Caledon Cup 2023: Caledon FC’s “Summer-Ending” House League Soccer Tournament was a big hit

By Jim Stewart

Gabriel Borges, Executive Director of Caledon FC, peered out from the East Caledon Sports Complex pavilion and was happy to see the fields full of soccer players.

From three-year-olds kicking the ball for the first time to U8, U10, and U12 teams competing for the Caledon Cup 2023, there was an air of “mission accomplished” on a beautiful Saturday morning in late-August.

“It's exciting to bring back soccer and resurrect the Caledon Cup with 20 house league teams competing in three divisions.”

Borges looked out to the soccer pitches filled with colorful yellow, green, blue, and red Caledon FC jerseys and noted that the best part of the grassroots tourney was “seeing how happy the kids are.”

“It's also great to see the Complex being fully used.”

Mario Russo, Caledon Councillor for Wards 4, 5, and 6, jokingly took credit for “the great weather” and praised Borges's work to bring back the house league soccer tournament for so many Caledon kids.

The gregarious Councillor was also quick to credit the substantial team of volunteers for their selfless efforts.

“This doesn't happen without the volunteers and their community spirit.”

Two of those volunteers—Meghan McFadyen and Alissa Condotta—worked admirably on the adjacent pitch to corral a group of three-year old soccer players for a group photo and set up the young ones for their tournament match.

The work of these Grassroots Managers did not go unnoticed by Caledon FC Board Member and Coach Gaspare Clemenzi who praised the efforts of McFadyen and Condotta for “helping to create a fun space for the youngest players and for their dedicated service.”

Coach Clemenzi also noted that, “This is a fun day for our rec players. It's a summer-ending event that I always looked forward to back in my playing days. We're happy to give out a table of trophies to the competitors today and we hope to grow from this, to create a base, and instill a philosophy in our program.”

With Caledon FC's Marketing and Sponsorship Director Harman Mundair providing a great musical backbeat to complement the proceedings on the field, Executive Director Gabriel Borges's goal of “letting the community know that the Caledon Cup is back” was achieved.

The future of Caledon FC is, indeed, bright and its Executive Director acknowledged “It's all about playing soccer.  It's time to focus on the present and it's time for kids to enjoy the beautiful game.”