Remembering a Titan: Charlie Cuzzetto

It is with deep regret and sadness that we share the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Pasquale “Charlie” Cuzzetto, this past Sunday at the age of 76.

A true pioneer, builder, and ambassador of Canadian futsal, Charlie devoted more than five decades to growing futsal and soccer at every level, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to shape the game for generations to come.

One of the key founders of Futsal Canada, Charlie served as our President from 1991-2013 and helped guide the sport through its important transition from the FIFUSA era into the FIFA system. Alongside other revered Canadian futsal pioneers such as Carlos Mateus (Nanaimo), Robert Luft (London), and Karl Grey (Ottawa), all of whom helped develop the game within their respective regions, Charlie was instrumental in establishing British Columbia as the country’s futsal capital throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Charlie’s involvement in the growth of futsal in Canada stretched back decades. He served as manager of Canada’s Indoor Soccer Team at the 1985 Futsal World Championship in Spain and was team manager for the Canadian side that competed at the Pacific Cup in Australia in 1987, a significant futsal competition featuring Canada, USA, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, and hosts Australia. Discussions at that competition also led Charlie to become part of the committee that created the first Aboriginal Indoor Soccer (Futsal) Cup between Australia and Canada, a highly popular three-game series later held in Nanaimo, Vancouver, and Victoria. He was very passionate about including Indigenous communities into sport.

In 1987, he was elected Men’s Technical Director of the organization that had changed its name to Indoor Soccer Canada. He also helped establish a partnership between the Canadian Soccer Association and Futsal Canada, eventually becoming the primary liaison between the two organizations as futsal became more fully integrated within the Canadian soccer structure.

For years, Charlie was among the strongest advocates for the growth of futsal within Canada Soccer. Most recently, he served as the central CSA representative at several of the organization’s futsal club championships and was the driving force behind lobbying for a dedicated annual futsal budget at Canada Soccer – a vision that became reality in 2015 and remains one of his lasting legacies within the sport.

His passion and work were never limited to futsal alone. From 1982 to 1987, Charlie served as General Manager of Columbus FC of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League, one of the most successful amateur soccer clubs in Canadian history. The club featured many notable figures in Canadian soccer, including his brother Joe Cuzzetto, FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani, members of the Lenarduzzi family, and many other significant contributors to soccer in Canada.

His tremendous impact on the sport extended far beyond the court and pitch. Charlie served on the Board of BC Soccer for two terms (2001-2008) before being elected as its President from 2009-2012. He then spent an incredible 15 years on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors (2009-2024) representing the Yukon/BC region. He also served on Canada Soccer’s Governance Committee and held numerous leadership positions within Concacaf and FIFA, including serving as Deputy Chair of Concacaf’s Appeals Committee, as a member of FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee — a role he truly relished — and most recently on FIFA’s Football Tribunal.

Charlie represented Canada with distinction at countless international events between 2003 and 2017 as Head of Delegation for numerous national teams, including FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Concacaf futsal qualifiers, women’s Olympic qualifying tournaments, beach soccer competitions, as well as Concacaf and FIFA youth tournaments.

His contributions to the sport were widely recognized with numerous honours and awards. Charlie was inducted into the Futsal Canada Hall of Fame in 2017 and, last year, was selected to the BC Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2024, he received the Canada Soccer President’s Award in recognition of his extraordinary service to the game and was also awarded the Vanni Lenarduzzi Memorial Award for Excellence from the Italian Canadian Sports Federation.

In a fitting tribute to a man who gave so much to Canadian soccer and futsal, both BC Soccer and Canada Soccer recently announced that their annual club championship trophies will be named in his honour. Concacaf has also named the futsal arena at Concacaf’s new Home of Football in the Dominican Republic the Charlie Cuzzetto Arena.the futsal arena at Concacaf’s new Home of Football in the Dominican Republic

Beyond the titles and accomplishments, Charlie will most be remembered for the person he was.

“The loss of Charlie to the futsal and soccer communities simply cannot be measured. Charlie wasn’t just a colleague or a mentor, he was, above all, a good friend. He’s the kind of person who makes you believe in the goodness of people without even trying.

For decades he poured his heart into futsal and soccer, not because it was a job, but because he truly believed sport could change lives for the better — and he proved it over and over again. He was a true pioneer in Canadian futsal, building something from almost nothing so that thousands of kids and players today could have opportunities he helped create.

What I’ll remember most is his unwavering loyalty, his quiet passion, and the deep sense of honour he brought to everything he did. Charlie didn’t just talk about making the world better – he actually did it, one pitch, one player, one conversation at a time.

We are all incredibly lucky to have known him, and the world is definitively better because he was in it. When our time comes, may we all hope to have lived with even a fraction of his impact.”

— Kris Fernandes, Futsal Canada

Born on August 11th, 1949 in Southern Italy, Charlie moved to Canada in 1954 and grew up on Vancouver’s east side, attending Templeton Secondary School, the same high school attended by National Soccer Hall of Famers Bobby Lenarduzzi and Dominic Mobilio. He later graduated from both Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg, Virginia and Vancouver Community College. Following a lengthy career with the City of Vancouver, he eventually retired as a Supervisor of Recreation.

Charlie Cuzzetto’s contributions to futsal, soccer, and the broader sporting community are immense. He undoubtedly served the game with honesty, integrity, and passion. Everyone involved in the Canadian sporting scene owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude for his decades of service, though his humble nature would quickly deflect that praise to those who worked alongside him.

Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Lorraine, the entire Cuzzetto family, and to all those who had the privilege of knowing and working alongside him.