TORONTO -- The Canadian Soccer Association released its 2014-18 strategic plan Thursday, with an eye on a huge prize further down the line. Keith Yandle Coyotes Jersey . Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "The process has to start now," CSA president Victor Montagliani said Thursday of a bid to stage "the grand-daddy of them all." Brazil is hosting the mens World Cup this summer, with Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022) in the wings. A 2026 bid would probably have to be filed around 2018. Canada is hosting the womens World Cup next year. Getting that right is key to being able to giving the mens tournament a shot. CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, has not hosted the mens World Cup since the U.S. in 1994. "Were the only G-8 nation to not host the World Cup," Montagliani added. "Weve hosted almost every other event .. I think its time for Canada to step up to the plate." By next year, Canada will have hosted every FIFA event except for the world futsal, beach and club championships and Confederations Cup. Montagliani says the World Cup bid is part of the new blueprints strategy to encourage growth in the game in Canada. Such a bid goes hand in hand with reviving a national mens team that currently ranks 111th in the world, sandwiched between Bahrain and Guatemala. While the Canadian women turned heads with a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics, the men have not won since being knocked out of World Cup qualifying in a 8-1 humiliation in Honduras in October 2012. A 2-0 loss in Slovenia last November stretched the Canadian mens winless streak to 14 games. Canada is 0-11-3 over the streak and hasnt scored in 10 games. The winless run has seen the Canadian men outscored 27-2. Canada has not won since a 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Cuba in Toronto four days before the Honduras debacle. In the national teams defence, Canada has played tough opposition in Australia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Slovenia and the U.S. And coach Benito Floro has looked to young talent since taking over the squad last summer. Montagliani pointed to the U.S. successful bid for the 94 World Cup. "When they bid for the World Cup, I wouldnt say the game was in a healthy state in the U.S. both professionally and domestically. Their leadership group decided to put a bid together and I think that was a bit of a lightning rod for people to come together." A World Cup bid would require eight to 12 stadiums with 10 the optimum, according to CSA general secretary Peter Montopoli. All would have to accommodate at least 40,000 with more for the venue for the final. The CFLs recent trend towards new stadiums and plans to revamp BMO Field in Toronto help the CSA cause although much work would remain, not to mention questions about artificial surfaces. "There are a lot of requirements from a hosting perspective for a mens World Cup," Montopoli acknowledged. "Its massive." FIFA, CONCACAF and the federal sport minister are aware of the CSAs intentions, he added. "We have been trying to get to the prime minister. Hes busy. But we will be getting to the prime minister on this file." CONCACAF seems on board, tweeting its congratulations on the CSAs "ambitious new strategic plan." A bid to co-host the World Cup was possible, with the subject already having been raised with U.S. Soccer, Montopoli said. With FIFA yet to issue its 2026 hosting guidelines, Montopoli said talk of a co-hosted bid "might be a little premature but it certainly is possible." The CSAs 2014-18 blueprint is titled "Leading a Soccer Nation." It is a pithy document divided into four goals with 27 sub-points. The four major goals are: 1) Invest in technical leadership. 2) Ensure consistent world-class performances by our national teams. 3) Govern the game in Canada professionally. 4) Encourage and oversee the grown of the game. The CSA plan also calls for mandating technical development across the country and establishing a national player database. The strategic plan was 18 months in the making with input coming from town hall meetings and an online survey (which got 3,000 responses). It also involved looking at the strategic plans of other sports in Canada including hockey, figure skating, volleyball and golf, as well as foreign soccer organizations from the U.S. and England to Mexico and the Netherlands. "Because we believe there was no point in re-inventing the wheel here," said Nick Bontis, director and chair of the CSAs strategic committee. Changes in CSA governance have made the association better able to institute its policies. The makeup of the CSA board is no longer made up of regional interests, with the emphasis on skill set rather than geography. Bontis says the new strategic plan will pay immediate dividends. "Weve never historically necessitated a certain behaviour by our provincial associations," said Bontis. "This strat (strategic) plan is the opposite. It necessitates certain behaviours." That includes provincial governance reform, investment in technical leadership and mandating provincial strategic plans. "Historically it was 10 different countries writing their own strat plans, their own technical plans, moving forward and somehow -- in some sort of magical way, Abracadabra -- the CSA was supposed to co-ordinate 10 national plans. That is something that needs to go away in the short-term." Bontis will be front and centre in the CSAs plan to create a national player database, allowing it to better leverage its 850,000-plus registered players. "We are in the year 2014 and we are archaic," he said. "Its an embarrassment how we register players across the country." "Harvesting a million registrants will have fundamental changes in the way we do business in soccer in Canada," he added. Players currently register with their local club, with the information and accompanying fees eventually flowing to the district and then the province and then the CSA. Bontis goal is for players to register nationally online, establishing a connection directly with the national program. Canada Soccer previously prepared a hosting bid for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, which was originally awarded to Colombia but then went to Mexico. That tournament marks Canadas lone participation in the event. Canada hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1987 (then known as the FIFA U-16 World Tournament), the U-20 Womens World Cup in 2002 and the U-20 World Cup in 2007. This summer will see another edition of the U-20 Womens World Cup in Canada with the Womens World Cup to follow in 2015. Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players. Mike Smith Jersey . Exactly how many games Locker misses depends on how quickly he recovers. "If anyones going to get back quick, its him," Munchak said Tuesday night during his weekly radio show on 104.SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs are rolling toward a return to the NBA Finals, and Oklahoma City looks powerless to slow them down without Serge Ibaka. Tony Parker scored 22 points, Danny Green made seven 3-pointers and added 21, and the Spurs used a dominant third quarter to decimate the Thunder 112-77 on Wednesday night and take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Tim Duncan added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw had 11 points apiece off the bench in San Antonios second straight rout. "We just did our job. We won our first two games at home and Im sure theyre going to go back and say we have to do our job and win two games at home," Parker said, recalling that the Spurs blew a 2-0 lead against the Thunder in the 2012 West finals. Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each had 15 points, but the third-quarter barrage made spectators of both -- not that they accomplished much when they did play. The star duo combined to shoot 13 for 40, including 4 for 14 in the third quarter. Game 3 is Sunday at Oklahoma City, and the Spurs are trying to remind themselves it probably wont remain this easy. "Manu said its a dangerous win but I believe in our group," Green said. "I believe that we have the maturity, the character and the experience to stay focused and not take this win to head." Playing without the injured Ibaka and given two days to adjust to dropping Game 1 by 17 points, the Thunder performed worse. San Antonio closed the first half on a 25-8 run, then Parker and Green each had eight points in the third quarter as San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City 33-18. "If they had won this game by one point, wed still be down 0-2," Durant said. "(We) lost by a lot two games in a row. Its hard for you to stay together, but we have a group of guys that are not front-runners and well figure it out." It was a shocking turn for the Thunder, who started well. "It definitely doesnt feel good and it shouldnt," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "I hope our locker doesnt feel good. You shouldnt feel good. We got our butts kicked. But we have a good opportunity to come back and win Game 3."t; Oklahoma City opened more aggressive on both ends, especially defensively. Mikkel Boedker Authentic Jersey. The physicality disrupted the Spurs early and frustrated them emotionally. Duncan was issued a technical with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter after complaining when Ed Malloy ruled he threw a hip into Durant. It turned out the Spurs veteran had little to worry about, as the Thunder finished just 4 for 9 on free throws. The Thunder scored five straight to open the game, with Westbrooks 3 capping the early run and producing what would become their largest lead of the series at 5-0. Oklahoma City did not go under on pick-and-rolls as they did in Game 1, which allowed Parker more scoring opportunities. He took four shots in the opening five minutes. His first two baskets came on driving layups, including running right down the middle of the lane with Thabo Sefolosha trailing by a couple of steps. San Antonio continued to struggle with its shot, but righted itself with offensive rebounding. Green hit consecutive 3s to extend the Spurs advantage to 55-44 with a minute left in the first half. San Antonio later rebounded a missed layup by Ginobili and Parkers errant 3-pointer, leading to a high-arcing 3 by Ginobili for a 58-44 lead. Ginobili then drew a charge on Westbrooks 3 on the ensuing possession. Durant and Westbrook opened the game 9 for 26 in the first half. Durant had one field goal in the final 16 minutes of the first half. Durant made his first two field goals of the second half, but did not have another for the rest of the half. Oklahoma City went scoreless for two minutes midway through the third quarter as San Antonio built its lead to 76-50 on a pair of free throws by Duncan with 6:20 remaining. NOTES: Parker is one assist shy of becoming the 10th player with 1,000 career post-season assists. The list includes Parkers three favourite childhood idols: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. . Oklahoma Citys Perry Jones, who only played the final 2 minutes of Game 1, started the second quarter. He finished with two points in 24 minutes. . Minnesota Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf, who plays on the French national team with Parker and Diaw, was in attendance, as was musician Steve Miller. wholesale nfl jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
