Great conversation! Thanks!

"Soccer first" is an impossibility. Which part of soccer comes first? And for whom? Does it mean putting the business viability first or putting the creation of playing opportunities first even if they weaken the business objectives? Both sides are obviously legitimate and ultimately matter to everyone involved. But who decides at any given point which prioritization equates putting "soccer first"? It's literally meaningless.

president of any organizing is leadership and setting the tone..

In terms of hiring a Canadian Coach for the national team, I think you also have to consider that by hiring a Canadian Coach who may be qualified on paper with the right coaching badges etc.. the possibility that you are setting them up to fail at exactly the wrong time in their career. Wouldn’t it be better to instead groom these talented and experienced Canadian coaches by offering them the opportunity to coach the U17’s or the U21’s as a stepping stone to the top job (a la Gareth Southgate in England). There are so many advantages to that approach including continuity going forward as you would hope that the U17’s and 21’s offer a gateway to the senior team not only from a player perspective but from a coaching perspective as well. It requires a Sporting Director to be put in place to ensure consistency across the various age groups (as appropriate) and god forbid a cohesive master plan.