Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicko999
What you said has no chance of happening simply because the 3 MLS academies will suck in all the talented Canadian prospects and those who end playing in CPL will not be good enough for the national team.
If you are a talented 15 years old player, would you choose an MLS academy or a CPL one. 1 league has 10x more potential than the other simply because it is based in a country 10x bigger.
It's like asking someone whether his dream is to play in the NFL or CFL. It's a no brainer.
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MLS may be attractive as a final destination, but the scouting has to happen at the micro level, more Academies means more training camps to recruit from. Also, some players develop later in their career, and they need professional playing time to develop. Anyway, the MLS Academies will only take on a small number of young prospects every year (there's also the known corruption element with scouts demanding kids sign contracts through them first), others who can develop into just as good if not better players need an outlet to practice and grow (TFC's Academy as an example, no longer develops under 11 players, they recruit those from existing academies of other teams). CPL and its academies provide that opportunity.
Cyle Larin was never discovered or given a chance at an MLS Academy, he played for Sigma FC, got training stints with European clubs, then played in college in the US. It was only then that he was noticed by MLS and drafted. If we had a solid top flight and Academy network he would have had professional experience at a younger age. Regardless, we are lucky he is so talented and has finally gotten a chance as a pro, and is now getting followed by teams such as Arsenal.