Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast Canada’s quarter-final match this Saturday, July 18 from the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Canada’s match will broadcast live on all four Sportsnet channels at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

As a soccer fan, it’s disappointing that the biggest club competition on the continent is going to get even less coverage nationally, especially with the interest in the new competition on the rise due to the great Impact run this year. But when put in the context that 800 people are losing their jobs, well…

Some of those people are the crew who produce another sports related program on CBC Radio, The Inside Track, one of the few national radio shows that featured in depth coverage of sport beyond the scores. In recent years, the program has aired some great soccer features, including a feature profile with David Edgar just prior to the 2007 U20 World Cup.

If you have been lurking around the V’s forum for the past week or so, then you have no doubt caught wind of the press release being drafted by the V’s calling for the sacking of Dale Mitchell. It’s now out and in the wild. Please, someone in the mainstream media, pick this story up and run with it.

And I don’t know if this is a complete coincidence or if the V’s have some kind of inside connection with him, but today Julian de Guzman also amplified his criticism of the CSA. Really, he unloaded both barrels, saying that the CSA “does not take the game seriously, and that led the team to play like “a bunch of amateurs” in its failed bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.”

He also lays into the CSA about the lack of prep leading up to this summers Gold Cup.

“They’re not going in to win it. We’re going to play one game in May to prepare for the Gold Cup? How real are you being trying to compete at a high level internationally?” De Guzman said. “It feels like we’re taking a step backwards. That’s the feeling in the whole association. They lack knowledge about the present game.”

Does anyone else find it interesting that he uses the word “they’re” and not “we’re”? Was that just a little slip, or is JDG signaling that he will not be taking part in this summers Gold Cup? I know he has said he would never refuse a call-up for his country (bless you JDG), but at what level will he be pushing himself wearing the red and white. And for those of us who follow the game, could you blame him for checking out?

At any rate, Hallelujah my Canuck footie loving friends! Nice work. Let’s hope this stuff has some legs.

From the Voyageurs:

January 29, 2009
For immediate release

The Voyageurs Demand Soccer Coaching Change
Time for Dale Mitchell to Go, Say Canadian Soccer Fans

The Voyageurs, Canada’s leading soccer supporters group, call on the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) to reconsider its decision to ratify Mr. Dale Mitchell as coach of the Canadian senior men’s soccer team.

Given the extremely poor results, substandard play and lack of leadership in the men’s national program, the Voyageurs believe that Mr. Mitchell should be immediately relieved of his responsibilities.

The success of the men’s national program – and with it, the development of elite soccer players to represent Canada – depends on the CSA’s ability to respond to the flagrantly deficient situation within the men’s national team. This team has performed well below its potential ever since Mr. Mitchell was appointed coach in 2007, which we believe is linked to Mr. Mitchell’s inability to inspire top performances from his players. Canada’s recent result in attempting to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup (zero wins, two draws and four losses in our semi-final qualifying group, for just two points out of a possible 18) is unacceptable, given the calibre of elite players Canada currently enjoys. Mr. Mitchell’s overall record with the national men’s team is three wins, five draws and eight losses, with two of those wins coming against CONCACAF minnow St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the preliminary round of World Cup qualifying. These results speak failure, and the lion’s share of that failure belongs to Mr. Mitchell.

The CSA must also take into consideration the unacceptable reluctance of Mr. Mitchell himself to openly assume his share of the responsibility. Mr. Mitchell has exacerbated his estrangement with the Canadian soccer community with unnecessary criticism of his players and disrespectful comments about Canadian fans, who have always unconditionally supported the team on the pitch.

As the passionate voice of Canadian soccer fans across the country and around the world, the Voyageurs are not so naive as to believe that Mr. Mitchell is the only party responsible for the disappointing results of the men’s national team. We believe that individual players need to be called to task for their performance on the pitch during the recent World Cup qualifying campaign. As elite professionals, those putting on the Canada jersey have to understand that much more should and will be expected of them. We admire their 100% effort and commitment, but cannot respect those who decide to make weak excuses for poor results. The Voyageurs also believe that the CSA needs to show stronger leadership in taking Canadian soccer to the next level. We as fans have made a concerted effort to bolster our game-day support of all Canadian soccer teams, male and female and of all age groups, just as we support our local Canadian clubs. We are all in this together.

Yet the ultimate responsibility for team performance in top-level men’s soccer has always and will always belong to the coach and his technical staff. This is true in every serious soccer nation in the world. There are sufficient precedents from around the world to prove that Mr. Mitchell’s current status is an aberration. He has not done his job and needs to go.

The Voyageurs ask that Mr. Mitchell’s release be immediately followed by the opening of a rigorous hiring process to identify the best professional to lead our men’s national program to international success. Canada deserves to give its best shot, and the time is now. After the abject failure of the recent World Cup qualifying campaign, and his previous failure with the winless and goalless Canadian Under-20 team at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup (hosted by Canada), there can be no justification for the continuation of Mr. Mitchell in his current position.

The Voyageurs wish to make clear that Canadian fans have no personal agenda with Mr. Mitchell. We have admired his contributions and performances as a leading Canadian player and have recognized his past successes as a youth coach. Those fine moments, however, have faded. When it comes to the men’s national team, it is time to look to a brighter future under someone else’s leading light.

We reject any other solution on the part of CSA Board of Directors. The Voyageurs encourage the current president and his board to give first priority to the interests of Canadian national soccer, its players and its fans, and to ignore partisan interests, regional lobbies, personal agendas and extraneous motivations that have nothing to do with ensuring the long-sought success of our men’s national program.

There can be no excuses. Nor can there be any other acceptable response from the Canadian Soccer Association. We call on the CSA to make the right decision, now.

If you have no idea what Twitter is, it’s a microblogging service to send out short bursts (140 characters or less) of information to a network. In my other life I use Twitter quite a bit and find it is a really useful tool for quickly sharing information that often doesn’t fit in to a full length blog post.

In addition Ben is joining a weekly soccer podcast called “It’s Called Football” with Ben Rycroft, who is the National News Editor for the Metro newspaper and a Liverpool supporter (but we won’t hold that against him). Balancing out the testosterone is  Chantelle Junker who Knight describes as “funny, brassy – a perfect representative of this entire generation of soccer fans who discovered – and fell madly in love with – Toronto FC”.

Here is their current show from December 13th, which is Ben’s first show. Subscribe for yourself here.