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Ontario Soccer Appoints Matt Ferreira as New Director of Development

By Staff, 02/01/23, 3:00PM EST

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Ferreira assumes the role on a full-time basis, immediately taking over from Bryan Rosenfeld, who served in the role on an interim basis since October 2020

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Ontario Soccer announced today the appointment of Matt Ferreira to the position of Director of Development following an extensive selection process. Ferreira most recently held the position of Ontario Soccer Manager, Coach Education, Player Development & Club Licencing and has been working with Ontario Soccer in roles of increasing scope and responsibility since 2017. With over 15 years of experience within the Canadian Soccer Eco-system and its Talented Pathway, he has earned a reputation as a player and coach development expert and thought-leader.

“I am excited to be stepping into this role and am honoured by the opportunity to continue shaping the future of the game in our province and country,” said Ontario Soccer’s newly appointed Director of Development Matt Ferreira. “The recent successes of the Men’s and Women’s National teams, achieved with so many players hailing from Ontario, are a testament to the strong foundation of work which I will be building upon. The upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup, a Canadian Premier League in its fifth year and a women’s professional league around the corner, will only bring greater attention and international expertise to Ontario, allowing us all to forge new, enrichening relationships that will propel our game forward towards an even brighter future.”

The Director of Development position had been vacant following the tragic passing of former Director, Gary Miller, in 2020. Miller left behind a tremendous legacy for the sport of soccer in Canada, having held multiple leadership positions with Ontario Soccer, Canada Soccer and other profile organizations over his career.

Johnny Misley, Ontario Soccer’s CEO, appointed Bryan Rosenfeld on October 6, 2020 to assume the position as Interim Director. Rosenfeld played a key role, along with the rest of the executive management team, in leading Ontario Soccer through the global pandemic.

“The Director of Development position plays a critical leadership role within our membership and Matt is a great fit for the future of soccer in Ontario,” said Johnny Misley, Ontario Soccer’s CEO. “I also want to recognize Bryan Rosenfeld for his outstanding work and commitment to Ontario Soccer in the interim Director role. Bryan will return to his key lead management role with our Provincial Xcel Program and work closely with Matt to shape the future success of our player and coach development programs.”

Through Ferreira’s tenure with Ontario Soccer to date, he has already achieved several major accomplishments including delivering coach education to over 3,000 coaches, leading over 75 Ontario Clubs through the Club licensing process and overseeing the delivery of the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) to over 4,000 players all while supporting the identification of over 170 players for Provincial programming despite the challenges imposed on a recovering organization post-pandemic.

He has a proven track record of providing creative and innovative solutions to seize opportunities and overcome challenges that will continue to drive soccer in Ontario and across Canada.

“In collaboration with our staff and the broader community, I will look to further enhance the development of all our stakeholders - players, coaches, match officials, and a future generation of leaders - through technology, comprehensive education offerings and the continued innovation of Ontario Soccer’s standards-based programs,” added Ferreira.