During Black History Month, Ontario Soccer continues to reinforce our decisive stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion within our game. As part of our continued efforts in this important area, we are proudly joining the Government of Canada and a rapidly growing community of organizations and individuals across the country in celebrating the many contributions and achievements Black Canadians have made. 

Under the title “The Future is Now”, Black History Month gives our soccer family the chance to celebrate and acknowledge the transformative work that Black Canadians and their communities are doing now, which has been highly evident on the field of play and beyond.

Whether “Made-in-Ontario” female stars like Ashley Lawrence, Nichelle Prince or Jayde Riviere bringing home Olympic Gold for Canada in 2021, or their male counterparts like Atiba Hutchinson, Jonathan David or Tajon Buchanan vying for a spot at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™,  Black Canadian athletes are capturing our country’s imagination like never before and are elevating our game to unprecedented heights.

Together, we celebrate that there is an entire vibrant community of black Ontario players, coaches, match officials and administrators behind them, who have and continue to excel at all levels of our game from the grassroots to the world stage. Many continue to add outstanding achievements of Black excellence to this growing legacy each and every day.

This Month, Ontario Soccer celebrates both these current achievements, while also proudly sharing stories from our community on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Without our Black teammates, friends, peers and colleagues there would be no beautiful game, as we know and love it today.

In addition, Ontario Soccer is renewing our pledge to our constituents, including our friends in the Black Community, to embrace inclusivity and diversity, while championing for vital change.

Ontario Soccer commits to:

1. Make a conscious decision to pursue the process of change, to better reflect our organization’s core values;
2. Be more inclusive in our outreach and leadership;
3. Reflect our diverse community on the pitch, in the office and in the boardroom;
4. Review and update various Governance documents and procedures to be more inclusive and respectful.

Ontario Soccer would like to thank Sandra Riberdy, Ontario Soccer’s Diversity Officer and the Anti-Racism Access and Equity Committee for their work in this area. Their leadership is helping to educate and inform us on the ways that we can build a better soccer community in Ontario.