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, including one that was doing so well that it was asked this winter to move from Tier 2 to Tier 1 (St. Anthony has seven Tier 1 teams total). 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