March 14, 2011 CSL--Vincent Ursini Returns to CSL--League annual meeting confirms appointment (from CSL news release)
VINCENT URSINI RETURNS TO CSL...League annual meeting confirms appointment
Vincent Ursini is the new head of the Canadian Soccer League.
The appointment as chairman of the board of Canada's only professional soccer league was approved unanimously by the 14 clubs at the CSL's annual meeting Saturday. Ursini had earlier been sought as a replacement for Domenic Di Gironimo who resigned as commissioner in December.
It's homecoming for the personable Ursini, who joined the CSL's forerunner Canadian Professional Soccer League as a director in 1998, subsequently became treasurer and in 2000 was appointed president. During his tenure, the CPSL expanded from eight to12 teams to include Montreal, Ottawa and Windsor. He tendered his resignation in February, 2005 to accept increasing responsibilities with the Ontario Soccer Association and this was followed by his election to the national governing body, the Canadian Soccer Association, as its financial director and member of the executive committee.
Ursini, 51, an accountant and entrepreneur after graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, has a long list of earlier achievements in Canadian soccer going back as a player and coach and administrator in York Region and North York in the 80s. This was followed by work with the Ontario Soccer Association and highlighted by his outstanding contribution to negotiations, the planning and construction of The Ontario Soccer Centre, headquarters and a playing centre for the OSA and its 500,000 players, coaches and match officials. Opened in 1997 on Martin Grove Road at Highway 7 in Vaughan, the complex was the biggest project in Canadian soccer until the opening of the soccer-specific BMO Field in 2007. Together with the CSA, the Canadian and Ontario governments, the City of Toronto and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ursini was also directly involved in the negotiations to establish the debt-free BMO Field.
“I've enjoyed my work, but none more so than my earlier time with this league,” Ursini told the gathering of member clubs at the annual meeting. “There is a lot to be done and we will work together to reach the goals of a league I have always believed has an important role in Canadian soccer. The CSL has contributed and can contribute more significantly to help develop players, referees, coaches and administrators. The goal is to fulfill these responsibilities throughout our great country,” he said.
League Administrator Pino Jazbec in welcoming Ursini, said the appointment is “reflective of a person who has considerable experience, necessary to lead the league through a very busy time of expansion and further development.”
The CSL's annual meeting approved a 14-team First Division for the 2011 season to kickoff the first week of May with up to 50 games televised live on Rogers TV. There will be a Reserve Division. The league partners also include Givova of Italy and its soccer apparel and the Locust ball is the official ball of the CSL. Days Inn is again the official accommodation for CSL teams.
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