Capital United OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (one page)

4 boys teams (one each at U9-U12) - no girls teams

Cumberland Cobras OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (two pages)

8 teams:

• 4 boys teams (one each at U9-U12)
• 4 girls teams (one each at U9-U12)

Gloucester Hornets OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (two pages)

8 teams:

• 4 boys teams (one each at U9-U12)
• 4 girls teams (one each at U9-U12)

Nepean Hotspurs OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (two pages)

8 teams:

• 4 boys teams (one each at U9-U12)
• 4 girls teams (one each at U9-U12)

Ottawa Internationals OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (two pages)

8 teams:

• 4 boys teams (one each at U9-U12)
• 4 girls teams (one each at U9-U12)

Ottawa City OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (two pages)

8 teams:

• 4 boys teams (one each at U9-U12)
• 4 girls teams (one each at U9-U12)

Ottawa South United (OSU) OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (four pages)

16 teams:

• 8 boys teams (two each at U9-U12)
• 8 girls teams (two each at U9-U12)

At each age group, the top team is named Black and the second team is named White.

West Ottawa Soccer (WOS) OPDP schedule

As of May 16, 2017 (two pages)

8 teams:

• 4 boys teams (one each at U9-U12)
• 4 girls teams (one each at U9-U12)

Open letter to the Ottawa soccer community to speak out against segregation

May 2, 2017

St. Anthony is calling on all people of good will in the Ottawa soccer community to speak out against the exclusion of certain teams in Ottawa from the top level of competition at U9 to U12.
 
In early March, seven clubs (Capital United, Cumberland, Ottawa City, Gloucester, Internationals, Ottawa South United, and West Ottawa Soccer) withdrew their top U9 to U12 teams (about 60 total) from the East Region Soccer League (ERSL) to form a new league, the Ottawa Player Development Program (OPDP). They purposely excluded certain clubs, including St. Anthony, with teams that had been playing at the highest level, including teams from low-income and immigrant communities and all rural clubs.
 
St. Anthony had been part of a process that started fall, 2016 to improve U9 to U12 soccer in Ottawa. St. Anthony supported changes (including Sunday night games) which Ontario Soccer approved. Unfortunately, the seven clubs then pushed for more changes that contravened Ontario Soccer guidelines and which the ERSL therefore couldn’t apply. Instead of working within the rules, the clubs started the OPDP.
 
The OPDP was declared an unsanctioned league and for the seven clubs to avoid discipline, the OPDP took down their website and ceased official operations April 27, just two weeks before the start of the summer season. The seven clubs, however, have not returned their OPDP teams to the ERSL (instead moving their weaker teams into higher divisions) and have simply taken their league underground, maintaining the exclusion of certain teams. This focus on exclusion will eventually lead to fewer choices for all soccer players in Ottawa.
 
Some of the excluded teams are part of the Somali community. Their Surad teams (almost 200 players total) were invited two years ago to partner with St. Anthony, which has the lowest fees in the city, so their kids could play in the league, the same league many of their schoolmates and friends are excited to participate in. Now, they are being excluded from regular competition against teams they had been playing against. It is one thing to be on the outside looking in; it is quite another to be invited in and then denied access. This exclusion includes two Surad Tier 1 teams (St. Anthony has seven Tier 1 teams total), including one that was doing so well that it was asked this winter to move from Tier 2 to Tier 1. Not every team is able to play at the highest level but every team should have the right to aspire to play with the best. Newcomers to Canada understand our country to be an inclusive society: the actions of the seven clubs send the message that they are not truly welcome.

There is a place for intensive, high-cost soccer programs but those programs should participate in a league where all teams have the opportunity to play the appropriate level of competition. St. Anthony calls on the seven clubs to end their discriminatory practices and to focus on the good of soccer and all its players rather than trying to increase their control of soccer in Ottawa. Kids are being hurt in the process, both on the field and through a diminished sense of their place in Canadian society.

#FairnessInSoccer

St. Anthony SC
 

Statement by St. Anthony SC on the new unsanctioned U9 to U12 league

April 6, 2017

Recently, seven Ottawa clubs withdrew their U9-U12 T1 teams from the East Region Soccer League (ERSL) to form a new league named the Ottawa Player Development Program (OPDP). The ERSL operates the only outdoor youth competitive league for the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association (EODSA) that is sanctioned by Ontario Soccer (formerly the Ontario Soccer Association – OSA). The new league (with games Sunday evening) is an attempt to get around Ontario Soccer rules that allow all District clubs to enter teams at any tier at U9-U12 and they have purposely excluded St. Anthony from participating, as well as the two other remaining urban clubs and all the rural clubs.

St. Anthony had planned to have six teams play in U9-U12 T1. These teams include both Futuro Academy teams and community teams, which have both demonstrated that they are competitive at T1. One of our Surad teams was, in fact, asked to move from T2 to T1 this winter season. The OPDP has published entry criteria which they are applying selectively to exclude certain clubs as it is a league without neutral oversight.

On Tuesday, March 28, the EODSA came out with a statement, available on their website, that they were “aware of the Ottawa Player Development Program” and that “this program is not a sanctioned competition or league of the EODSA”. Players registered with the EODSA and Ontario Soccer are not permitted to participate in unsanctioned competitions or leagues. Ontario Soccer provides clear sanctions against anyone who “directly or indirectly encouraged or assisted in the establishment or operation of an unsanctioned soccer organization or competition”. Team officials face a 6-12 month suspension and a club faces significant fines. If the OPDP attempts to organize their league as a set of exhibition games, this would still contravene Ontario Soccer rules as exhibition games cannot have a “set schedule of games”.

All St. Anthony teams will continue to play in the ERSL (with games Monday to Thursday) but potentially in different divisions than originally planned to ensure appropriate competition.

We regret that our club membership and the wider soccer community in Ottawa has had to deal with so much uncertainty so close to the start of the summer season and we trust that the EODSA and Ontario Soccer will apply the published rules and ensure that all clubs within the EODSA are treated equally, without preference given to those clubs with larger memberships and greater financial resources.