Local Crew on a Mission to Bring Professional Soccer to Barrie
There’s a soccer movement gathering pace in Barrie, Ontario. A local group is taking initiative and working hard to make the dream of bringing a professional soccer team to their city a reality in the near future. In this interview, Jacob Sanderson, member of the Kempenfelt Crew provides insights about the group and plans for soccer in Barrie.
Image Courtesy: Kempenfelt Crew.
Q: Your group is dubbed the Kempenfelt Crew. That’s a very interesting name for a group. What’s the story behind it and how did it all get started?
R: Our group started after meeting on the Canadian Premier League subreddit. There was a discussion about the idea of Barrie supporting a team and we ended up determining that the city of Barrie could indeed support and sustain a professional team. We began to organize ourselves and created our grassroots movement with the goal of bringing a team to Barrie. We decided on the Kempenfelt Crew name as it pays homage to Kempenfelt Bay that our city is built around. The crew signifies unity and work which is what our group must have to be successful in this journey.
Q: What’s the soccer community and scene like in Barrie. Give us a snapshot of the last two years
R: Barrie has always had a significant soccer fan base. The youth scene is thriving with a large player base of U-18 players. Additionally, Barrie Soccer Club which is the main fixture in the Barrie soccer scene has always been a fantastic organization that provides high level resources for players in the community.
During major international competitions like the World Cup and European Championships, local pubs and restaurants are always packed with passionate fans of all walks of life. Soccer fans in Barrie support a large range of clubs from around the world. We’re lucky that we have two top level teams in close proximity. Toronto FC has always been the local team of choice for many people here but more recently with the launch of the Canadian Premier League many fans have latched on to true local soccer in the country. In our case League 1 Ontario would likely provide us the foundations for a local team. The community is here, the community is passionate and that's why we want to bring a true local team to our city!
Q: The main goal is to bring a professional soccer team to Barrie, to hopefully compete in the Canadian Premier League. This is no small feat to accomplish. What’s your group doing to make this a reality?
Ronan Cordelle, one of the driving forces behind the Kempenfelt Crew, wants professional soccer in the city of Barrie.
R: After organizing ourselves and creating the framework of our group, the first step was to put our message out there. We created our social media presence from scratch, in addition to launching a highly successful petition. The petition has been signed by many prominent names such as Danny Dichio (ex Toronto FC legend) and Niall Quinn (Former chairman of Sunderland and ex Republic of Ireland international). Soon after, we were featured on the front page of our local newspaper (The Barrie Advance) which has also attracted plenty of attention to our movement.
At the time of writing, we have several meetings planned with local politicians to discuss the future of this project and we’re very optimistic about their potential involvement in this movement. We’re planning another feature article in the BarrieToday newspaper as well as continuing discussions with our local radio station to increase our reach. We’ve received several reference letters and messages of support from prominent teams in the North American soccer scene including a Major League Soccer (MLS) club. All of this speaks to the success of what we’ve done and what we can do. League 1 Ontario can provide us with a great opportunity to build and grow the foundations of a team in Barrie. League 1 is definitely something that we’re working towards.
Q: If the Kempenfelt Crew is successful in its mission to bring a professional team to Barrie, what’s next? What more would the group do to fuel the development of the beautiful game in Barrie?
Kempenfelt Crew’s Jacob Sanderson.
Kempenfelt Crew’s Jacob Sanderson showing Canadian Premier League side HFX Wanderers some love.
R: We’d love to act as the liaison between the club and local fans. Acting as the official supporters group to promote the club and grassroots soccer in our area. If successful, it’ll be this group that put the wheels in motion and made that initial push to make the dream a reality.
Learn more about the Kempenfelt Crew and follow their progress on Twitter and Facebook.