Canada avoids U.S., Mexico in decent World Cup draw 30 Jul 2011 If Canada qualifies out of round two of the CONCACAF qualifiers, it knows that it won’t have to face continental powerhouses United States and Mexico in round three.
Catching up with Geoff Aunger, the first Canadian to win MLS Cup 24 May 2011 There is one honour that belongs to Geoff Aunger that no other Canadian soccer player can ever take from him. Aunger, the Red Deer, Alta. native who was capped 44 times by the national team, was the first Canadian to ever play on an MLS Cup winner, the D.C. United side of 1999 that some would argue is still the greatest team to ever play in the league. “Making it in that league at that time was very difficult,” said Aunger, who now works in New York as a private banker. “At the time, we, the Canadian players, counted as import players."
FIFA keeps status quo for 2014 World Cup; no extra slot for CONCACAF 3 Mar 2011 The status quo will remain for the 2014 World Cup. The allocation of slots by regions will remain exactly the same as they were for the 2010 World Cup, despite hopes coming out of CONCACAF that this confederation would be bumped from three spots and a playoff berth to four clear slots.
On CONCACAF, Canada and the CCL: One-on-one with RSL’s Will Johnson 1 Mar 2011 The11 caught up with Will Johnson at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, in the midst of final preparations with Real Salt Lake for the final leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal matchup against the Columbus Crew. We asked Will about the rumors swirling that FIFA may be set to grant CONCACAF a fourth spot for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and about Team Canada’s important summer this year in Gold Cup action.
So, who is the real MVP of world football? 10 Jan 2011 So, here’s the question. Based on the criteria of most valuable to his or her team, to whom would you give the award (man, woman or both)? We at The 11 would love to know.
A World Cup in January? Now that’s an idea worth pursuing 20 Dec 2010 While the rotten smell left behind by the voting process for the 2018 and, especially, the 2022 World Cups is still strong in FIFA’s Swiss headquarters, there is one bit of good coming out of the Qatar bid. And that’s the continuing rumblings that the tournament will have to be held in January — to give the players and fans a reprieve from the Qatari summers, where temperatures regularly soar past 40 C. Because, once and for all, it would smash the notion of the “international calendar,” a large truck of snake oil that has been pushed onto the world’s footballing community by rich, European clubs.
Qatar win means MLS doesn’t need to make any more promises 2 Dec 2010 For all the Canadian soccer fans hoping to make short hops across the border to catch World Cup games in 2022, there is disappointment. The United States’ bid to host the tourney was unsuccessful, as FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
Scottish referees standing up for themselves — and they’re right to do so 27 Nov 2010 The referees are on strike in Scotland. They have had it. They’ve had it with the criticisms of coaches and players. They’re tired of being made the scapegoats whenever a close decision goes against a fiery manager with an axe to grind. Good for them. They’ve gone on strike, leaving the Scottish FA scrambling to find refs for this week’s matches. Polish and Portuguese refs who the SFA thought it had secured to officiate this weekend’s games have gone back home. Scotland did find enough foreign refs to keep the Premier League going, so fans could be treated another weekly instalment of Rangers, Celtic and Everybody Else.