This year's summer vacation was in Toronto, the most populous city in Canada and the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. (population 2.8m)
During our fantastic week-long holiday we visited Niagara Falls (one off my bucket list), went to two arena concerts(Weezer and Jeff Lynne's ELO) drank in 31 pubs/breweries, shopped in 10 record stores, attended a Blue Jays baseball game and squeezed in 3 football matches at three different stadiums.
933.Varsity Stadium
University of Toronto 3
Toronto Metropolitan University 2
OUA East Division
Friday 6th September 2024
The Ontario University Athletics Soccer League is made up of two leagues with nine universities in both the West and East Divisions.
The Varsity Blues captured one National Championship in 1988, which has since been inducted into the Varsity Blues Hall of Fame. The University dates back to the 1880s and has won 49 provincial OUA Championships, with the most recent one in 2010. The Varsity Blues won the Argo Cup in the Red and Blue Bowl in 2013.
Varsity Stadium
299 Bloor St W,
Toronto,
ON M5S 1W2
The stadium has a seated stand on one side with a capacity of 4,000, The team benches opposite the pitch is surrounded by a running track with a full set of floodlights.
Varsity Blue(UoT) 3 TMU Bold(TMU) 2
8.45pm ko
Att.250est
Admission $15
A fast and competitive match, which saw the hosts come from behind to beat their local rivals with a brace from Niklas Hallam.
24' 1-0 Oliver Barta
45+3' 1-1 Justin Santos
56' 1-2 Akeim Villous
78' 2-2 Niklas Hallam
84' 3-2 Niklas Hallam
934. Ford Centennial Stadium
Serbian White Eagles 4-0 Spanish Future Stars
Canadian Soccer League
Saturday 7th September
The Canadian Soccer League is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs located in the province of Ontario. As of 2024, it consists of six teams, with the season usually running from May to October, with most games played on the weekend followed by a playoff format to determine the overall champion. The fixtures are all played at the one venue, with kick offs staggered at 2, 4 and 6 o'clock. The league used two stadiums in Toronto - the Esher Shiner Stadium and the Ford Stadium in Centennial Park.
Ford Stadium
Centennial Park
56 Centennial Park Rd,
Etobicoke,
ON M9C 3T3
The stadium has a large open stand on side, with partial cover at the top. The pitch is surrounded by a running track, and just like last night's venue, has both soccer and gridiron markings on the pitch.
Serbian White Eagles 4 Spanish Future Stars 0
2pm KO
Att.27hc
Admission: Free
The Serbians totally bossed the match, and even though they were reduced to nine men following a mass brawl, they still added to the score with the numerical disadvantage.
40' 1-0 Ivan Cendic
55' 2-0 Nikola Timotijevic
59' 3-0 Marko Pavicevic
81' Red Cards:
Kevin Yanez (Future Stars)
Nikola Djurkovic (White Eagles)
Dejan Koraksic (White Eagles)
87' 4-0 Nikola Timotijevic
935. Downsview Park
Toronto Metropolitan University 2
University of Toronto 1
OUE East Division
Sunday 8th September
TMU Bold, formerly known as the Ryerson Rams, are the varsity athletic teams that represent Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University) Toronto Metropolitan University operates 11 men's and women's varsity teams that compete provincially as part of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and nationally as part of U Sports.
Downsview Park Soccer Fields
2E2, 71 Carl Hall Rd,
North York,
ON.
The fields are next to the Toronto FC BMO Training Ground. The 4G pitch has sections of seats, made up of five bench rows. The team benches are at the far side.
TMU Bold 2 Varsity Blues 1
1.15pm KO
Att.130hc
Admission:Free
The Bold got their revenge following the defeat on Friday night with two goals from Chris Campoli in the first half. The Blues dominated the second half but could only muster the one goal in reply.
7" 1-0 Chris Campoli
36' 2-0 Chris Campoli
59' 2-1 Niklas Hallam
3934 miles airport-to-airport
Newcastle - Amsterdam - Toronto
Countries seen football - 17