TORONTO LYNX MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TORONTO LYNX ACQUIRE W-LEAGUE FRANCHISE!
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 (TORONTO, ON) – The Toronto Lynx Soccer Club has acquired the rights to the Toronto W-League franchise. Providing the most complete women’s player pool in the world, the W-League is recognized as North America’s best women’s development organization. The W-League also gives the nation’s best college players the opportunity to play alongside established international players while maintaining their collegiate eligibility. USL determined earlier this month that the Toronto Inferno would not return to the W-League in 2005. While several groups were interested in acquiring the Toronto rights for a W-League club, the League office after some consideration, felt that the Lynx were the best-equipped group to maximize the potential of the W-League and the development of women's soccer in Toronto.
The greater Toronto area is home to some of the finest female soccer talent in Canada having produced exceptional talent such as Kara Lang, Diana Matheson and Amanda Cicchini, all originating from the Oakville Soccer Club. Many of these players honed their skills in the W-League and brought a great sense of pride to our country with their tremendous achievement during the recent 2003 Women's World Cup where they finished in fourth place.
“This is a welcome addition that presents great opportunities for our organization,” says Nicole Hartrell, the owner and COO of the Toronto Lynx. She adds, “We are very excited to have the W-League under the Lynx banner. Since we already have a soccer infrastructure in place through the Toronto Lynx men’s professional team, every department will be extended to deliver the women's side. We are moving forward fast to have a head coach in place in consultation with Even Pellerud, the Canadian Women's National Team head coach.”
In 2004, the Toronto W-League team competed in the North Central Division playing a total of 14 games: seven home and seven away, competing against the likes of Rochester, Sudbury, Ottawa and Montreal.
NAME AND LOGO ALREADY IN PLACE!
The women's team will be known as the “Toronto Lady Lynx” with the logo being an off-shoot of the men’s attractive traditional shield. Representing female energy, the soccer ball within the Lynx logo has been metamorphed into the female symbol of a ball and cross by Lynx photographer, Marielle Di Turi.
The acquisition of the W-League franchise for the Lynx mimics the organizational structure of the Vancouver Whitecaps, which includes the men’s A-League team and boys Super Y-League (SYL) plus the W-League team and girls SYL teams. Peter Kovacs, the Toronto Lynx Director of Business Development is exuberant about the announcement saying, “This is fabulous. Corporate Canada now has a more comprehensive vehicle for reaching the soccer community through the Toronto Lynx with the addition of the women's side and girls SYL. There has already been a lot of interest from businesses and that's a win-win for both soccer fans and the club."
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
DAVID NUTT -- MEDIA RELATIONS, TORONTO LYNX
416-251-4625, extension 30, dnutt@lynxsoccer.com
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