As press conferences go, the announcement of Canada’s 2015 Women’s World Cup host cities was about as anticlimactic as they get.

Make no mistake. This is unprecedented stuff. In North America, sports teams’ front offices usually work behind the scenes when it comes to political issues and don’t make public pronouncements on their positions. Too many risks, too many bridges that can be burned. But this times is different.

Don’t expect to see national men’s coach Stephen Hart experiment with his roster for Canada’s June 3 friendly against the United States and the subsequent World Cup qualifiers.Hart said, at the senior level, there simply aren’t many players from which to choose.

But, a cynic would question the “all-Canadian” nature of the Impact-Whitecaps match. After all, between the starting lineups of both teams, there was only one player who would be eligible for a Canada call-up; Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier.

For the Canadian women’s team, the match will be one of their final preparations ahead of the 2012 Olympics. But, for Moncton, the game could mean so much, much more. When FIFA and CSA officials toured the seven cities vying to host games in both the 2014 Women’s U-20 World Cup and the 2015 Women’s World Cup, they made a promise: The national team would play friendlies in those venues leading up to the games.

Major League Soccer's new refereeing structure will not limit opportunities for Canadian officials.

The decision, made by the USSF in Miami this morning, ensures stability for FC Edmonton, Puerto Rico Islanders and the six U.S. mainland teams in the circuit, as well as the coming expansion franchise from Ottawa.

Olivier Occean celebrated being named Canadian Player of the Month by helping SpVgg Greuther Furth pad its lead atop the Bundesliga 2.

The Italian soccer federation wasn’t as kind. On its website, it blasted the referee for allowing the Gayle goal. The FIGC’s report stated the game was “spoiled by a foul in the penalty area that went undetected by the referee” before Gayle got the winner.

When the Canadian men’s national team faces Armenia next Wednesday in Cyprus, it will bring a squad of just 17 players. Meanwhile, the Armenians will bring 31 players.