March 23, 2024...Toronto FC Academy to join League1 Ontario Men's Championship Division (from League1 Ontario website)

Toronto FC Academy to join League1 Ontario Men’s Championship Division
By League1 Ontario staff, 03/23/24, 9:58AM EDT

THE INAUGURAL MEN’S DIVISION CHAMPIONS ARE SET TO TAKE PART IN L1ON REGULAR-SEASON
COMPETITION FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2018.

Toronto, ON – (March 22, 2024) – Toronto FC Academy will compete in the League1 Ontario Men’s Championship Division in the 2024 season, having been awarded one of the licenses formerly held by Evolution Sports & Entertainment.

TFC Academy, operated by Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC, were a founding League1 Ontario license holder, won the inaugural L1ON Men’s Division in 2014, and played a further four full seasons. During that five-year span, TFC Academy featured the likes of Tristan Borges, Theo Corbeanu, Liam Fraser, Jaden Nelson and Mark-Anthony Kaye, who have all gone on to represent Canada at the Senior Men’s National Team level later in their careers.

More recently, TFC Academy were invited to participate in the 2023 L1ON Men’s U19 Fall Reserve League as a guest team. They finished that campaign with a 100 per cent winning record during the regular season and were victorious in the Championship Final.

TFC Academy will return to senior L1ON competition having acquired the men’s division license that was available after the league’s Board of Directors, prior to the 2023 season, revoked the licenses that had been held by Evolution Sports & Entertainment, who operated men’s and women’s teams in Pickering during the 2022 season. In November 2023, it was announced that Scrosoppi FC had acquired the women’s license that ES&E had previously possessed.

Due to the fact that those licenses sat dormant in 2023, the L1ON Board of Directors made the determination that whomever acquired those licenses would see their teams start off in 2024 in the new League1 Ontario Championship Division – the second tier of the league’s new three-tier competition pyramid – with the opportunity to win promotion to the Premier Division. TFC Academy will also play against North Toronto Nitros in the L1 Cup First Round

Anthony Capotosto, Academy Director at Toronto FC, said: "We are both excited and proud to join League1 Ontario for the upcoming outdoor season. League1 provides a quality competition platform for player development and opportunities for growth for coaches and other support staff.

“Our participation in previous years has benefited our Academy players tremendously, and we are confident our involvement moving forward will be no different. We are thankful to have the support from all League1 stakeholders to make this happen and look forward to strengthening our connection within the Ontario soccer community. A special thank you to everyone who worked to bring this to fruition."

Matthew Braithwaite, Managing Director of League1 Ontario, said: "We are very pleased to welcome TFC Academy back to League1 Ontario for the upcoming season.

"They were one of the top men’s teams in the first five years of our league’s history, always finishing near the top of the table. We appreciate that they view L1ON as an important platform for developing their future stars."

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