The best U15 boys' and girls' youth soccer teams in Canada will gather at Quinte West, Ont., next month for the Canada Soccer 2024 Toyota National Championship tournament, Oct. 9-14.
On the boys' side, the U15 Cup will feature 12 teams representing every province along with a tournament host team, and Okanagan FC will be among them.
The 琉璃神社 soccer club earned a berth in the finals after winning the B.C. U15 championship earlier this summer in Kamloops.
Richard Scott, events coordinator with Soccer Canada, said the U15 Cup is a unique soccer experience for the players, coaches and referees.
"It generates a lot of attention as the only youth national championships that Soccer Canada puts on are for 15 and 17-year-olds," Scott said.
"We always expect scouts will also be watching at those tournaments but there is a bit of a misunderstanding that there is only one direct pathway to the professional level for players, coaches or referees.
The popularity of soccer in Canada today and the nation's emergence on the international stage has created new opportunities for players to seek a pro career, starting with professional development leagues for men and another for women coming on stream.
"The reality is now that soccer has grown in such a massive way now that there are different pathways to follow," he said.
"Our emphasis is to provide a unique life experience in soccer for teams that participate in these tournaments, and be the next potential step in the development of players should they have aspirations of one-day turning pro."
Besides the U15 Cup, Soccer Canada's Toyota National Championships are hosted every October across six divisions at three different venues: the premier adult competition for the men's Challenge Trophy and women's Jubilee Trophy; the U17 Cup competition for boys and girls; and the U15 Cup for boys and girls.
Scott said for most U15 teams, the championships present the first foray they will experience at a high-level tournament where they are not reliant on their parents for travel and accommodation needs - players will travel as a team, be put up in hotels as a team, go to and from the games in arranged transportation as a team and do any extra-curricular activities as a team.
The Okanagan FC contingent will consist of 17 players, two coaches and a team social director, and the team is currently fundraising to offset the costs not covered either by BC Soccer, Soccer Canada or the Okanagan FC club.
Player family members planning to attend the national finals will be responsible for covering their own costs, while all the travel and accommodation arrangements for the players are set up through BC Soccer.
Scott said while the soccer competition is front and centre, for a host community there is also an opportunity to showcase its sports facilities used for the tournament and other sightseeing options.
He said Quinte West is set up as a great host site because all the fields are in one location and many amenities are within easy walking distance from the complex.
Quinte West is located in Southern Ontario, at the western end of the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario, 171 kilometres east of Toronto.
Quinte West is home to 8 Wing Trenton, the Canadian Armed Forces' primary air transportation hub and largest air base in Canada for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
"It is a chance for everyone who comes to see what the region, what the host community has to offer, which is all part of an event like this," he said.
Okanagan FC will play Yukon on Oct. 9 and Nova Scotia on Oct. 10, then get a day off before the quarterfinals and consolation games begin on Saturday, Oct. 12. The semi-finals will be Sunday, Oct. 13, and the final Monday, Oct. 14.
While it is rare for Interior teams to reach the national finals, Scott said B.C. has a long tradition and heritage involving soccer, dating back even further than the success of the Vancouver Whitecaps in the NASL back in the '70s.
"B.C. is one of the top four provinces in Canada for soccer so traditionally the province sends strong teams to these U15 and U17 tournaments. Last year, teams from Burnaby won two of the four Cup divisions."
While weather is not expected to be a significant factor, Scott notes in this climate change era, fall weather in southern Ontario can be unpredictable.
"We are expecting decent weather...it might be cold but not Edmonton cold or Ottawa cold...the weather is what it is in Canada," he said.
Scott said the age groups for national championships have shifted in recent decades under Soccer Canada's direction.
"The U15 championships date back to the 1960s, and we had a U18 division before changing to U17," Scott said.
"Those age groups are also represented on an international level so that plays a big part in where we are at now."
As the outdoor soccer season winds down in the Interior, Okanagan FC, a 琉璃神社-based team which consists of players from across the Okanagan, is continuing to gear up for a rare opportunity for any Interior-based soccer team in B.C.鈥� to play for a national championship.
Typically, that honour tends to go to Lower Mainland teams, who hold the advantage of having a larger population base to draw players, less travel and year-round outdoor soccer training, but this year Okanagan FC punched above its weight class in winning the B.C. title, says Okanagan FC owner Andy Stevenson.
In the team's final major tune-up prior to the national finals, Okanagan FC played in the older U16 A division category at the International Cup hosted by Surrey over the Labour Day weekend, finished without a win but undefeated with a 0-0-3 record in tournament play and winning third place in the 8-team grouping with a 3-2 shootout win over TSS Rovers from Richmond.
While the team is practicing three times a week, some of the players are also participating in their high school soccer season about to get underway, playing for their school teams and soccer academy programs.
With the fundraising efforts, team members will do a bottle drive on Sunday, Sept. 15, and a Krispy Creme doughnut sale on Saturday, Sept. 21, while many businesses and individuals have also stepped up to assist the team's efforts to reduce the tournament travel, food and accommodation expenses they face.
For more information about the team's fundraising drive, check out the website .
