As 2022 winds down, Ontario Soccer is taking a look back at some of the moments that defined the sport in our province in the past year.

The year 2022 was filled with images of bliss and elation as soccer competitions of all sort started its return to a state of normalcy in Ontario following years of cancelations and distruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ontario Indoor Cup is the first major competition of the year for most clubs, offering the opportunity to get the year off on the right foot.

As is customary with this annual event, this year's Finals took place at the Ontario Soccer Centre in January-February 2022.

Click here to see the early rounds and draws

Click here to find stories on the 2022 winners.

In 2022, the Ontario Futsal Cup staged a triumphant return following a cancelation in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Futsal is an exciting addition to the sport and Ontario Soccer welcomes the opportunity to add the Ontario Futsal Cup to its high-profile events.

Click here and here to view a recap of the 2022 Finals.

Ontario Soccer was proud to announce premier partnerships with four key organizations to help grow the game of soccer in Ontario in different areas. These organizations included the Canadian Premier League/Toronto FC, Diary Farmers of Ontario and BMO Bank of Montreal.

The CPL/TFC partnership was established to help support the promotion and development of the game of soccer in Ontario. Under the partnership, TFC and the CPL also became the co-presenters of the OPDL. 

The DFO partnership was established to expand and enhance the scope of the MilkUP Ontario Soccer Future Leaders Program, originally launched in 2021 and provide many more vibrant opportunities for additional youth leadership development. Under the partnership, DFO also became the exclusive title partner of the prestigious Ontario Cup Provincial Championships.

The BMO partnership was established with the goal to enhance gender equity within soccer and jointly embrace the goal of helping to create systemic change to empower self-identified girls and women at all levels of the sport.

The 2022 Provincial Xcel Showcase Ontario vs Québec Series presented by Gatorade Canada saw Ontario Soccer and Soccer Québec battle to an even series of 6 wins, 6 losses and 6 draws.

With Canada Soccer Excel Technical Staff present to scout the players for potential invite to Canada Soccer National Excel Environments, Ontario Soccer proudly hosted the event at the Ontario Soccer Centre, and the athletes put on a tremendous display of skill, talent, and passion.

Click here to read more.

On Saturday, September 10, Ontario Soccer, Toronto FC and BMO came together to host the inaugural Toronto FC Gaming Championship in front of an energetic and passionate crowd.

The competition saw more that 50 Ontario gamers compete, with the top four finalists duking it out live at BMO Field. 

Click here to read more.

The Centre Circle Awards are Ontario Soccer’s highest level of recognition and are presented annually to deserving soccer leaders and organizations nominated on the basis of their outstanding contributions to the development of soccer in Ontario and Canada.

This year’s event, which took place at the at a Luncheon at the Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel and Suites as part of the 2022 Ontario Soccer Annual Members Meeting (AMM), was particularly special as it marked the first instance in three years for Ontario’s soccer leaders to be able to gather in the same room, after having been held virtually for the past two years.

Click here to read more.

In this special World-Cup inspired episode of Made in Ontario, Ontario Soccer sat down with Bill Johnston, Alistair’s father, and Patrice Gheisar, Head Coach of the Halifax Wanderers and Alistair’s former coach at Vaughan SC, to speak about the Ontario soccer community that helped develop the professional athlete who is headed to Scottish Premier League powerhouse Celtic FC, after completing a historic transfer out of Montreal FC.

The podcast was specifically inspired by the Men's squad that represented Canada in Qatar and the fact that 19 of the 26 players have ties to Ontario. That's what we like to call #MadeInOntario Proud!

Visit Ontario Soccer YouTube Channel to watch the episode.

In collaboration with Sport Chek and Respect in Sport, Ontario Soccer launched a series of activations geared towards raising the awareness of the importance of respect in sport.

To learn more about these activities, click here and here.

Ontario Soccer’s Ontario Player Development League (OPDL), wrapped up its eighth season in 2022 with the Gary Miller Charity Shield Finals which were hosted at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ontario over the October 22 weekend.

Visit the 2022 Gary Miller Charity Shield Match Centre for a full recap of the weekend's action.

For more information on the best moments of the 2022 year in the Ontario soccer community, visit Ontario Soccer’s 2021-2022 Annual Report.