Toronto Soccer Fans to Relaunch

The more observant among you may have noticed that Toronto Soccer Fans has been dormant for some time.
Various work/life changes have meant that there was insufficient time to keep this site updated to the extent that it deserved.

The Home game on Saturday was an opener in more ways than one. An Eye Opener. The passion of the crowd was fanstastic to see, and was reflected by most of the team. I am shortly relaunching this site as a suitable complement to that.

Check back soon, and any suggestions can be sent via the contact form

The Home Opener saw a sea of scarves. Lets make BMO Field into a sea of red shirts, and show your support for the team.
Buy The Jersey Now!

The ongoing saga of Edson Buddle continues, with the Fredrikstad rumour being given weight, but also a reality check.

Yanks Abroad has an interview with Fredrikstad sporting director Morgan Andersen, who admits interest but is hobbled by regulations limiting non-EU players to three:

"We have a limit of three players, and we have three of these players under contract...We will still consider him. He's an interesting player, but we cannot sign him at this moment."

As I previously said, Buddle's international cap is usually sufficient to gain a working visa in European countries, but the additional Norwegian league regulation may yet hobble the plan. There do appear to be exceptions in place for players who have played in the nation for 3/5 years, and this article (in Norwegian) appears to be speculating if the exceptions may soon apply to Brian West, freeing a 'foreigner' slot. Any better translation of that text would be appreciated.

What all this speculation does go to show though, is that there still a problem to be faced by MLS. Although Freddy Adu seems to be sticking around for now (at Real Salt Lake of all places), that Buddle would even contemplate a move to a 10,000 seater stadium in a non-top-5 European league does not reflect too well on the perceived status of North American football.