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Ontario Soccer Summit 2020 tickets are now on sale as first speakers are announced

By Staff, 10/23/19, 10:45AM EDT

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Two keynotes and six session speakers have been revealed for Ontario Soccer’s marquee annual event which will be held February 21-23, 2020 at Redeemer University in Hamilton

Play. Inspire. Unite. 

Ontario Soccer has announced the initial roster for the Ontario Soccer Summit 2020, in partnership with Respect in Sport, in Hamilton, Ont. and this year’s list of speakers continues to showcase some of sport’s brightest minds and influential leaders.

The speakers, which are a compliment of local talent and international experience, will fill the halls of Redeemer University from Feb. 21-23, 2020, in partnership with the Hamilton and District Soccer Association. 

Headlining this year’s event are two keynote speakers.

The first is Victor Montagliani, the President of Concacaf and Vice-President of FIFA, who will speak about the beautiful game from a community, provincial, national and international perspective.

He will be joined by Karen O’Neill, the CEO of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, who received the Sports Executive of the Year award in 2018. O’Neill will present on inclusiveness and the power sport can bring to Canadians with disabilities.

 “The Ontario Soccer Summit has become a place where we bring in leaders from across sport and within soccer to lead our community on a journey of discovery,” said Johnny Misley, Ontario Soccer Chief Executive Officer. “The opportunity to hear from internationally recognized leaders such as Victor and Karen, on how the power of sport can positively impact our culture and community, will inspire us as to the responsibility we all carry as leaders.”  

Tickets went on sale today. Visit OntarioSoccer.net/SummitTickets to register and purchase your access to Discover, Develop and Excel.

The first window of advantage pricing, which offers the best dollar value anywhere in soccer development, closes December 1 for what has become an annual team-building event for Ontario Soccer’s membership.

With only 100 tickets available during this initial period, be sure to act quickly as tickets will move fast and prices will increase after December 1.

Today's announcement, which includes speakers from Coaching and Player Development, Match Officials Development and Administrative and Operations streams, are standouts in their respective fields.

The technical and match official leaders announced, who will be joining the Ontario Soccer Summit 2020, are: Kris Van Der Haegen (Director of Coach Education at the Royal Belgian Football Association, the number one Men’s team in the World FIFA rankings), Oliver Gage (Canadian Premier League Head of Recruitment and Analytics), Marius Røevde (CPL’s Pacific FC Goalkeeping Coach) and Howard Webb (General Manager of the Professional Referee Organization for MLS as well as a former internationally recognized match official.)

“We are very excited to have with us in 2020, a technical speaker from the world’s Men’s leading football nation of Belgium as well as technical experts from our new domestic professional league, the CPL,” said Gary Miller, Director of Soccer Operations at Ontario Soccer. “Howard Webb was so well received at last year’s Summit, he has gladly accepted to return again in 2020 and help inspire the next generation of Match Officials and Soccer leaders”

There are great group discounts available for your Club, District or Academy to assist in making Hamilton a team-building opportunity for you in 2020.

The Community Leaders stream has two great speakers to get things started in Steven Indig (from SLS Group on how to best manage complaints at your organization) and Alice Strachan (AMS and Associates on relationship management and finding common ground.)

 “The Ontario Soccer Summit is a 360 degree, immersive event for Ontario’s soccer membership,” said Bjorn Osieck, Ontario Soccer Director of Business Operations. “From technical leaders, to match official leaders, to our community leaders, the Ontario Soccer Summit 2020 has something on offer for people across your organization. And there is still more to come.”

Two panel discussions will also take place at the Ontario Soccer Summit. The first will look at the “Road to 2026 (the FIFA Men’s World Cup)” and the second will tackle “Safe Sport.”

The panelists and as many as 20 more speakers will be announced in the coming months.  

Check the Ontario Soccer Summit news section regularly for updates on speakers, events or how to become an Ontario Soccer Summit partner.