PICKERING, Ont. – On January 4, the Pickering Football Club (PFC) conducted the first ever club-hosted U13 Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) nine versus nine (9v9) tournament, opening its facility doors to 12 clubs, 16 teams and hundreds of people to kick off 2026 in a truly unique and historic way. 

Sunday’s 2026 PFC Winter Invitational followed a dual bracket-style system that featured 24 contests played across twelve hours. PFC’s 74,000 square foot home facility – the Pickering Soccer Centre – housed the historic tournament and leveraged its state-of-the-art field space to maximize game time and efficiently allow a pair of nine versus nine games to get underway each hour. 

Of the 12 clubs – including hosts, PFC – that participated, only two came out victorious in the winner’s bracket, with the Whitby Football Club and Unionville-Milliken Soccer Club claiming the tournament’s inaugural championship in the boys’ and girls’ gold divisions respectively. 

“The Pickering Football Club recognize the magnitude of hosting the first-ever 9v9 tournament in the OPDL and are extremely grateful for Ontario Soccer’s endorsement to advance the development of youth soccer in the province,” commented PFC Executive Director, Matt Greenwood. 

“It complimented our established Winter Festival perfectly and provided us with great insight into future competition in this format. We extend a big thank you to the players, team staff, match officials, and families that made this event such a success,” he added. 

PFC’s annual Winter Festival set the stage for the milestone tournament, with over 40 grassroot and competitive clubs from numerous pockets of the Greater Toronto Area coming together for six days of competition between December 27 and January 3.  

“This first OPDL U13’s 9v9 journey was more than matches played, it was character formed, dreams tested, and foundations laid,” praised Director of Football Operations, Frankie Mohammed. “To the eight boys’ and eight girls’ OPDL teams who shared this inaugural winter stage, thank you for setting the standard and further molding the future of our game.”

The Vaughan Soccer Club, FC Durham Academy, Aurora Football Club, Oakville Soccer Club, Waterloo United, Burlington Soccer Club, London Whitecaps, Niagara Falls Soccer Club, London TFC and Pickering Football Club all had at least one OPDL team participate in the tournament and ascend to different stages of the winner / consolation bracket on Sunday. 

“The bracket format created a dynamic, high-energy environment that kept teams engaged throughout the day,” said PFC Director of Business Operations, Elizabeth McCaw. Striking the right balance between meaningful competition and strong grassroots principles was essential and we’re proud to have brought both together to create a truly rewarding experience for all involved,” she added. 

The PFC Winter Invitational also marked the first time in which full officiating crews had been assigned to nine versus nine formats in the OPDL, with Sunday’s match officials fostering a wide range of experience at the club and provincial level. Both Ontario Soccer and PFC’s match official department collaborated to get this historic tournament officiated and raised to the level of professionalism it deserves. 

“The tournament not only provided the participating OPDL clubs high-level competition as they transition from grassroots to the OPDL environment, but also an opportunity for grassroots players to learn how to handle a tournament schedule, competitive pressures and performance expectations,” said Rich Hirst, PFC’s High Performance Manager. 

PFC is proud to play a substantial role in expediting youth soccer development in Ontario and eager to build off the momentum that hosting a historic tournament such as the PFC Winter Invitational brings. We hope to host future Ontario Soccer and OPDL level tournaments in the near future. 

Catch the recap of Ontario’s first-ever club-hosted 9v9 tournament, the PFC Winter Invitational, on our Instagram channel!