With approximately one million registered players, the game of soccer continues to be the most popular sport in Canada in terms of participation. There is also an increasing demand for the indoor game with more facilities accommodating soccer during the off season winter months for a year-round activity for many.
The Hanger, as it is known, is a longstanding spacious Toronto indoor soccer location known in earlier times a part of the Downsview air base for the Canadian Air Force and which was also for a period of time occupied by the military. its proximity to Pearson International brought an occasional commercial overseas flight mistakenly landing on the Downsview runway.
But today The Hanger is a sports centre to become newsworthy for other reasons, such as its recent soccer tournament which brought together 48 teams in a highly competitive, two-day 6 v 6 indoor competition of many high level professional players with a background of skills forged in other parts of the world and Canadian players having made the grade in North America. Many of the players are with Canada’s professional leagues during the regular season. There was one U.S.team, from Detroit.
The 48-team competition culminated with the final being played at the Hanger on December 27 when Salo United defeated Republic Athletic Elevate by a 1-0 score. The winning team was a roster of Ukrainian players from the Canadian Soccer League, while the Republic Athletic Elevate side fielded players from the Canadian Premier League and Ontario League 1.
First Touch Football Canada and Sports Leagues Canada are partners in this indoor soccer venture which is named The Classics. The success of this well attended tournament – together with a likelihood of increasingly lucrative prize money for the winners – provides much encouragement for staging it as a regular annual event. “We are also hoping to use this as momentum to further expand competitive money tournaments in the GTA,” said Josh Kohn manager of Sports Leagues Canada.
The concept of ‘money tournaments’ is more advanced over the border where TST (The Soccer Tournament) is presently launching two $1 million winner-take-all (men and women) soccer tournaments. “We are thrilled to add a third event to our portfolio and to have it be our highest stakes competition ever,” said Jon Mugar, founder and CEO of The Tournament on the company’s website. “This instantly becomes one of the highest stakes events in all of women’s sports, with the only thing standing between teams and one million dollars being four exceptional hours of soccer. This will attract some of the most talented players and clubs from around the world,” he said.
In the meantime, Yaroslav Malibo and his winning team of Ukrainian players from the CSL are on top of the world and the players will share in the modesty of $15,000, a winner’s prize that is bound to grow as similar indoor competitions take hold in Canada.