The sport of soccer has been one of the fastest growing sports in the world over the last decade. But for some reason, it seems that in Newfoundland, and more noticeably in the greater St. John's area, it has been on somewhat of a decline.
Nailing down exactly what the cause of that is may be a matter of debate. For me, I feel that a lot of the problem comes directly from the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association.
I've sat and watched for a while now, and I've listened to the complaints over the last five years or so, and wondered why no one has ever had the brass to speak up and voice their concerns publicly, instead of whispering to the next fellow.
We all bore witness to the complete disaster which befell Challenge Cup soccer on the final weekend of summer, but soccer in this province is not just solely Challenge Cup.
Not too long ago, intermediate soccer or Tier II was competed at a reasonably high level, and held somewhat of a prestige of its own. Now it has been reduced to little or no respect, and often treated as no better than a beer league.
I come from the nation’s soccer capital, and I remember growing up watching intermediate provincial A and B play host to anywhere from 10 to 20 teams.
Teams such as the Guards, Feildians, Holy Cross, Mount Pearl, St. John’s United, Star of the Sea and many others from the greater St John’s area, as well as west coast teams, competed with some of the finest Burin Peninsula squads such as St. Lawrence, Lawn, Burin, Grand Bank, Fortune, Garnish and Marystown.
The calibre of play was very high, but in recent years, it's become virtually extinct. This was the first year in the past three years that a provincial intermediate tournament even existed.
How do you go from such hierarchy to basically a slum, in such a short period of time?
The only real organized league that even exists at the intermediate Tier II level is owned and operated by St. John's soccer, which charges close on $7,000 entry fee per team.
A price tag like that would scream prestige, or so one would think.
But what exactly does a fee like that get you, one might ask? Surprisingly, very little.
Most games in the league of a dozen or so teams are lucky if they have two officials, at best — one referee and one linesman. And that the end of the season, there is no championship that leads to a national tournament.
Nope, there’s barely even a trophy for the winner.
When asked for a breakdown of where the $7,000 goes, you don’t get a satisfactory answer.
And even though St. John's soccer hosted the intermediate provincials on the same field they host their league, only four of those 12 or so teams competed.
Maybe it's time they wave the extra registration fee for the tournament instead of treating it as an extra money grab.
But it doesn't stop there. The same holds true for Tier 1 and Tier 2 ladies, and the masters division. That's just in senior soccer alone, in the ball park a quarter of a million dollars!
That’s not including all of the minor programs, all-star and Metro teams. Just reading these basic figures might beg the question: where does all the money go?
Those of us who want to see soccer flourish deserve some clear answers on where the money we pay to play is being spent.
The sad reality is the statement is true that the more things change, the more they actually stay the same. When confronted with suggestions of positive changes to said organization, it's been noted to have been said, “No, no, we're not changing that. This is the way we've always done it.”
Well, here's a statement to counteract that.
“Just because that's the way you've always done it, doesn't mean it's right.”
With changing times, with a new and different demographic, can things ever really prosper grow and develop under the same regime that has held the reins for two decades? I don't think I need to answer that question for anybody.
So I guess the real question is, who watches the watchmen?
For soccer to survive at a competitive level that mirrors the rest of the country, this is the question that needs to be asked, doesn't it?
Jason Pike
St. John's
