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Ontario Soccer Summit 2019 roster revealed and tickets now on sale

By Staff, 11/01/18, 4:00PM EDT

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Three keynote speakers and 15 other speakers have been revealed for the event which will be held March 1-3, 2019 at the BMO Centre and Wolf Performance Hall in London

Play. Inspire. Unite. 

Ontario Soccer has announced the roster for the Ontario Soccer Summit 2019 in London, Ont. and this year’s crop of speakers are certain to be a watershed moment in the history of the event.   

The speakers, which hail from across the soccer spectrum, will pull on their depth of experience and bring their vast expertise to the BMO Centre and Wolf Performance Hall in London from March 1-3, 2019.

Headlining this year’s events are three keynote speakers.

The first is John Herdman, the Canadian Men’s National team Head Coach and the key figure who led the Canadian Women’s National team to two consecutive Olympic bronze medals.

He will be joined by legendary match official Howard Webb, who is now on the forefront of soccer technology, as he heads up the Video Assistant Referee program with Major League Soccer.

The keynote speakers are rounded out by Nancy Spotton, the CEO and Co-Founder of MPWR, a group that is powering the next generation of trailblazers in sport and society and is quickly becoming known for their use of aggregated data to create powerful talent development programs that inspire performance. 

“We continue to try and push the boundaries with the profile of speakers we bring to the annual Ontario Soccer Summit,” said Johnny Misley, Ontario Soccer Chief Executive Officer. “Not only is Ontario Soccer seeking to find the top leadership minds to inspire  our membership but we’re also looking for speakers who will challenge the audience to be above the status quo.”  

Tickets went on sale today. Visit OntarioSoccer.net/SummitTickets to register and purchase yours.

The first window of advantage pricing, which offers the best dollar value anywhere in soccer development, closes Dec. 1 for this team-building event. With only 100 tickets available during this initial period, be sure to act quickly as prices will increase incrementally after Dec. 1.

There are also great group discounts available for your Club, District or Academy to assist in making this destination event a team-building opportunity for you in 2019.

Today’s announcement, which includes speakers from the Technical Leaders, Match Official Development and Community Leadership streams, are equally as robust.

The technical leaders announced, who will be joining the Ontario Soccer Summit 2019 are: Hugo Blanco (Sports Projects in LaLiga), Jason deVos (Canada Soccer Director of Development), Mauro Biello (Assistant Coach of the Canadian Men’s National team), Dave Nutt (Manager of Canada Soccer Development Operations), Anthony Capotosto (Toronto FC Academy Director), Paul Jurbala (Director, Knowledge with Sport For Life Society), Barry Jansen (Performance Consultant with JansenHR), Richard Bucciarelli (a Professional Fitness Coach and owner of Soccer Fitness Inc.) and Ontario Soccer’s own Gary Miller, Technical Director.

“In addition to having the pleasure of hearing our Men’s National Team Head Coach speak, there will be a fantastic complement of speakers from Canada Soccer and Toronto FC on site to bring our membership up to date on the latest technical developments in this country,” said Gary Miller, Technical Director at Ontario Soccer. “Our technical speakers are each experts in their field and will bring a wealth of learning for those looking to advance their own development.”

The Match Official speakers who will be joining the Ontario Soccer Summit 2019 will be a pair of returning faces in Joe Fletcher and Sonia Denoncourt.

“Joe Fletcher is widely considered to be one of the greatest Assistant Referees to ever come out of Canada and the nuggets of information he will bring to our membership will be invaluable,” said Nicky Pearson, Ontario Soccer Manager of Match Officials Development. “The combination of Joe’s exuberance and Sonia Denoncourt’s experience in performing at the top level, while they both have a strong grasp of grassroots development is such a strong amalgamation of two top quality match officials. The pair of them are going to illuminate and excite match officials in this province.”

The Community Leadership speakers who will be joining the Ontario Soccer Summit 2019 are: Amanda Vandervort (MLS, Vice President of Fan Engagement), Matt Greenwood (Executive Director, Pickering Soccer Club and their All Abilities Program), Alan Hollingsworth (HUB International Insurance, Senior Vice President) and Ontario Soccer’s Lyn Wallington, Senior Manager of Operations.

“It’s important that we bring speakers that will not only assist our coaches and technical members but also help those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make our game work in this province,” said Bjorn Osieck, Ontario Soccer Director of Business Operations. “There are practical, applicable learnings for our administrators, as well as key insights for anybody working on the business side of the sport.”

Two panel discussions will also take place at the Ontario Soccer Summit. The first panel will be a fireside chat with soccer luminaries from the grassroots to the highest levels of the game and the second will focus on how to keep girls in soccer longer. The speakers for both panels will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Check the Ontario Soccer Summit news section regularly for updates on speakers, events or how to become an Ontario Soccer Summit partner.