President of Peel-Halton Soccer Association passes away 

By Robert Belardi 

The President of Peel-Halton Soccer Association, William Hay, passed away on May 3, at the age of 65. 

Hay was widely recognized in the community for his tireless efforts as a volunteer to the game, was president of Peel-Halton Soccer since November 2006. 

Since co-founding CDN Print Plastic in 1990, Hay got involved in soccer on his spare time. 

He served as president of the Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club from 2000 to January 2013.

Throughout that timeframe, he became president of Peel-Halton and also volunteered as a District Representative on the Board of Directors for Ontario Soccer from September 2009 to October 2018. 

“William was a joy to work with daily. His management style was filled with fun and the reminder, ‘this is a kid's game.'  He was always focused on how we get more kids on the field,” said vice-president and discipline chair of Peel-Halton Soccer Association Colin Preddie. 

“We are still processing the loss within our soccer family. How do you fill the void? You don't, you can't. We will just do our very best and try to make him proud of us.”

As per Ontario Soccer, Hay helped bring futsal to Peel Region. In 2016, Hay was awarded with the Ontario Soccer's Meritorious Service Award for all of his contributions to the sport. 

“He was a man for the love of the game. He always wanted to do things for the game,” said Bolton resident John Horvath, who worked with Hay as a consultant for the Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club and as a competitions director with the Peel-Halton Soccer Association board. 

“He did his best to promote the game. To encourage kids to come and play for Bolton. He had done a lot of fundraisers for the Bolton Wanderers club. Not just for the kids but even for the adults as well. We had a good adult league running, we still do. You would always see him at almost every Ontario soccer field. And then some.” 

Hay's visitation was held at Egan Funeral home this past Monday.