There has been much rumour and speculation regarding our men's team heading into World Cup Qualification. Let me set the record straight for you. Some of this information has been announced, some of it has not. But this is what will happen.
It begins with the team getting together on the west coast in late May. And as some of you might have heard, Canada will play Brazil in Seattle on May 31. What a treat that is. Look for the announcement in the next few days.
After that match, the team heads straight to Fort Lauderdale where they will be based in the lead up to their foray into St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Part of their preparation will include flying into Panama on June 4 for a friendly in Panama City against that country on June 6. Then it's back to Fort Lauderdale for five more days before heading into St. Vincent to embark on the campaign for South Africa 2010. That match takes place there on June 15. I'm told they are incapable of mounting a televsion broadcast, so at this point there will not be one. From there it's straight to Montreal for the return leg which will take place sometime between the 20th and 23rd. The CSA will announce this shortly as well.
Now, let's assume the favourites all advance. Here's Canada's schedule for the semi final group stage which begins later in the summer. It starts with two home matches: Jamaica on Aug. 20 and Honduras on September 6th. Unless they can swing a doubleheader with TFC, that match will not be in Toronto. The MLS team plays Chivas at BMO field at 4pm that Sunday. A doubleheader has some appeal however. Maybe Honduran international Amado Guevara can play both...
Then it's on the road for two straight: Mexico Sept. 10 and Honduras Oct. 11. As TFC is in Dallas that day, they will be without Guevara. Mexico comes to Canada Oct. 15, and it all wraps up with an away match in Jamaica Nov. 19. Where these home matches will be played is still open for debate and speculation. We all know the players are adamant about not playing on artificial turf, some more than others. In my mind, these games should be played where ever Canada has the best chance of winning. If that's on artificial turf in Toronto in front of 20,000 Canadian supporters, so be it. If there's no guarantee of that, then move it around. It all depends on how these games are promoted and marketed. The CSA has yet to sort this out in their own minds. Whoever is in charge, they had better not throw out the welcome mat for the other side. I would encourage you to make some noise in this regard. BMO Field is a fortress for TFC. Any stadium in this country should be a fortress for Canada in World Cup Qualifying.
And finally, the announcement of the under-20 rematch between Canada and Argentina at BMO Field next month has drawn some interesting reaction. The idea was to hold this one on the one year anniversary of last year's official BMO Field opener. The problem this year is that May 11th is Mother's Day. The CSA's stance is that it's in the hands of the promoter, Gebko's company, and that they chose the date. I have no strong opinion one way or the other on this one. But judging by the emails and phone calls I'm getting, a lot of you do.
