A group of parents with the McKenzie United Soccer Club (MUSC) Magic U-17 girls team say their daughters are being unfairly excluded from the premier division for their age group and the move could potentially jeopardize scholarship opportunities.

According to the supporters, the team has a better record than one of the six teams that will be in the top division for the upcoming indoor season and the squad has received fair play awards and claimed city and provincial titles. There are fears that university coaches and scouts will not consider players outside of Tier 1 for programs and scholarships.

“it’s going to give us less of a shot of playing at a higher university or college level and they won’t come out to watch us as much,” said Magic goalkeeper Cailey Lister.

The six teams selected for Tier 1 consist of two Southwest United (SWU) teams, two Blizzards SC teams and two Foothills WFC teams. The Magic parents say the chosen teams belong to Calgary’s ‘big three’ clubs and the selections do not appear to be based on performance or merit.

“”It’s absolutely not fair,” said Andrea Brehm, a soccer parent. “Our girls deserve a chance to be there and play at the tier one level. Our girls have consistently performed at the level to gain the opportunity.”

“The girls on the team want to compete,” added soccer parent Scott Fawcett. “They want to get out there and they want to have fun and they want to grow. They want to be in tier one. That’s important. They’ve worked and achieved that.”

A letter outlining the concerns of parents, players and supporters, bearing nearly 50 signatures, has been sent to Calgary Minor Soccer. The league has not responded to the request to return the Magic to Tier 1.

Susan Cress, the executive director of Calgary Minor Soccer, declined CTV Calgary’s request for an on-camera interview but says the association’s policy is to deal with the clubs directly and to not respond to parents. She adds that McKenzie United has made its case to the association.

Cress says there is a cap on the number of teams in the top tier because matches will be played at the Foothills Indoor Facility without side boards and there is limited field time available. This is the first year that the U-17 girls top tier will play without side boards

McKenzie United will play its games in a traditional, smaller indoor field with boards installed and the team believes it puts them at a disadvantage ahead of next year’s outdoor season.

“We won’t be at the level of conditions,” said Lister. “We’ll be behind compared to the other teams.”

MUSC did not respond to CTV’s requests for comment.

With files from CTV’s Shaun Frenette