Episode 559 - The AFTN Soccer Show (Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This with special guest CPL Commissioner Mark Noonan)

We’re back with another packed show of Canadian football chat for what was and is a bumper week of soccer action across the country.

We're talking Major League Soccer, Canadian Premier League, and Canadian Championship primarily in this episode and we kick things off with a look around the opening weekend's action across the CPL, with a particular focus on the first ever derby between Pacific FC and Vancouver FC. Zach shares his experiences, both good and bad, from the match and it's safe to say a tasty rivalry was born.

Our feature interview this episode is with CPL Commissioner Mark Noonan. We look at the direction he hopes to take the league under his helm as we talk expansion, creating a Division 2 set up, the role League1 plays in this growth, getting more eyeballs on the league, creating a women's league, and more.

Turning our attention to MLS, we look at Vancouver Whitecaps' goalless draw in Austin, a match that saw them increase their unbeaten run to six games and record three straight clean sheets, and we round-up the action in the MLS West.

We finish this episode off with a look ahead to the 2023 Canadian Championship that gets underway this week. We chat with Vancouver FC's Afshin Ghotbi about his side's first foray in the tournament, talk TSS Rovers versus Valour with head coaches Will Cromack and Philip Dos Santos, and Pacific FC's James Merriman and Manny Aparicio talk about the importance of the competition to the club and to them.

Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode:

01.34: Intro - a feast of Canadian football
07.50: A BC derby is born - Pacific v Vancouver
45.20: CPL Season 5 kicks off
59.20: CPL Commissioner Mark Noonan interview
78.35: Unpacking the Commish
100.00: Austin v Whitecaps analysis
111.00: MLS West round-up
128.58: Canadian Championship preview
137.10: Afshin Ghotbi talks Canadian Championship
142.20: Will Cromack and Phil Dos Santos talk TSS v Valour
152.55: James Merriman and Manny Aparicio on Canadian Champiosnhip
159.37: Wavelength - Sportique - Sport For All