Picture a ballroom in midtown Manhattan. A long table, a wall of cameras, and a banner in two languages: The North American Soccer Accord | Accord nord-américain sur le football.
The Commissioner of Major League Soccer takes the microphone first, with the face of a man unveiling a monument. Beside him sits James Johnson, who runs both Canadian Soccer Media and Entertainment and the Canadian Premier League, with the easy posture of someone delivering on a promise. Around them sit the owners of Toronto FC, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and CF Montréal.
Then comes the announcement, which on its face makes no sense at all.
The three Canadian clubs are leaving Major League Soccer to join the Canadian Premier League.
The Commissioner calls it the proudest act of stewardship in the league’s history. The clubs that carried MLS across the border when it needed them, he says, are coming home to anchor a first division built for Canadians, by Canadians. Their three places in MLS will be filled by new fra…
