The first-annual OPDL Charity Shield took place Saturday in front of a boisterous crowd and veritable who’s who in Canadian soccer. 

The games, played by the first team in the U-14 OPDL West Conference versus the first team in the U-14 OPDL East Conference in both genders, were a look at what’s to come for the beautiful game in Canada. 

Both the boys and girls Charity Shield games showcased some of the best talent Ontario has to offer. 

In the Girls U-14 division, Whitby Iroquois SC downed the Burlington Bayhawks 4-0 to capture the OPDL Charity Shield. Read more, watch highlights and see the photos from the game here on OntarioSoccer.net. 

In the Boys U-14 division, Richmond Hill SC defeated Ottawa South United 2-0 to capture the OPDL Charity Shield. Read more, watch highlights and see the photos from the game here on OntarioSoccer.net. 

Gary Miller, the OSA Technical Director, was thrilled with how the day and the season went for the league. 

"The OPDL Charity Shield is the culmination of another year of excellent work by our license holders," Miller said. "Today, as an event, was a great start. As we roll in more age groups, year over year, I expect this event to take on a level of real prominence for Ontario soccer. There are great things to come for OPDL." 

Several notable members of the Canadian soccer community were in attendance to help with the celebration. 

Nigel Reed, who has 30 years of broadcast experience and whose voice has graced numerous FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games, was on hand to do the broadcast play-by-play of both games. 

In addition, Tony Fonseca, Technical Director of the Canada Soccer and former Canadian national team player Paul Stalteri, were in attendance to have a look at some of the talent on display. 

“I feel very confident that, now, with the creation of Youth High Performance Leagues such OPDL with standards and criteria will help bridge the current gap between the professional clubs and the grassroots programs and further advance players in the development pathway,” Fonseca said. 

Finally, two of Canada's top match officials, Silviu Petrescu and Carol Anne Chenard, were in attendance to call the Charity Shield games. Read more on that here. 

The Charity Shield is designed to celebrate OPDL License Holders for their achievements, as well as contribute to charity organizations operating in Ontario.

The winners of the Charity Shield donate the money raised from the event to a charity of their choice.

Over $1,500 was raised on the day.

The Whitby Iroquois split their donation between the Charles H. Best Diabetes Centre in Whitby and the Sick Kids Foundation. Richmond Hill S.C. donated their portion to the Sick Kids Foundation.

High-resolution photos of the event are available to media.
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Media Contacts
Ben Rycroft | Ontario Soccer Association Communications Manager | 905-254-9390 ext. 255 | Email: brycroft@soccer.on.ca
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About the Ontario Player Development League

Launched in 2014 with the 2001 age group, the OPDL is the province's first standards-based, youth high performance league that combines top level competition with strict high performance training standards. This exciting new youth high performance program is an important component of the overall movement to adopt the core principles of Long Term Player Development (LTPD) across soccer at large in Ontario and Canada.