The clubs were informed in a letter, which was shown to CSN, from Executive Director Johnny Misley that was mailed on Nov 18.
That letter stresses the changes the OSA has made to its high performance pyramid and encouraged the four programs to join Ontario League1 in 2017.
The letter reads: “(The OSA) is sharing with you the (high performance) plan so you are fully aware of our newly designed player pathway at the high performance level within the province. As such, we are hopeful that your club, will have an interest in joining League1 Ontario and be a part of our player talent pathway.”
It continues: “Based on the above I wish to also confirm that starting in 2017 The OSA will recognize League1 Ontario as the only Senior Men’s and Women’s high performance league and as a result we will not be approving playing out privileges to the PDL as we have done in the past. In 2016 The OSA will support playing out requests until that time.”
The letter ends with a suggestion that the policy may be implemented across the country.
The decision is in line with previous reporting CSN has made regarding the PDL. The CSA has been urging the provinces to create high performance senior leagues for several years now. The long-term goal is to limit the amount of reliance Canada has on the U.S. pyramid.
CSN reached out to the USL for comment. A representative from the league declined to comment on the 2017 season, while expressing its support to the Ontario teams in 2016.