As a new club to League1 Ontario, FC LONDON is off to a great start with both its men’s and women’s teams in the 2016 season. Both teams, outfitted in green and blue, started the year off with ‘undefeated’ runs to make other teams in the league stand up and take notice.
“There truly must be something in the water here in London that generates great football players,” says Ian Campbell, CEO of FC LONDON. “Both the men’s and women’s squads have immediately been recognized as quality, tactical and disciplined teams, who dominate possession and make competing teams work hard for their points.”
League1 Ontario is a key component of the Canadian Soccer Association’s Elite Player Pathway, which was developed to encourage identification of players for men’s and women’s national team programs. League rules (such as no less than 8 players on any game-sheet U23, including no less than 4 of those players in the starting 11, and no more than 3 non-Canadian players allowed on any game-sheet) help put the focus on Canada’s upcoming talent.
The FC London teams continue to call the German Canadian Club home. The ‘Cove,’ as it’s known, is regarded as one of the best venues in the province. The full-sized grass field often takes teams used to playing on turf by surprise. When combined with a raucous crowd, it’s definitely an intimidating environment.
Mike Marcoccia, the head coach of the women’s team (who also plays with the men’s squad), says he’s thrilled with the start of the year.
“We started from scratch at the beginning of the year talking about the kind of team that we could build, and now those ideas have become a reality,” Marcoccia said. “We have one of the youngest teams in the league, yet we’re playing some technically mature soccer and making other teams work to get any ball possession.”
FC London fans have already been exposed to some memorable moments this year, including Randy Ribiero’s 70-yard goal and a ‘Bend it like Chelsea’ left-footed blast from Chelsea Zavitz.
“With the length of the season, there is lots more soccer for everyone to enjoy,” said Campbell. “There are also lots of opportunities for fans to engage with the players through school, special events, post-game autographs, and camps that will run throughout July. We’re looking forward to keeping that ‘undefeated’ mentality going all year long both on and off the field.”
The regular season runs from May through September. The club with the highest point total is crowned regular season champions. In the men’s league, which is divided into east and west divisions (FC LONDON plays in the west), there is a one-game playoff to determine the league winner who will then play in a home & home series to determine the Inter-Provincial Champion.
Story submitted by FC LONDON and photos by SGL24/7 MEDIA
