This week some of Canada’s best youth football clubs are in Surrey for the U17 national tournament, for the men’s and women’s teams, and the host city is well represented by two squads.
Canadian Soccer Couple Toyota National Championship Tournament will be played at Newton Athletic Park from 5 to 10 October.
Two Surrey United teams will battle it out for the national bragging rights from Wednesday, when the two BC representatives in action on the renovated NAP #1 pitch — women at 12:30 pm against Prince Edward Island, followed by men at 3:30 pm game against region team The second BC, the Vancouver Island Wave.
To get to the citizens, two Surrey United teams win their respective provincial championships back in Juneat Minoru Park in Richmond.
“It’s great to be here at home with family and fans around, people who will support us,” said Graham Roxburgh, head coach of Surrey United’s U17 men’s team. “It doesn’t matter where the national is held, it’s a special event, and CSA (Canada Soccer) does a great job putting on a good event, so obviously we didn’t get on a plane and see new places, but at least we had some familiar territory. and will have home support, which is nice. ”
Likewise, the Surrey United women’s team are excited to play for the national title so close to home.
“We trained last night and we reflected on how we got there and how excited the girls are to be at the nationals in Surrey,” said coach Muchtar Ganief, who has coached the group for about four years. “This is the same core group of players, and every year I make one or two changes to make the team stronger,” he said.
We have arrived in Vaughan, Ontario for the CSA Nationals.. hoping to make BC proud!!! @CanadaSoccerEN @1BCFootball @vmslsoccer pic.twitter.com/uOvvZpJDnb
— BB5 UNITED (@BB5UNITED) October 3, 2022
Also this week, BB5 United Surrey men’s team, which in May won its second Provincial A Cup championship in recent years, will defend the 2019 national championship in Vaughan, OntarioDuring Challenge Cup Tournament.
This marks the first Toyota National Championship since the pandemic, with the winner of the final season crowned in 2019.
Surrey FC to host the tournament at Newton Athletic Park, in partnership with Surrey Sports and the City of Surrey.
The national tournament won’t be the biggest football tournament ever to be held in the park at 128 Street, in terms of team numbers, but it is definitely one of the most prestigious.
Twenty-one football teams will compete, meaning an influx of about 450 players in Surrey, plus coaches, parents and officials.
“It’s a lot of planning, and we’ve been working with Canada Soccer for the last nine months to go over all the plans,” said Sarb Lidder, executive director of Surrey FC. “The city has renovated our #1 lawn now, which will be our main farm.
“We and our partners are very happy to host this event, including the transportation companies, our hotel providers, to the people who provide us with the equipment, there is a lot of excitement,” added Lidder. “All the players are staying at the Sheraton in Guildford, so it will be busy, and the referees are staying at the Civic Hotel.”
VIDEOS: @SurreyUnitedSCU17 women’s team train ahead of @CanadaSoccerEN national team, which kicks off Wednesday at Newton Athletic Park.
21 women’s & men’s teams in action, including 2 Surrey United teams.
FULL STORY & SCHEDULE: https://t.co/OyjOqUiqhm pic.twitter.com/0gB4ZkFFlm— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) October 3, 2022
Last month, Surrey United supporters filled the Surrey banquet hall in a fundraising event for both teams at the national level.
“It was great, about 240 tickets were sold and 300 showed up at Mirage Hall, which was packed,” recalls Ganief. “We’re not traveling anywhere, but we have expenses, and to bring the girls together, we’re going to stay at a hotel in Surrey, in Guildford.”
Ganief said he was impressed that Surrey United would field two teams in the tournament.
“Surrey United are lucky to have so many teams at national level and also win national championships over the years,” he said. “With the men’s and women’s qualifiers this year, I am very proud as a coach as well as a father, because my youngest son (Daniel) also plays in the men’s team, so I am doubly invested in this.”
At the national level, the BC team qualified last spring, while teams from other provinces and territories did so more recently. This is just how it works in football, with the SM season being played at a different time of year than others in the country.
“We have to wait for citizens,” explained Ganief. “For me, I’d say it’s more of a loss for us because we’ve been out for a long time, after three or four weeks off in the summer. I gave the players a routine, a training schedule, in August. Back east, their competitive season was over the summer and they are more at their peak now.
“It’s hard to keep the girls engaged and focused on the national game over the summer,” she added, “and with our season just starting, it’s been a little bit difficult to get into the game, play, but not do hard tackles, stuff like that. . But the girls did really well.”
Roxburgh began coaching Surrey United’s U17 men’s team two years ago. “We’ve added some great pieces in the last year, but it’s basically the same group of boys who have been together for a long time,” he said.
This week, the “BC 2” team in the men’s national is the Victoria region team replacing teams from other regions in Canada.
“We’re BC #1 because we won the provincial championship,” said Roxburgh. “What happens sometimes is that teams from other provinces or regions will qualify for the nationals but will opt out – they may not feel that their team is strong enough, and that is also a big financial commitment. The host province has the right to field a second team if one of the other regions opts out.
The Island team was great, Roxburgh underlined. “The schedule had us playing them in the first game, which was interesting but just the way it worked. It will be a tough match. We’ve won a few games against them and also lost a few.”
Surrey FC, then known as the Central City Breakers, or CCB, last hosted the national team at Newton in 2017, for the adults, and will again host the men’s and women’s tournaments in 2024.
Surrey announced as host city for Toyota U17 National Championship in March 2021with Charlottetown hosting the U15 Cup and Vaughan, Ontario, venue for the men’s and women’s team Jubilee/Challenge cup tournaments.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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