Vaughan, Ontario – Ontario Soccer and Circle K announced today that Circle K is re-joining the Ontario Soccer partner family as a Premier Partner of the provincial organization and the exclusive title partner of the Ontario Soccer Grassroots Program.
“Our original partnership with Circle K in 2019 was a terrific success and created a solid foundation from which we will launch this new 2.0 version of our collaboration,” said Johnny Misley, Ontario Soccer Chief Executive Officer. “Circle K’s vision for the growth of soccer in Ontario aligns with our objective to ensure our sport is accessible and inclusive for all.”
The partnership will be anchored around a number of Circle K 2v2 Festivals to be delivered in various Ontario communities over the coming months. In addition, Circle K has significantly expanded its Festival Grant program that will provide funding support to up to 50 age-and-stage appropriate festivals hosted by Ontario Soccer District Association Member Clubs for the upcoming 2024 outdoor season.
Circle K will also expand its support of Ontario Soccer’s young match official recruitment and retention efforts through the Circle K Match Official Young Leaders program. Additionally, Circle K will now have activation and promotional rights with the MilkUP Ontario Cup, the Ontario Soccer Summit, Centre Circle Awards and other events.
“We are absolutely elated to welcome back Circle K to our partner family and applaud their commitment to our game, which comes to fruition at the perfect time during the rebuilding of soccer in Ontario from challenges encountered over the last few years,” said Bjorn Osieck, Ontario Soccer Senior Director of Business. “This partnership will drive our membership’s soccer experience forward, whether to fuel up on the way to a big game or for a celebratory treat and refreshment after a hard training session.”
Visit OntarioSoccer.net for more on its programs.
Visit Convenience Store & Gas Station | Circle K | Ontario to find convenience stores near you.
About Ontario Soccer
Founded in 1901, Ontario Soccer is currently comprised of more than 500 Clubs servicing over 24,000 teams with 380,000 registered players, 70,000 coaches and managers, and 6,000 match officials, as well as countless volunteers, parents and supporters encompassing a direct, multi-cultural community of over 1,000,000 Ontarians.
Ontario Soccer develops and delivers exceptional and sustainable programs and services throughout Ontario with the mission of providing leadership and support for the advancement of soccer in collaboration and cooperation with our member District Associations, partners and other stakeholders. Ontario Soccer also operates the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL); the province’s premier standards based youth development program, as well as “Team Ontario”, Ontario Soccer’s provincial Xcel program. Ontario Soccer proudly supports Canada Soccer’s National Teams, the Canadian Premier League and Toronto FC.
The overall objective of Ontario Soccer as a hub for Coach, Match Official and Player Development is to be innovators and leaders in sport and to assist with the equitable development of soccer as a healthy lifestyle choice, provide a talented pathway for participants to excel and encourage inclusive community involvement at all levels.
About Circle K
Circle K is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard (“Couche-Tard.”) Couche-Tard is the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. In the United States, it is the largest independent convenience store operator in terms of the number of company-operated stores. As of February 3, 2019, Couche-Tard’s network comprised 9,933 convenience stores throughout North America, including 8,660 stores with road transportation fuel dispensing. Its North American network consists of 19 business units, including 15 in the United States covering 48 states and 4 in Canada covering all 10 provinces. Approximately 105,000 people are employed throughout its network in North America.
In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics and Russia through ten business units. As of February 3, 2019, Couche-Tard’s network comprised 2,709 stores with approximately 25,000 people work in its retail network, terminals and service offices across Europe. In addition, under licensing agreements, more than 2,000 stores are operated under the Circle K banner in 14 other countries and territories, which brings the worldwide total network to approximately 16,000 stores.
For more information on Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. or to consult its quarterly Consolidated Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis, please visit: http://corpo.couche-tard.com/
Media Contact
Ben Lungo | Manager, Digital Strategy and Communications
Ontario Soccer | blungo@ontariosoccer.net | 905-264-9390 x 255