Ontario Soccer and Toronto FC are proud to announce the 4th Annual Match Officials Appreciation Day.

The motivation for the defibrillator fundraising portion of this event stemmed from a tragic event that took place at Brockton Stadium in Toronto in 2012 where a youth player lost his life on the pitch due to sudden heart failure. Local members of the Toronto Soccer Referees Association were officials on that game and attempted to save the player’s life. Three years later the TSRA, Rescue7 and TFC started this fundraiser in an attempt to place defibrillators on soccer fields across the province to hopefully avoid any of these tragic events from happening to anyone involved in the beautiful game. In 2016, with help from Ontario Soccer, the event spread province wide and to date we have now donated seven defibrillators to different districts across Ontario. 

On August 10, 2019, join Ontario Soccer in celebrating Match Officials from across Ontario, as nominees for Spirit of the Game Awards are recognized.

Following the awards ceremony, Ontario Soccer match officials and supporters will be able to cheer on Toronto FC as they face Orlando City FC. 

The first 200 officials to arrive will receive a commemorative coin. 

Ontario Soccer is looking for your nominations for the 2019 Spirit of the Game Award Winners.

The deadline to submit nominations is Tuesday July 9, 2019 at noon.

Click here to find out more about the awards and how you can nominate Match Official community members in your area.  

Click here to purchase tickets and find out more info on the event.

A percentage of proceeds from each ticket sold will help Rescue7 equip Ontario Soccer fields with life-saving defibrillators. 

If you have any further questions, please contact Kyla Di Perna.