Olympics, they will face their biggest trial off the field with a May trial date looming between the players and the federation.

WORLD SOCCER NEWS

Football around Europe: 10 things to look out for this weekendThe Guardian
Ancelotti is changing the culture at Everton, Ibra returns for the Milan derby and Forest can extend Leeds’ slump.

Bundesliga: Key questions ahead of Bayern Munich’s clash with RB LeipzigDW
Leaders Bayern Munich and second-placed RB Leipzig are to face off in a heavyweight Bundesliga bout on Sunday. With huge potential title-race ramifications, DW looks at the key questions heading into the match.

How Barcelona and Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey hopes were crushed on a wild nightESPN
Crash! By the end of what might just have been the most dramatic night the Copa del Rey has ever experienced, life flowing through its veins, two giants were down. They had fallen, defeated, at the feet of the men from the north, that place where football is something else, something good.

Safe standing: Seating areas with barriers have ‘positive impact’ on fans’ safety, says reportBBC Sport
Seating areas at football grounds which incorporate barriers have a “positive impact on spectator safety”, a government report has found.

Trials of concussion substitutes could be coming to soccerSportsnet
Concussion substitutions could be trialed in English soccer next season after proposals were presented to the game’s lawmakers.

Jay Berhalter steps down as U.S. Soccer’s Chief Commercial OfficerSBI
The U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Thursday that Jay Berhalter, brother of USMNT head coach Gregg, will be stepping down from his role as the organization’s CCO at the end of February. Berhalter has worked within U.S. Soccer for 15 years in two stints and is credited with having a big hand in doubling the revenue of the organization’s operation.

What it’s really like to get sacked as a football manager?The Independent
To understand how quickly a club moves on from a manager, consider this story from an affluent club in the Championship a few seasons ago.

Flamengo’s grieving families go uncompensated as club rakes in record revenuesInside World Football
A year after the fatal fire at the Ninho do Urubu, Flamengo’s training centre, the families of seven victims remain entangled in a legal battle over compensation.

Where to watch the FIFA eClub World Cup 2020FIFA
Twenty-four of the planet’s leading sides will descend on Milan, Italy for the FIFA eClub World Cup 2020, the pinnacle event of club team-based EA SPORTS FIFA.

World’s oldest boys plot a new beginning and a match before Austria vs England Euro warm-upInside World Football
English and Austrian fans will be able to warm-up for the 2020 Euros warm-up game on June 1 by watching two of the oldest clubs in the world – they have 287 years of history between them. The First Vienna Football Club 1894, Austria’s oldest football club, and Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club, founded in 1857, will play a friendly at the Hohe Warte Stadium in Vienna prior to the national teams facing off in their Euro 2020 warm-up.

Six of the Best: when George ran riot for Manchester United 50 years ago – The Guardian
On 7 February 1970 George Best got six goals at Northampton in the FA Cup in his push to prove the ‘cranks’ wrong.

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