![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758347900_436_indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nCanada Soccer is believed to receive some $4 million a year under its long-term deal with CSB as \u201cthe beneficiary of a rights fee guarantee.\u201d That amount has been boosted by some $500,000 each year leading up to the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
National team players have complained that the CSB agreement is holding the game back and preventing national teams from getting the preparation they need. Canada Soccer has said a restructured deal is essential to finalizing a long-awaited labour deal with the men\u2019s and women\u2019s sides.<\/p>\n
Johnson is aware of CSB\u2019s image problems, saying in the vision document that near-term priorities include \u201cresetting CSB\u2019s identity, reputation and brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 100 days, I\u2019ve been taking feedback and listening and getting perspectives \u2026 And that is a challenge,\u201d Johnson said from Montreal ahead of the Canadian men\u2019s friendly with Australia on Friday. \u201cI don\u2019t want to sidestep that point. I want to acknowledge it. And that has been part of my diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut with that said, we want to face forward. And that\u2019s precisely what the vision (document) does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Future initiatives include \u201crepositioning\u201d CSB, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my view, we need to enhance our relationships certainly with Canada Soccer and the national teams, which have really been at the core, I think, of some of the challenges of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue has sounded positive about talks \u201cto find common ground\u201d with Johnson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think both sides understand the urgency and the importance of achieving alignment, particularly given the environmental opportunities that exist right now with the home World Cup around the corner,\u201d Blue said last month.<\/p>\n
Canada Soccer announced more than a year ago that it had reached a \u201cframework\u201d for a long-awaited labour agreement with its men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams. But the deal was contingent on a reworked deal with CSB.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a much better relationship today than what we\u2019ve had,\u201d said Johnson.<\/p>\n
The exact nature of that connection remains unclear, however.<\/p>\n
Johnson says the focus is on \u201ccollaboration under the existing deal.\u201d But he also says the two sides are talking about \u201cways in which the relationship can be refigured.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says the goal is to find a structure where both CSB and Canada Soccer \u201care incentivized through an agreement to actually grow the pie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting there \u2026 We\u2019re trying to solve each other\u2019s challenges,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s vision includes broadening CSB\u2019s media portfolio \u201cfrom focusing solely on Canadian soccer properties to championing all soccer, including international rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says the transition is moving \u201cfrom Canada soccer rights to soccer rights in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
That means acquiring rights to overseas leagues in which Canadians play, combining a broadcast landscape currently fragmented across many different platforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like to be able to bring as many of those rights as possible and sit them together with our existing Canadian soccer rights \u2026 That\u2019s really a key part of this vision,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big challenge but it\u2019s something that we believe that over time we can do and building it really one by one,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
OneSoccer, which broadcasts Canadian national team and CPL games, is owned by Timeless Inc., which in turn is owned by Scott Mitchell, chairman of the CPL and CSB.<\/p>\n
CSB continues its fight to make OneSoccer more available as a linear channel, in addition to its streaming presence.<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s vision also talks of elevating and showcasing women\u2019s soccer.<\/p>\n
While CSB has no current ties to the Northern Super League, Johnson notes that the lower-tier League1 Canada has sent 60 players to the fledgling women\u2019s circuit.<\/p>\n
CSB owns and manages League1 Ontario and League1 B.C.., as well as League1 Canada, which also features League1 Alberta and Ligue1 Quebec, as an umbrella organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to play a much stronger role in women\u2019s football because we believe in women\u2019s football,\u201d said Johnson.<\/p>\n
That includes ensuring CSB has a \u201cstrategic relationship with the NSL \u2026(as) part of our future-looking vision,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Bringing in rights to overseas women\u2019s leagues is also part of the plan.<\/p>\n
While FC Supra, based out of Laval, Que., is set to become the CPL\u2019s ninth team in 2026, Johnson says he plans a \u201clot stronger focus on strengthening our existing clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he sees League1 expansion as an important goal.<\/p>\n
Johnson had no update on the sale of Pacific FC.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2025<\/p>\n
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canada Soccer is believed to receive some $4 million a year under its long-term deal with CSB as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-204674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}