Episode 592 - The AFTN Soccer Show (There’s Quicksand on the Battlefield with guest Renan Garcia)

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, Canadian Premier League chat. There's no such thing as a quiet offseason in North American soccer it feels and this past week has been somewhat of a controversial one. The draw was made for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, throwing up tough ties for the three Canadian sides, but now both the Whitecaps and Cavalry FC can't play their home matches at their usual stadiums. We delve into the whys and hows, look ahead to the 'Caps content in the MLS SuperDraft, the new competition guidelines in the league next season, and MLS' controversial decision to withdraw its teams from next year's US Open Cup. Turning our attention to the CPL and Vancouver FC, we look back at the club's first year highs and lows, hand out our first ever AFTN VFC awards, look at the club's two draft picks, and bring you our feature interview with Brazilian midfielder Renan Garcia. Plus we continue AFTN's 2023 Festive Fifteen with numbers 9 to 7. Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode: 01.28: Intro - last live game of the year, Wonka sticker shock, and the darts are back 11.30: Whitecaps and Cavalry forced to move their CONCACAF Champions Cup matches to Langford 38.48: Whitecaps academy alumni in MLS SuperDraft 43.07: Festive Fifteen #9 47.36: A bad PR week for MLS as they devalue US Open Cup 74.52: New MLS competition guidelines 83.21: Festive Fifteen #8 88.32: Vancouver FC - a year in review and a look ahead to 2024 111.40: AFTN Vancouver FC End of Season awards 129.40: Festive Fifteen #7 133.32: Renan Garcia interview 152.06: Vancouver FC add two in CPL draft 162.35: Wavelength - The Whitehawk Isolators - Not About The Football