The ambition of the Canadian Premier League to foster Canuck pro soccer talent has been well chronicled. That includes on the other side of the white line as well on the benches.
Two Island-bred CPL head coaches, James Merriman of Pacific FC and Martin Nash of York United, lead their charges into battle today at Starlight Stadium.
“That’s a nice story of the match,” said Merriman.
“We know what [former Whitecaps pro and 39-time Canada-capped] Marty did in his career and his brother [two-time NBA MVP] Steve both coming from the Island. Their father John was one of my coaches with Victoria United so I have a close connection with the Nash family. There is big respect on my part for Marty and what we’re both doing to try and improve the game by being involved in the CPL from the start in 2019.” Merriman started as assistant coach with PFC and Nash as assistant coach with Cavalry FC.
The CPL story on the bench has been so impressive that Sportsnet last fall included former PFC head coach Pa-Modou Kah, now assistant coach of Charlotte FC in MLS, and Bobby Smyrniotis, head coach of four-time CPL champion Forge FC, as among its top-five picks to replace John Herdman as national team head coach heading to World Cup 2026.
“Without the CPL, these opportunities to develop coaching and head coaching roles in the professional game would have been very difficult to find,” said Merriman.
“Marty has done a good job with his project in York and we are trying to build Pacific into one of the top teams.”
Merriman brings the Tridents into today’s game with two wins and a draw in league play. Nash’s Nine Stripes have a win and two losses in league. But the story of the week in Canadian soccer has been Voyageurs Cup play in the Canadian Championship tournament as the semi-pro League1 teams gave pro CPL teams all they could handle and more.
Giant-killing is a big part of the lore of cup competitions around the world and that storyline played out in the opening round of the Canadian Championship with PFC needing a tying goal at the death in injury time, followed by seven rounds of penalty kicks, to get past the plucky TSS Rovers of League1 B.C. while Ligue1 Quebec-champion CS Saint-Laurent upset the Halifax Wanderers of the CPL on penalties.
Upward pressure is good. It keeps those at higher levels on alert that there are those nipping at their cleats in the evolving Canadian soccer pyramid.
“There’s a lot of people working to improve football in this country and the structure of it. A lot of time and resources have been put into building the CPL and a part of that project is League1,” noted Merriman.
“You can see right across the country the changes in the structure. We know there’s a lot of quality and there are fine lines in football and players can get missed and fall through the cracks. This has always been the story in Canada. You’ve seen the competitiveness and what the League1 teams bring. These are the biggest matches of their season to play in the Canadian Championship. It creates that football culture that we want across this country. It’s an important part that is there everywhere else in the world. It’s been growing and building here. There’s still a lot of work to do but it’s improving.”
Again, it’s about upward pressure.
“The women’s national team has always been very strong and the men’s national team is improving,” said Merriman.
“Everyone needs to continue working together. The future can be really bright.”
CORNER KICKS: The dates have been announced for the two-legged Canadian Championship quarter-finals with PFC taking on CPL-rival Atletico Ottawa on Wednesday at TD Place Stadium in the nation’s capital and May 29 at Starlight Stadium. The other quarter-finals feature Cavalry FC of the CPL playing the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS, Forge FC of the CPL meeting CF Montreal of MLS and upset-darling CS-Saint Laurent taking on Toronto FC of MLS.
