Toronto FC Academy

Full name	Toronto Football Club Academy
Nickname(s)	The Reds
Founded	March 1, 2008; 10 years ago (2008-03-01) as TFC Academy
Stadium	BMO Training Ground 85 Carl Hall Road Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates	43°44′37″N 79°28′18″W / 43.74361°N 79.47167°W / 43.74361; -79.47167Coordinates: 43°44′37″N 79°28′18″W / 43.74361°N 79.47167°W / 43.74361; -79.47167
Sr. vice president	Tim Bezbatchenko
Academy director	Anthony Capotosto
Head coach	U19: Danny Dichio U17: Gianni Cimini
League	U.S. Soccer Development Academy
2017 (L1O)	3rd
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC.

The academy has divisions from U12 to U19 and includes over 110 young players.^[1] The U19, U17 and U15 teams compete in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.^[2][3] The U16 and U14 are playing in the Ontario Player Development League.^[4]

History[edit]

The TFC Academy's U-18 squad began playing in the Canadian Soccer League in 2008, with the U-16 squad competing in the CSL Reserve Division as TFC Academy II.

On August 26, 2010 Doneil Henry signed a pro contract with the Toronto FC senior squad becoming the first-ever TFC academy player to sign since the creation of the club in 2007.^[5] Three weeks following the Henry signing Toronto's first team signed forward Nicholas Lindsay becoming the second academy signing in history.^[6] In late September 2011, former defender Ashtone Morgan became the first graduate of the Toronto FC Academy to be called up to the Canadian men's national team.^[7] In 2011 there were close to 50 players enrolled in the TFC Academy.

On January 24, 2011, Stuart Neely the academy director announced that Toronto FC ownership approved a $17.6 million investment in a new training facility and planning was underway for the creation of a third academy team.^[8]

After the CSA de-sanctioned the CSL, TFC Academy withdrew from CSL prior to the 2013 season.^[9] The senior academy team joined the Ontario Soccer League for the 2013 season, however in 2014 the under-20 squad (known as Toronto FC III) began competing in League1 Ontario (L1O), which is the third level of the Canadian soccer pyramid. The academy also fielded a team in the Premier Development League in the 2015-16 seasons before withdrawing.^[10]

On June 27, 2013 Canada announced its 23-man squad for the upcoming 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the squad included Ashtone Morgan and Doneil Henry which was the first time TFC academy graduates had made a senior international tournament roster.^[11]

In November 2014, Toronto FC announced the establishment of their own team to play in the minor professional USL Pro, which serves as a reserve team for TFC and a bridge between the Academy.^[12] Toronto FC became the sixth MLS club to own a USL Pro team. The team, which was named Toronto FC II, began play in 2015 at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan, just north of Toronto.^[13][14] The new facilities include a permanent seating area with room for expansion and a new artificial playing surface.^[15]

In September 2018, the U20 team left L1O and transformed into a U19 team that competes in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, along with U17 and U15 teams.^[16][17][2]

BMO Training Ground[edit]

Side view of the BMO training ground

Field at the BMO training ground

bird eye view

In April 2011, Toronto FC unveiled plans to develop a state-of-art facility and soccer program that looked to develop the next generation of Canadian players through coaching, training, technology, equipment and support. Construction began in May 2011 and in June 2012, TFC academy moved to their new BMO Training Ground on 14 acres of land in Downsview Park,^[18][19] located in North York. Built at a cost of $21 million to MLSE, the facility has 4 pitches in total: four full-sized grass pitches (two heated) and 1 artificial turf pitches (1 capable of being bubbled for year-round use). The 36,000 square foot facility also contains first team facilities (dressing room, hot tub, ice bath, rehabilitation pool, physiotherapy room, private dining) seven dressing rooms for the Academy teams, gym, physio and rehab facilities (separate from first team), kitchen, cafeteria, media room, classroom and offices for coaching staff.^[20]

Current Technical Staff[edit]

Executives
Academy Director	Anthony Capotosto

Coaching Staff
Team	Head Coach	Assistant Coach	Goalkeeping Coach	Fitness Coach
Toronto FC II	Michael Rabasca	Chris Pozniak	Phil Boerger	Fabian Casal
Toronto FC III (U19)	Danny Dichio
Toronto FC U17	Gianni Cimini
Toronto FC U15	Michael Stefano		Luciano Lombardi
Toronto FC U14	Terry Dunfield
Toronto FC U13	Marco Casalinuovo
Toronto FC U12	Jonathan Mondino

Head Coaches (U19/U20)[edit]




• 
  Nick Dasovic (2008–2010)^[21]


• 
  Stuart Neely (2015–2016)


• 
  Danny Dichio (2016–present)




Year-by-year (U20)[edit]

































































The Year	Division	League	Regular Season	Playoffs
2008[22]	3	Canadian Soccer League	6th, National	Did not qualify
2009[23]	3	Canadian Soccer League	4th, National	Quarterfinals
2010[24]	3	Canadian Soccer League	6th	Quarterfinals
2011[25]	3	Canadian Soccer League	10th	Did not qualify
2012[26]	3	Canadian Soccer League	7th	Quarterfinals
2013		Ontario Soccer League
2014	3	League1 Ontario	1st	Champions
2015	3	League1 Ontario	5th	Group stage (Cup)
2016	3	League1 Ontario	3rd, Western Conference	Round of 16 (Cup)
2017	3	League1 Ontario	3rd, Western Conference	Quarterfinals
2018	3	League1 Ontario	TBD


U20 (Toronto FC III) Roster[edit]








U20 team 2017





As of April 30, 2018^[27]
















































































































No.	Position	Player	Nationality
1	Goalkeeper	Gianluca Catalano	Canada
2	Defender	Afram Gorgees	Canada
3	Defender	Kembo Kibato	Canada
5	Forward	Daneiel Bilousov	Canada
7	Midfielder	Jordan Faria	Canada
8	Midfielder	Christopher Castillo	Canada
10	Midfielder	Mehdi Essoussi	Canada
11	Midfielder	Luca Petrasso	Canada
12	Goalkeeper	Sebastian Sgarbossa	Canada
13	Midfielder/Forward	Kunle Dada-Luke	Canada
14	Forward	Zak Abdi	Canada
15	Defender	Kaeson Trench	Barbados
16	Defender/Midfielder	Marko Mandekic	Canada
17	Midfielder	Joshua Moreira	Canada
20	Midfielder	Steffen Yeates	Canada
22	Defender	Luke Singh	Trinidad and Tobago
24	Midfielder	Terique Mohammed	Canada
26	Midfielder	Jaytin Pabla	Canada
27	Forward	Ralph Priso	Canada
28	Goalkeeper	Christian Rossi	Canada
—	Defender	Colin Gander	Canada
—	Forward	Daniel Da Silva	Canada
—	Midfielder	Matthew Srbely	Canada
—	Forward	Shaan Hundal	Canada
—	Midfielder	Dante Campbell	Canada
—		Kai Martin	Canada


Academy Graduates[edit]





Below is a list of footballers who have played at some Toronto FC Academy youth squads:





So far, 16 players from the Academy have gone on to sign with the first team. Academy graduates who are currently playing for Toronto FC's first team:






• 
  Ashtone Morgan (1991) ^[A]


• 
  Jay Chapman (1994) ^[A]


• 
  Jordan Hamilton (1996) ^[A]


• 
  Aidan Daniels (1998) ^[A]


• 
  Liam Fraser (1998) ^[A]


• 
  Ayo Akinola (2000) ^[A]


• 
  Julian Dunn (2000) ^[A]





Academy graduates with Toronto FC II:






• 
  Angelo Cavalluzzo (1993)


• 
  Luca Uccello (1997)


• 
  Brandon Onkony (1997)


• 
  Malik Johnson (1998)


• 
  Matthew Srbely (1998)


• 
  Dante Campbell (1999)


• 
  Shaan Hundal (1999)


• 
  Noble Okello (2000)


• 
  Rocco Romeo (2000)


• 
  Luca Petrasso (2000)


• 
  Jordan Faria (2000)





Academy graduates or players (joined but left early) who have signed for other professional clubs:






• 
  Amadou Sanyang — Seattle Sounders 2 (1991) ^[A]


• 
  Ricardo Ferreira — SC Braga (1992)


• 
  Josh Janniere — Colorado Rapids (1992)


• 
  Nicholas Lindsay — York Region Shooters (1992) ^[A]


• 
  Matt Stinson — Vaughan Azzurri (1992) ^[A]


• 
  Russell Teibert — Vancouver Whitecaps (1992)


• 
  Daniel Fabrizi — Without club (1992)


• 
  Mo Babouli — Al-Ittihad (1993)


• 
  Oscar Cordon — Woodbridge Strikers (1993) ^[A]


• 
  Doneil Henry — Ottawa Fury (1993) ^[A]


• 
  Keith Makubuya — Niagara United (1993) ^[A]


• 
  Jordan Murrell — Reno 1868 (1993)


• 
  Stefan Vukovic — Brantford Galaxy (1993)


• 
  Jordan Murrell — Reno 1868 FC (1993)


• 
  Keven Alemán — Sacramento Republic FC (1994)


• 
  Sergio Camargo — Unionville-Milliken SC (1994) ^[A]


• 
  Mark-Anthony Kaye — Los Angeles FC (1994)


• 
  Chris Mannella — Ottawa Fury (1994) ^[A]


• 
  Tyler Pasher — Indy Eleven (1994)


• 
  Quillan Roberts — Los Angeles FC (1994) ^[A]


• 
  Anthony Osorio — Vaughan Azzurri (1994)


• 
  Darrin MacLeod — Swope Park Rangers(1994)


• 
  Mark Anthony Gonzalez — Reno 1868 FC(1994)


• 
  Manny Aparicio — Izarra (1995) ^[A]


• 
  Dylan Carreiro — Woodbridge Strikers (1995)


• 
  Raheem Edwards — Chicago Fire Soccer Club (1995)


• 
  Michael Petrasso — Montreal Impact (1995)


• 
  Jordan Haynes — Vaughan Azuurri (1996)


• 
  Martin Davis — St. Andrews F.C. (1996)


• 
  Oladapo Afolayan — West Ham United F.C. (1997)


• 
  Marcus Godinho — Heart of Midlothian F.C. (1997)


• 
  Richie Ennin — Isola Capo Rizzuto (1998)


• 
  Zoom Langwa — Palmese (1998)


• 
  Gabriel Boakye — FC Energie Cottbus (1998)


• 
  Tristan Borges — SC Heerenveen (1998)


• 
  Steven Furlano — Darby FC (1998)


• 
  Ricardo Machado — FC Arouca (1998)


• 
  Glenn Muenkat — FC Kaiserslautern (1999)


• 
  Matthew Roberts — Swansea City A.F.C. (2000)




1. 
   ^ Signed to first team contract with Toronto FC.






International Games[edit]





TFC Academy joined with Chile giants Colo-Colo. The Toronto FC Academy squad played their first game against opponents outside the Canadian Soccer League on Tuesday June 29, 2010. The Academy tied Colo-Colo 4–4. The U16 team competed Liga MX International tournament on August, 2017.^[28] Toronto FC III participated in the Dallas Cup 2018.^[29]





References[edit]






1. 
   ^ "Academy Quick Facts". Toronto FC. Retrieved August 31, 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
   


2. 
   ^ ^ab "DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY EXPANSION WELCOMES 16 NEW CLUBS FOR 2018-2019 SEASON". Retrieved March 9, 2018.
   


3. 
   ^ "Joining USSDA provides a high level of competition for the Academy". Retrieved August 31, 2018.
   


4. 
   ^ "OPDL League". Retrieved September 11, 2018.
   


5. 
   ^ First Academy Player To Sign Pro Contract. Torontofc.ca, (2010-08-26). Retrieved on 2010-09-16.
   


6. 
   ^ Toronto FC Signs Academy Forward Nicholas Lindsay. Goal.com (2010-09-15). Retrieved on 2010-09-16.
   


7. 
   ^ "Morgan's call-up and the dreams of Canadian kids". Canadian Soccer News. September 29, 2011.
   


8. 
   ^ Toronto plan big push with academy. MLS Soccer (2011-01-24). Retrieved on 2011-01-24.
   


9. 
   ^ [1]
   


10. 
    ^ "K-W United FC partner up with TFC". Waterloo Region Record. 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
    


11. 
    ^ "Canada Finalize roster for Gold Cup, announces friendly". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
    


12. 
    ^ "Toronto FC announces USL PRO team". Toronto FC. 2014-11-20. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
    


13. 
    ^ "Toronto FC Unveils USL PRO Details". USL Pro. 2015-01-21. Archived from the original on 2015-01-22. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
    


14. 
    ^ "OSA, Toronto FC and Vaughan partner in new stadium". Ontario Soccer Association. 2015-01-21. Archived from the original on 2015-01-22. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
    


15. 
    ^ "Ontario Soccer body unveils new playpen in Vaughan". www.yorkregion.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
    


16. 
    ^ "DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY EXPANSION WELCOMES 16 NEW CLUBS FOR 2018-2019 SEASON". Retrieved March 9, 2018.
    


17. 
    ^ "Toronto FC Academy joins U.S. Soccer Development Academy". Toronto FC. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
    


18. 
    ^ "TFC high on new facility | Soccer | Sports". Toronto Sun. May 29, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
    


19. 
    ^ "New TFC facility by the numbers". www.thestar.com. May 30, 2012.
    


20. 
    ^ January 31, 2014 1:21 AM EST Facebook Twitter RSS (May 30, 2012). "New TFC facility by the numbers | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
    


21. 
    ^ "Nick Dasovic Named Head Coach". torontofc.ca. Sep 14, 2010.
    


22. 
    ^ "October 5th, 2008 CSL League Standings Week 21 Final". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
    


23. 
    ^ "September 21st, 2009 CSL League Standings Week 19 End of Regular Season". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
    


24. 
    ^ "October 13th, 2010--Canadian Soccer League First Division Week 23". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
    


25. 
    ^ "October 10, 2011 CSL--Week 23 Standings (from CSL web site)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
    


26. 
    ^ "October 11, 2012 CSL--Week 23 Standings [end of Regular season] (from CSL web site)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
    


27. 
    ^ "Kia Toronto FC Academy Senior Squad". Torontofc.ca. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
    


28. 
    ^ "Academy Update - August 21–27". Toronto FC. 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
    


29. 
    ^ "Dallas Cup Draw Announced". Retrieved March 8, 2018.
    








External links[edit]




• Official website