LEAGUE1 ONTARIO PRESS RELEASE
Scarborough, ON – (February 5, 2024) - Today marks a significant milestone in the Canadian Soccer Landscape as The Borough Football Club is officially announced as the newest addition to the League1 Ontario Men's Division via the license obtained by Dutch Connections FC. The Borough FC hopes to redefine soccer in Scarborough with a commitment to excellence, community engagement, and a passion for the beautiful game.
The Borough FC intends to be more than just a soccer club as signified in their launch video posted on social media and the Club’s website TheBoroughFC.com. The Club’s mission is to be a symbol of unity, inclusiveness, and a source of pride for the entire Scarborough community with a vision to nurture local talent, provide inspiration, and contribute to the growth of soccer at both the grassroots and professional levels. The Borough FC aims to become a club that sets the standard both off and on the pitch in the League1 Ontario soccer scene for years to come.
The Club was built through a partnership between Andrew Ornoch, owner of Dutch Connections FC and former Professional and Canadian National Team player, and Rob Jenkins, owner of Ronic Sports Management and builder of multiple clubs in Canada including Electric City FC, Cavalry FC, and Calgary Foothills FC. Both shared a vision for something in Scarborough that went beyond one youth club or one individual to something that could support, inspire, and unite the entire community.
“Scarborough is such a diverse community filled with people who are fiercely proud of where they are from and a place that has produced some of Canada’s best athletes.” Club President and Founding Partner Rob Jenkins said, “Canadian legends of the game such as Dwayne de Rosario and Julian de Guzman grew up right here in Scarborough, not to mention players that are carrying on that tradition of excellence today including Kamal Miller and Jonathan de Guzman just to name a few. We want to build something that not only continues this tradition of fostering and supporting local talent, but also unites, inspires, and gives back to the community through the unique power of the beautiful game.”
The club will begin play in League2 of the newly formed League1 Ontario three tiered pyramid and intend to work its way up to the top tier through the difficult path of promotion and relegation, but that suits this group just fine.
“Growing up in Scarborough we have always been seen as the underdog, the underappreciated, the overlooked,” Director of Football and Founding Partner Andrew Ornoch shared, “Scarborough is a place where nothing is given and everything is earned, but that’s what makes us who we are and that’s what makes us proud of where we’re from. We are looking for players that have that chip on their shoulder with something to prove. We want to earn our place in the Championship and prove to the rest of Ontario and Canada that Scarborough talent belongs at the top.”
The Borough FC is offering a U20 and Pro-Am men’s program in 2024 and intends to add a women’s program in the near future. The Club is not offering youth programs as it is committed to uniting the Scarborough youth soccer scene by selecting the best local talent in Scarborough to represent the Club no matter what Scarborough youth club they might play for.
“We want to build relationships and partnerships with all youth clubs in Scarborough to ensure that we create a pathway for all of Scarborough’s talented youth once they are done their youth career,” Ornoch continued, “We will play an attractive, hardworking, attacking brand of football that the community can be proud of, that will compete at the highest level every time we step onto the pitch. That requires us to find the best talent possible and we intend to leave no stone unturned in this hotbed of talent.”
The club is hosting open tryouts in Scarborough on Sunday, February 25 hoping to find undiscovered talents with something to prove, players from Scarborough looking to represent their hometown, or players who want to be part of a historic journey during this inaugural season and beyond. Registration is now open on the Club’s website at TheBoroughFC.com.
As part of their commitment to the community, the founding partners made the decision that a Club that claims to be for the community, should be owned by the community and not owned by two individuals, so they have allocated over half of the club’s shares to provide the opportunity for local community ownership.
“Many clubs around the world that truly represent their communities have substantial community involvement in ownership and we wanted to ensure that what we build truly represents the community and gives them a real voice at the club,” Jenkins added, “We are very excited about the diverse and talented group of communities owners we are putting together and can’t wait to begin working with them to build something special for Scarborough.“
The Club will kickoff its inaugural season in April of 2024 with matches being played at the historical Birchmount Stadium on Saturday nights this spring and summer. The Club intends for the matches to be events that everyone can enjoy and encourages everyone to come and check it out.
“A club like this only works if the entire community gets behind it in their own way and we have no doubt that the people of Scarborough will come through. We are looking for people and businesses to get involved through sponsorship, volunteering, repping the merchandise, coming out to matches, and just spreading the word to their friends, family and on social media” Jenkins concluded, “We hope we are building something that the community of Scarborough will be proud to call their own.”
The schedule will be announced, and tickets will go on sale in March. The Club currently has merchandise available on its website TheBoroughFC.com along with tryout registration, partnership information and an email signup to stay up to date and be the first to know about player announcements, kit reveals, events, and much more.
About The Borough Football Club
The Borough Football Club is a newly established adult soccer club based in Scarborough, dedicated to promoting excellence on and off the pitch, community engagement, and talent development. As a proud member of League1 Ontario, The Borough Football Club is poised to make an impact in the community and on the Ontario soccer scene for many years.
About League1 Ontario
League1 Ontario is the province’s standards-based soccer competition. Founded by Ontario Soccer in 2014, L1O has expanded from 10 teams to 42 across its men’s and women’s Premier Divisions and will be implementing a three-tiered promotion and relegation system in 2024. Owned and managed by Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) and sanctioned by FIFA through the domestic authority of Canada Soccer, L1O provides a pathway from high-performance youth to professional levels of the game.
For more information, please contact:
media@TheBoroughFC.com
