We are working to prepare the autumn issue of Plastic Pitch. And, as has become custom, we prep for the launch of the issue by previewing one of our stories on The 11. We present an abridged version of the Q and A we did with Ottawa Fury coach Marc Dos Santos.

“We are expected to know soon if coaches from European and MLS clubs are going to allow us our players to at least attend all the games and whether it’s possible for them to attend the pre-tournament camp,” Floro said. “We trust that the Canadian USL teams are going to allow players to attend the camp and in all the games. If clubs don’t allow several players to attend the games, it will be much more difficult for us. We hope the clubs will allow all the players with us.”

How does that relate to what he said today? Well, much like his comments on the import rule, promotion-relegation isn’t something he can do on his own. In fact, on Monday the league office confirmed to me today that it’s not something that’s been discussed internally. Basically, what the commissioner was saying is that it would be nice to have discussion about promotion and relegation — which is a lot different than having promotion and relegation.

But, don’t say that we don’t occasionally cave to reader pressure! We’ve crunched the numbers as best as we can (please let us know if you notice we’ve missed a player) and evaluated USL minutes.

A senior World Cup played completely on artificial turf. It was part of Canada’s bid for the 2015 Women’s World Cup. A group of international players launched, then aborted, an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal case over the use of turf over grass. Now, with the tournament wrapped up, MARTIN MacMAHON assesses how the surfaces stood up (or not).

The CSA says that it "is exploring broadcast avenues" for Canada Soccer as a whole, and is looking at ways to get the Canada/Dominica qualifiers in the air.

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.

During his reign as president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter has made the Canadian Soccer Association one of his favourite federations.

Trying to predict the aftermath of Tuesday’s FIFA arrests is like trying to gather up all the buckshot that’s been sprayed out of a cannon.

After the NASL spring season launches, Commissioner Bill Peterson, along with the owners of FC Edmonton and the Ottawa Fury, look to form a task force to help attract more potential investors to the league.