*By Michael Teich*
A soccer revolution is to coming to Canada as the country prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and launch the Canadian Premier League.
"It’s not about selling tickets, or putting on a sporting event. It’s about creating a movement,” Canadian Premier League commissioner David Clanachan said in an interview with Cheddar.
The CPL's inaugural season will kick off with 8 clubs, and Clanachan said the league is in talks with 24 different cities and regions for starting new teams. The commissioner is confident the pro league will create a "pathway" for young Canadians to be able to play at the national team level.
“We are a soccer playing nation. More than 14% of the population play soccer on a weekly basis, which is unusual for a western country.”
But despite that, Canada's only World Cup appearance came in 1986. Clanachan hopes building a professional league powered by Canadian players and coaches will help elevate the sport's presence in the country.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/canada-makes-a-push-for-soccer-relevancy-2).
These are some headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, June 17, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, June 14, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, June 13, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, June 12, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, June 10, 2019.
Trufan, a new platform letting brands and influencers reward their most loyal fans on social media, has attracted the attention of big names in sports and entertainment, but CEO Swish Goswami told Cheddar he's taking a "very Canadian approach" by catering to mom-and-pop shops as well.
Professional lacrosse league startup Premier Lacrosse League has big ambitions to take professional lacrosse mainstream ー and now it has funding from big investors to do it. Premier Lacrosse League announced on Tuesday it closed a series A round of funding, co-led by Alibaba billionaire Joseph Tsai's J Tsai Sports, the Raine Group, and Brett Jefferson.
The star-studded Golden State Warriors is adding another flashy name to its team: Google. The NBA defending champions and the Chase Center just formed a new partnership with Google Cloud to create a high-tech sports and entertainment area. The Warriors' Chief Revenue Officer Brandon Schneider joined Cheddar to discuss the partnership.
About half of U.S. gamers are women, but you wouldn't necessarily know it by looking at hardware design. Vivian Lien, chief marketing officer at ASUS North America, joined Cheddar Friday to discuss how her company is trying to make gaming more welcoming for women.
