Footy Prime The Podcast · Sharms, Craiger, Jimmy B, Dubs, JC and Wonger

Footy Prime Ep. 1061: Canada Soccer and Players Sign CBA & MLS on Apple's Brian Dunseth on USMNT Recap and West Coast Clubs Bossing

April 2, 2026·51 min·4 clips

Canada Soccer finally signs a historic CBA after years of vitriol between players and the federation.

1. Footy Prime covers the Canada Soccer CBA signing, the USMNT's pre-World Cup friendlies, and early MLS season storylines in an episode featuring a guest interview with Brian Dunseth of MLS on Apple. 2. Panelists Charmer, Dubs, Craig, Wonger, and Jimmy are all former Canadian professional players; Brian Dunseth is a former US international who now works as an analyst for Apple TV's MLS coverage. 3. The CBA segment frames the signing as a historic turning point for Canadian soccer after years of near-boycotts, Heritage Committee hearings, and funding cuts — resolved in time for a Home World Cup. 4. Dubs contrasts his own playing era — when there were no match fees at all — with the new deal, which includes pay equity between men's and women's programs and individual World Cup match fees reported at $25,000 per game. 5. The panel credits CSA president Kevin Blue with getting the deal over the line, acknowledging he was criticized for years before the resolution. 6. Craig and Jimmy recount a story of being less than 12 hours from a World Cup qualifier with no deal signed, with shoes arriving as part of a last-minute agreement. 7. Charmer notes the women's program had its funding completely pulled in January 2023, forcing players to compete in protest at the She Believes Cup in purple jerseys while their own federation threatened individual lawsuits. 8. Brian Dunseth explains why the USMNT lacks the mental preparation of CONCACAF qualifying, quoting Tyler Adams on the experience of playing in Honduras with AK-47s around the stadium perimeter and fire alarms pulled at 2am. 9. Dunseth argues the USMNT is closer than recent results suggest against Belgium and Portugal, with razor-thin margins on specific scoring chances that, if converted, would have changed game flow entirely. 10. Dunseth is cautious but measured about Pochettino, describing his coaching decisions — including starting Christian Pulisic as a false nine — as attempts to recover player confidence rather than tactical chaos. 11. He highlights Roberto Martinez's conversations about short international blocks designed to reconnect players with their national identity versus their club roles. 12. The panel is significantly more critical than Dunseth: Charmer calls Poch's tenure 'schizophrenic,' Craig says he appears to still be searching for his World Cup formation five weeks from the tournament. 13. MLS unbeaten leaders LAFC, Nashville, and San Diego are highlighted; Dunseth says LAFC under Marco Santos is 'as defensive if not better defensively' than expected, with Hugo Lloris recording five clean sheets. 14. Dunseth singles out San Diego as a surprise story, with Mikey Veras and Tyler building a winning team around players no one knew while Chiggy Lozano, signed for $30 million, has been completely sidelined. 15. Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna is named as Dunseth's most intriguing individual player, with the teenager described as one of the most mature young players he has encountered. 16. The panel discusses whether international familiarity between players is overstated, with Craig arguing that with just two or three weeks of camp before the World Cup kicks off, you cannot rebuild chemistry from scratch. 17. Brian Dunseth describes himself as a Manchester United fan from a VHS-tape era who grew up supporting Argentina as a second team through Argentine high school friends. 18. The episode is a structured multi-segment panel discussion mixing news, a formal interview, and panel debate, with BetMGM, Tim Hortons, and Farber Debt Solutions advertising. 19. Canadian soccer fans and USMNT followers who want well-sourced pre-World Cup analysis from former players and an active MLS broadcaster. 20. Listeners seeking match-by-match highlights or who are unfamiliar with Canadian international soccer history and the CBA dispute context.

As heard by us

A scrappy Canada Soccer and MLS conversation that keeps its edge.

Footy Prime opens by giving the long-running Canada Soccer CBA dispute some overdue attention, then moves into a guest segment on the U.S. men’s national team and MLS.

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Why you'd press play

You want Canada Soccer, USMNT, and MLS context without losing the room's edge.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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