Ottawa Fury FC Academy

Ottawa Fury FC Academy
Full nameOttawa Fury FC Academy
LeaguePremière Ligue de soccer du Québec
2016PLSQ, 7th

Ottawa Fury FC Academy was the youth academy and development system of Canadian soccer club Ottawa Fury FC. In 2015 and 2016, they played in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec.

History

Original logo

The Fury Academy was launched in 2006, under the umbrella of the original Ottawa Fury.[1] At its peak, the Ottawa Fury FC Academy had more than 20 teams of various age levels, among both genders,[2] with the aim of developing players for both its professional squad and women's team.[3] The Academy works with community clubs in the Ottawa area to identify high-potential players, in addition to holding open tryouts.[4] During their early years, they faced some unexpected pushback from other local minor soccer groups competing for youth players.[2]

In 2015, they decided to field two teams in the Quebec-based Première Ligue de soccer du Québec, a Division III league,[5][6] with their Senior team playing in the man division, while their Junior team played in the Reserve Division. Phil Dos Santos, brother of first-team coach Marc Dos Santos served as the head coach of the Senior Academy team.[7] Fury FC citing the proximity of other teams as making the PLSQ a logical choice, as opposed to joining the Ontario-based League1 Ontario.[8] They were the first club located outside of Quebec to join the league (Ottawa South United would later follow them in 2020).[9] Their home games were based out of Carleton University and TD Place Stadium.[10]

In 2016, the club decided to shut down its academy program and entered into an affiliation with Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact.[11] The move to disband the academy was criticized as hurting the Fury's identity as a soccer club.[12]

Seasons

Season League Teams Record Rank League Cup Ref
2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec 7 6–0–12 5th Quarter-finals [13]
2016 7 4–2–12 7th Quarter-finals [13]

References

  1. ^ "About Ottawa Fury". Ottawa Fury SC. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Holder, Gord (March 2, 2019). "Ottawa's Fury Road: Five years in, can pro soccer find its footing in the capital?". Ottawa Citizen.
  3. ^ "Fury FC New Academy structure". Ottawa Fury FC.
  4. ^ Lemoine, Josh (April 21, 2016). "Fury Academy developing future of Canadian women's soccer". Apartment 613.
  5. ^ "Fury FC Academy and the Premier League de Soccer du Quebec". Bytown Boys. May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015.
  6. ^ Eden, Jon (August 11, 2016). "Interview with Fury Academy Program Coach Jay Bhindi". Red Nation Online.
  7. ^ Mactaggart, Stuart (December 15, 2014). "Ottawa Fury Academy Land PLSQ Spot(s)". Fury Fanatic.
  8. ^ "Fury FC to Feature in PLSQ". Ottawa Fury FC. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  9. ^ "Ottawa South United announces historic move to PLSQ". League1 Ontario. January 30, 2020.
  10. ^ Mactaggart, Stuart (April 5, 2015). "Inside the Fury Academy". Fury Fanatic.
  11. ^ Holder, Gord (December 9, 2016). "Fury FC enters into partnership with Montreal Impact". Ottawa Citizen.
  12. ^ Carlucci, Mario (December 16, 2018). "Fury FC fanbase divided over team's removal from USL". CBC.
  13. ^ a b "Première Ligue de soccer du Québec". Canadian Soccer History Archives.