Pro Soccer Pre-Implementation Committee Formed

Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Soccer Association today announced a Pre-Implementation Committee focussing on the analysis of the financial plan put forward by the Professional Soccer Working Group, has been formed. Gerry Gentile will chair the Committee, which will include selected members of the original Working Group; Professional Club Representatives, along with Provincial Association Presidents and Executive Directors from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
The Committee will analyse several of the components of the Working Group professional league proposal and present an Analytical Report back within 60-90 days. The Committee will assess the financial model, test its assumptions and examine the amount of equity needed. It will also seek to secure signed “letters of intent” from corporate partners, investors and European Clubs.
Gentile, a Toronto area businessman, chaired the original working group, which worked thousands of hours on a volunteer basis to design a financial plan for a Canadian United Soccer League. A motion to further examine the plan and strike the Committee was unanimously endorsed by the CSA’s Board of Directors at a meeting in Toronto on November 18.
The Committee will file its report by March 2001.