The Première ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) announced today that they have accepted an application from Ottawa Fury FC to place a reserve/youth side in the league for the 2015 season.

This is a very exciting development for Ottawa soccer, especially in light of the USL Pro announcements from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in the past month. With the U15 boys capturing the SYL championships in their age category just last week, we had been wondering out loud on how OFFC was planning to fill out their developmental structure, with their newly restructured academy a big but not full part of the puzzle.

With the U19 side being the highest level in the Fury FC Academy, the new PLSQ side could consist of this U19 side competing in the Division 3 league, or may herald the introduction of a full reserve side or a U23 side for OFFC.



Duane Rollins, of Canadian Soccer News, has also stated that a L1O side may still come to Ottawa for 2016, and would most likely be a Fury FC affiliate, though this would be conjecture at this point. Other leagues that should still be considered for a reserve side in the future include USL PDL and NPSL, while a youth side could be considered in PLSQ, L1O, OPDL and USSDA.

The supporters are already looking greatly forward to a legitimate and what should be an exciting derby with FC Gatineau, whose matches have been followed by some of the BBSC and SMR supporters over the years.

It is absolutely encouraging to see the Fury FC continue to put in the proper framework for the development of Ottawa-Gatineau soccer players. We are looking out for an official announcement to come from the club shortly, with details on name, location and other details.

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Update on Dec. 16, 2014: The official announcement came from the club shortly after the post went up, and confirmed that the U18/U19 senior academy side would be playing in the PLSQ 1st division, while also adding that the U16/U17 junior academy side would be playing in a new PLSQ 2nd division.

So, rather than a new reserve side being created, this is more a case of the two academy sides finding themselves in a higher and tougher level of competition. This is great news for Ottawa youths playing high-level soccer, and we hope to see further developments from Fury FC in the future, with the addition of a U23 reserve side in NPSL or USL PDL being the next priority, as well as bringing back a top women’s side, perhaps in League1 Ontario.

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PLSQ: http://www.plsq.ca/fr/publication/nouvelle/sept_equipes_amorceront_la_saison_2015_en_premiere_ligue_de_soccer_du_quebec.html

OFFC: http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/detail/uuid/sdaex52hbhvw1v4mqg47f1k6o/fury-fc-to-feature-in-plsq#.VJBM4MkhAUY