Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League

Infobox sports league
logo=
pixels=
sport=indoor soccer
founded=2007
teams=4
country=CAN
champion=Edmonton Drillers

The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League or CMISL is a professional indoor soccer league that began full league play in January 2008. The league's president is Mel Kowalchuk. The indoor league's model is planned to be used to establish a professional soccer league outdoors in Canada as well.

The 2008 schedule had each team playing 10 games. The schedule, however, was unbalanced as both the Edmonton Drillers and Saskatoon Accelerators play 6 home games and 4 road games, while the Calgary United FC play 5 home games and 5 road games. The games held at the Stampede Corral were unique as they featured in a round-robin style with all CMISL teams participating. Due to scheduling concerns at the MTS Centre, the Winnipeg Alliance FC were a road only franchise and played 10 road games. The league announced on their website that there was Championship Final at the Servus Centre on March 14, 2008 won by Edmonton. The league announced that it would become part of the Professional Arena Soccer League for the 2008-2009 season.

History

On January 23, 2007, the CMISL issued its first major announcement disclosing its charter franchises in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon.

The press release announced that each member franchise would play year round, in both indoor and outdoor professional leagues.

2007 Season

"For more information, see the 2007 CMISL season article."

For 2007, the CMISL played a "Showcase Season" or an exhibition schedule to create interest and test the markets.

The first match of the "Showcase" was held on March 10, 2007 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary and was played between the Edmonton Drillers and Calgary United FC, while the final match was played on April 1, 2007 in Winnipeg, at the MTS Centre, between Edmonton and the Winnipeg Alliance FC. In all, each CMISL franchise held a home doubleheader, leading to an uneven amount of games between the teams. Edmonton played the most with six games played, as they were the road team for three of the four doubleheaders. The Saskatoon Accelerators on the other hand played only two games, as they did not play a single road game.

2008 Season

"For more information see the 2008 CMISL season article."

The CMISL released its 2008 schedule via press release on October 25, 2007 and held an accompanying press conference at Servus Place in St. Albert. The league kicked off its inaugural season on January 19, 2008 with a tournament involving all the teams, hosted by Calgary United FC at the Stampede Corral in Calgary.

A "showcase" match had been scheduled for December 1, 2007 and December 2, 2007 between the Edmonton Drillers and the Prince George FC, but on November 10, 2007 it was reported the series had been rescheduled to April 5, 2008 and April 6, 2008. The game is being played in Prince George at the CN Centre. Four other pre-season exhibition games were scheduled between the Edmonton Drillers and Saskatoon Accelerators. Two of these games will be held in St. Albert at the Servus Place and two will be held in Saskatoon at the Credit Union Centre. All were held between December 28, 2007 and January 6, 2008.

2009 Season

"For more information see the 2009 CMISL season article."

The 2009 season sees a different format than previous seasons. As the league has become affiliated with the Professional Arena Soccer League in the United States, the four CMISL will play four games against the PASL teams. Each team will play two home games and two road games against PASL teams. The remaining schedule and its format has yet to be announced by the CMISL.

The playoffs will feature the CMISL champion taking part in an interlocking championship with the winners of the PASL and the winner of the Mexican Liga Mexicana de Futbol Rapido. It has not been announced what format the CMISL championship will take.

CMISL Teams

Rules

The pitch is a regular sized hockey rink with artificial turf placed on it. The goals are eight feet high and convert|14|ft|m wide. Goals are worth one point if they are scored on a penalty kick or inside the three point line. Goals are worth three points if they are scored from beyond the three point line.

Teams consist of six players, including the goalkeeper, on the floor at any one time. The players are changed on the fly, like in hockey. Also like hockey, at times teams will be required to play one or even two players short. These situations, are a result of a player being shown a blue card. A blue card requires the offending player to serve a two or four minute penalty depending on the severity of the offense.

A single game is composed of four fifteen minute quarters. In the few instances where doubleheaders are scheduled, the games will then be shortened to two, twenty minutes halves. During exhibition matches if the teams are tied at the end of the regulation time, a penalty shootout will occur to determine the winner.

References

External links

* [http://www.arenaleague.com PASL]
* [http://www.cmisl.com CMISL]
* [http://www.calgaryunitedfc.ca Calgary United FC]
* [http://www.edmontondrillers.ca Edmonton Drillers]
* [http://www.acceleratorssoccer.com Saskatoon Accelerators]
* [http://alliancefc.net/index.html Winnipeg Alliance FC]