According to an e-mail sent to members of the London soccer community, the club will be called the London Youth Whitecaps and it will be “the sole club within the district with the ability to enter teams in Regional and Inter-District Leagues for the (2016) U14 and below age divisions.”
The e-mail, which was by London area coach Geoff Painter. In it, he explains the decision: “Our view is that it is advantageous for our players and teams if they have other high level teams from within the same Club above and below them in age division to allow for call ups and also to provide a unified administration. Consequently, we will be initiating the necessary process to transfer the TPS rights for our current OYSL and WOYSL teams to London Youth Whitecaps.”
It’s important to note that the club will not be participating in the Ontario Premier Development League, the Ontario Soccer Accociation’s preferred system for elite development. Additionally, CSN has been told that efforts to start an OPDL team in London are actively being resisted by the district. A source said that the district went so far as to write a letter of non-support for the OPDL application.
The OPDL approval process is confidential so there is no way of knowing if the alleged letter has negatively affected the application. Regardless, even if the OPDL application is successful the two clubs will be in direct competition for talent, with the London Youth Whitecaps operating in the YSL system, which does not have the same level of LTPD standards required (which is different from saying the Whitecaps won’t employ those standards – CSN reached out to the Caps to comment).
Of note, Painter has a contentious past with the CSA and OSA. In 2009 he was suspended by the OSA for six months for, in the OSA’s opinion, “actions detrimental to the game.” The charge relates to him allowing his team to play a game at the national championships with nine players during the second half of that game. His team had already clinched advancement and Painter later claimed that he had no choice but to play with nine players due to fatigue and injury. He said the charge was without cause.
The London Free press reported on it at the time. You can read that article here.
Beyond the youth development implications, the move by the Whitecaps is a brazen one. They are moving into the doorstep of TFC’s restricted academy area. It’s important to note that TFC would be unable to do a similar thing. The Whitecaps have exclusive rights to everywhere in Canada west of the Ontario/Manitoba border, whereas TFC only has exclusive rights to a 50 mile radius from its training facility in Downsview Park.
CSN has reached out to the Whitecaps and to the North London Soccer Club for comment. We will have more on this story on Monday.