Ontario Soccer and its newest community partner the Dairy Farmers of Ontario are proud to announce the launch of the next element of their MilkUP Future Leaders Youth Leadership Development Framework.

The MilkUP Ontario Soccer Future Leaders “Class of ‘21” recognizes the achievements and impact of youth in the soccer community.  Award winners will embody the Ontario Soccer tagline of “Play. Inspire. Unite.” in both their soccer community and their home community.

The “Class of ‘21” awardees will have an attitude of resilience, and a strong work ethic. They will have future aspirations of leadership within the ‘beautiful game’, continuing their journey of soccer involvement and contribution.

This category recognizes youth, who will continue to contribute to the local soccer community as a leader, player, coach, match official, or administrator.

This award includes a $500 education credit per recipient to be used for soccer leadership education (any eligible Ontario Soccer Coach Education, Match Official Development courses, etc.)

Participants must ‘activate’ their funds by taking a course within the first year and use up the $500 credit within three years of December 31 of the award year (e.g. December 31st, 2024 for 2021 winners).

Selection Criteria

Eligibility:

• Must be a registered member of Ontario Soccer;
• Must be 15 – 18 years old by December of the award year.

Ontario Soccer is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible environment; as such, Ontario Soccer will strive to select award recipients that reflect and support the diversity of the soccer community.

Where possible, at least one male and one female recipient will be selected in each of the five regions. Remaining recipients will represent all regions, where possible.

Regions

• Eastern Ontario
• Central Ontario
• Southern Ontario
• Western Ontario
• Northern Ontario

Considerations and Contributions:

Nominees will exemplify the Ontario Soccer organizational values of inclusive, respectful, ethical, integrity, and community builder. They will be active community members, with a desire for impact, and a positive attitude for growth.

Nominations can be received from the following:

• A member organization of Ontario Soccer, or
• A peer (age 15-18) who is not a relative of the nominee

Selection Process:

Award winners (up to a maximum of 25 in total) will be selected by Ontario Soccer Staff in consultation with MilkUP partners.

Recognition:

Award winners will be recognized on OntarioSoccer.Net and Ontario Soccer’s Newsletter “Inside the 18” via feature story.

Key Dates

• Applications for nominations are now open.  
• The deadline for submitting an application is December 1, 2021.
• Award Winners will be announced in late January 2022.

If you are an eligible nominator and would like to nominate a deserving candidate, please click here to submit a nomination for the “MilkUP Future Leaders – Class of ‘21” program.

Applications will require an outline of the nominee’s achievements, as well as leadership aspirations in the specific area of interest to them. Applications may be submitted in writing, video, or both.

For more details regarding this program, please contact Robyn Gmeindl.

How do I stay connected to Ontario Soccer?

For further information please refer to the latest bulletins on the COVID-19 Updates page, which has all the latest information from Ontario Soccer, as well as resources for your members. Please consider placing a dedicated link to the COVID-19 Updates on the homepage on your website.

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