#239 Oli Gage, Canadian Premier League Director of Football, on Talent ID, Player Recruitment, and Ensuring no Player Fall Through the Cracks

Way of Champions Podcast

Oliver Gage is the Director of Football at the Canadian Premier League and has a growing reputation for basing his footballing philosophy on a successful evidence-based approach to the sport and player development. Previously Head of Performance at the University of Virginia and Head of Performance Analysis and Technical Recruitment at Houston Dynamo, Oliver joined the Canadian Premier League as Head of On-Field Performance and Recruitment in 2019 before becoming Director of Football a year later. Oliver is also the son of former Aston Villa, Wimbledon and Sheffield United defender Kevin Gage. Kevin is regarded as a legend at the latter two clubs. Oliver is among the most dynamic and forward-thinking sporting figureheads in North America and has been credited with the inception of an innovative transfer policy, overhauling player recruitment and enhancing the quality of football within the division. The transfer policy implemented mandated teams sign four of their seven allowed foreign footballers through a league-run recruitment process that approved or rejected certain players, proactively recruited on behalf of clubs and offered teams players the league had secured. Although controversial and unique, other leagues have started to consider introducing a similar strategy following numerous success stories.

In our conversation today we cover talent identification, player recruitment, surviving COVID as a new league, and ensuring that players are not overlooked during the critical ages of 16-22.

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