Clarity regarding Sanctioned vs Unsanctioned Leagues in Ontario

There has been a bit of confusion recently regarding which leagues and tournaments in Ontario are sanctioned and which aren’t. Here is some clarity to assist you and your club/academy when selecting a program.

In Toronto, there is only 1 OSA approved futsal league and that is the Toronto Futsal League, which is sanctioned through the Toronto Soccer Association and plays with FIFA rules. Clubs and academies from over from over 7 districts within the GTA come to compete in its youth and senior divisions ranging from U10-Mens and it is the only league that offers divisions for female futsal players. The website for the league is www.torontofutsal.ca or www.torontofutsalleague.com and is in English.

There is another league that operates under the AMF banner and is not sanctioned called the Toronto AMF Association. A few sanctioned club teams had joined them thinking it was a sanctioned league when it is not. Their league website is in Spanish.

In London, the confusion between the AMF league and the FIFA league has now ended because of the consistent growth of the London Canadian Futsal League which has eliminated its AMF competitor. You can find at www.lcfutsalleague.com. The league is sanctioned under the Elgin-Middlesex SA and features 40+ teams in divisions for boys and men.

As for great tournaments such as the Copa Canada (Toronto), the London Challenge Cup (London), the Futsal Sudbury Invitational, and the Bob Rathwell Memorial (Ottawa), you can visit the Ontario Soccer Association’s tournament listing website by clicking on this link http://ontariosoccer.ca/Lists.htm

In most other provinces, the sport has more or less been picked up by groups that are not sanctioned but play under FIFA rules and the reason quite simply is that most provinces and subsequently their respective regions have still not yet embraced the countless benefits that futsal offers and thus have not invested into the sport. So if you do not have a sanctioned league in your city check out all of your options and contact us if you need some assistance in putting you in touch with the right people.