Canadians Are People, Too

MLS is Canada's top-tier soccer league, but you wouldn't know it from looking at Canada's U-23 roster (scroll down to find it). Of the 20 players they brought to qualifiers, only two (Tyler Hemming and Andrea Lombardo) are MLS players, both members of Toronto. But there are also two American U-23's playing for TFC alone without bringing in the rest of the MLS players on the U.S. team, who make up the vast majority of the roster.

All of this is by way of saying that Canadian players are being screwed by the international players rule in much the same way that young Americans are being screwed by the salary cap and developmental contracts. No team wants to waste an international player spot on a developing Canadian, just as few young Americans want to choose the low MLS entry wages, meaning young talent from both countries is being choked off from the league. The salary cap situation can't be realistically fixed for some time, but it's easy enough to declare that since MLS is an American and Canadian top-tier league, both countries' players count as domestic signings. It won't happen, but Canadians, especially college players like Jakovic and O'Brien White for whom MLS is the next logical step, deserve a greater chance in the league than just Toronto.