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Guelph United F.C.

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Guelph United F.C.
Full nameGuelph United Football Club
Founded2020
StadiumCentennial Bowl
Capacity500
OwnersKeith Mason, Benny Mezezi, and Ami Mezezi
Head CoachKeith Mason (men)
Randy Ribeiro (women)
LeagueLeague1 Ontario
2024L1O-P, 11th (men)
L1O-P, 6th (women)
Websitehttps://www.guelphunitedfc.ca/
Current season

Guelph United F.C. is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Guelph, Ontario. The club includes men's and women's teams that play in League1 Ontario. Both teams initially played at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium,[1] but moved to Centennial Bowl in 2023.[2] The women's team was originally named Guelph Union before changing to match the men's team's name for the 2024 season, following their merger in January 2023.

History

[edit]

Both the men's (Guelph United) and women's (then known as Guelph Union) teams were formed in 2020, joining League1 Ontario in 2021, initially under separate ownership groups, with both being affiliated with the Guelph Soccer Club. In January 2023, the club's merged under the same ownership group with Guelph United acquiring the Union, in a move to optimize operations and strengthen ties with the community.[3][4] After continuing to play under the Union name for the 2023 season, the women's team rebranded to Guelph United ahead of 2024.[5]

Men

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University of Guelph Gryphons and Guelph SC

Guelph United F.C. was founded in 2020 by Keith Mason, Benny Mezezi, and Ami Mezezi,[6] in partnership with the University of Guelph Gryphons, the Guelph Soccer Club, and the City of Guelph[7] with the goal of bringing semi-professional soccer to the community.[8] Guelph Gryphons head and assistant coaches Keith Mason and Justin Springer were announced as the team's associate coaches.[9] The team is expected to be primarily composed of University of Guelph players, supplemented by local players.[10]

The club joined League1 Ontario for the 2021 season and will also field a team in the reserve division.[10] Ahead of their debut, they made headlines signing former Canadian Premier League player Jace Kotsopoulos as the team's first ever player.[11][12] They made their debut on July 30, 2021 defeating FC London by a score of 6-0.[13][14] In their first season, they came in first place in the West Division, advancing to the playoffs, with their team featuring three of the top four regular season goal scoring leaders.[15][16] In the playoffs, they won the League1 Ontario title, after defeating Blue Devils FC 3-1 in the finals, qualifying them for the 2022 Canadian Championship.[17] They were defeated in the first round of the Canadian Championship by professional club HFX Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League 2-0.[18][19][20]

Women

[edit]
Guelph Union logo

Guelph Union was founded by the Guelph Soccer Club[21] to join the League1 Ontario women's division for the 2021 season.[22][23] They became the city's first ever women's semi-professional sports team.[24] The women's team initially existed as a separate entity from the men's team,[25] although they merged into one entity (while retaining the Union name for the women's team for 2023, before switching to United in 2024) in January 2023,[26] as the women's team was potentially going to leave the city, as they would not be returning under the Guelph SC banner.[27] Prior to this the Guelph Soccer Club had fielded four teams in the Ontario Women's Soccer League.[28] They made their debut in the 2021 Summer Championship season on July 22, 2021, defeating Darby FC 1-0.[29] The club partnered with the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington as their charitable partner, donating fifty percent of the revenue from their ticket sales to the organization.[30][31] In their debut season, they participated in the short-season Summer Championship division, finishing with a perfect 6-0 record to win the division.[32] In 2022, they began playing in the main division (after opting to play in the short-season division in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), winning their debut match 1-0 over Darby FC.[33] They finished their inaugural season in the main division in 13th place.[34]

Players and staff

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Coaching staff

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As of March 30, 2021[35]
Name Position
England Keith Mason General Manager and Men's Head coach
Canada Randy Ribeiro Women's Head coach
Canada Don Ferguson Men's Goalkeeper coach

Seasons

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Men

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Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Canadian Championship Ref
2021 League1 Ontario 15 10–0–2 1st, West (2nd overall) Champions Not held Not Eligible [36]
2022 22 13–3–5 7th Did not qualify Not held Preliminary Round
2023 21 11–6–3 6th Quarter-finals Not held Did not qualify
2024 League1 Ontario Premier 12 4–4–14 11th ↓ – Quarter-finals Did not qualify

Women

[edit]
Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2021 League1 Ontario Summer Championship 7 6–0–0 Champions – – [37]
2022 League1 Ontario 20 7–9–3 13th did not qualify –
2023 19 7–3–8 12th did not qualify –
2024 League1 Ontario Premier 10 7–3–8 6th – Quarter-finals

Notable former players

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The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 Ontario team:

Men

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Women

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[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "New, Semi-Pro Soccer Franchises Coming to Guelph in 2021". University of Guelph. February 4, 2021.
  2. ^ @guelphunitedfc (March 18, 2023). "Welcome Home! Guelph United is excited to announce the new home of the club. After two years at Alumni Stadium, the club has decided to change the venue to Centennial Bowl found in Centennial park!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Guelph United complete takeover of Guelph Union". League1 Ontario. January 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Jacques, John (January 10, 2023). "Guelph's League1 Ontario Clubs Have Merged". Northern Tribune.
  5. ^ "Guelph Union officially rebrands as Guelph United FC". Guelph United F.C. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "Our Story". Guelph United F.C.
  7. ^ "League1 Ontario adds four men's teams for 2021". League1 Ontario. January 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "New soccer team revealed for Guelph". Guelph Mercury Tribune. January 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Jacques, John (January 28, 2021). "League1 Ontario Adds Four New Teams". Northern Tribune.
  10. ^ a b Massey, Rob (January 29, 2021). "Top level men's soccer returns to town in the form of Guelph United FC". Guelph Today.
  11. ^ @guelphunitedfc (March 13, 2021). "(1/2) We are excited to announce a big moment in the history of our club: our inaugural signing! We are proud and honoured to welcome Jace Kotsopoulos! Jace's goal scoring record is well documented but his leadership qualities will also be a huge asset in the dressing room and..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Reid, Brady (April 19, 2021). "'A family club': Strong sense of community spelling early success for Guelph United". League1 Ontario.
  13. ^ "Game on! Guelph United, Union kick off inaugural soccer seasons". Guelph Mercury. August 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "A Bluffer's Guide to Guelph United". League1 Ontario. November 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "Guelph United wraps up first place". Guelph Today. October 25, 2021.
  16. ^ Hodges, Mike (October 29, 2021). "Guelph United F.C. hosts first playoff game this weekend". Global News.
  17. ^ Cheng, Jonathan (November 7, 2021). "Guelph United downs Blue Devils 3-1 to win 2021 L1O Men's title, qualify for CanChamp". League1 Ontario.
  18. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (May 9, 2022). "'A Hollywood script': Guelph United's meteoric rise in L1O ahead of CanChamp clash vs. HFX Wanderers". Canadian Premier League.
  19. ^ Massey, Rob (May 9, 2022). "David meets Goliath Tuesday as Guelph United FC plays its biggest game ever". Guelph Today.
  20. ^ Massey, Rob (May 11, 2022). "Underdog Guelph United gives the effort but can't get the result". Guelph Today.
  21. ^ Bekavac, Ned (February 5, 2021). "Guelph soccer squad named to elite provincial league". Guelph Mercury Tribune.
  22. ^ "League1 Ontario adds three women's teams for 2021". League1 Ontario. February 3, 2021.
  23. ^ "Guelph Union to Join as new team in Women's League1 Ontario". Guelph Soccer Club. February 3, 2021.
  24. ^ "Guelph Union the city's first semi-pro women's sports team". Guelph Today. May 17, 2021.
  25. ^ Reid, Brady (May 13, 2021). "Guelph Union bringing new opportunity to the city on and off the pitch". League1 Ontario.
  26. ^ "Guelph United brings women's Guelph Union into the fold". Guelph Today. January 12, 2023.
  27. ^ Massey, Rob (February 9, 2023). "Guelph's top soccer squads become United". Guelph Today.
  28. ^ Massey, Rob (February 3, 2021). "New Guelph Union to provide top-flight women's soccer". Guelph Today.
  29. ^ Hodges, Mike (August 6, 2021). "Guelph Union looking forward to home opener". Global News.
  30. ^ "Game on! Guelph United, Union kick off inaugural soccer seasons". Guelph Mercury Tribune. August 7, 2021.
  31. ^ "Guelph Union hosts first-ever League 1 Ontario Home Game". Guelph Today. August 6, 2021.
  32. ^ "Guelph Union 2021 Season". League1 Ontario.
  33. ^ Massey, Rob (April 25, 2022). "Guelph Union looking for big season on provincial women's soccer scene". Guelph Today.
  34. ^ "A Bluffer's Guide to Guelph Union". League1 Ontario. November 10, 2022.
  35. ^ "Our coaches have experience coaching and playing at the highest levels in Canada". Guelph United F.C.
  36. ^ "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
  37. ^ "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
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