Soccer facility gets $750K from province for upgrades Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex the presumed home of NSL franchise
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With Winnipeg’s first professional women’s team waiting in the wings, the province is spending $750,000 to upgrade the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.
The funding will help replace the outdoor field pitch and lighting system to ensure it can host high-level sporting events, the province said at a press confererence Friday at the south Winnipeg facility.
Earlier this month, it was announced Winnipeg will be the seventh franchise in the Northern Super League with the as yet unnamed team co-founded by former national team player Desiree Scott and longtime coach Rob Gale.
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Héctor Vergara, Manitoba Soccer Association executive director, said the funding represents an investment in healthy communities.
While there has been no official announcement, it’s presumed the team will play at the complex, which currently seats about 2,000.
“There’s not enough capacity presently, but there is potential to expand the capacity,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said at the time. “Certainly, there is an idea that there is a way to expand the capacity that would accommodate our Northern Super League team.”
The Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex has hosted many competitions and matches at the local, national and international level, including the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. And while it’s been an avid facility in the competitive leagues, it also has been a sanctuary for players of all ages and backgrounds.
“This complex is about much more than memorable events and championship matches,” Héctor Vergara, executive director of the Manitoba Soccer Association, said. “Every year, thousands of children, youth and adult come here to learn, compete, stay active, build friendships and simply enjoy the game they love… [it’s] the sense of belonging that soccer creates.”
Cantafio, who died earlier this year, immigrated from Italy in the 1950s. Despite the barriers he faced, he was able to communicate with others through another dialect: soccer. He believed in the future of the sport in Winnipeg and what it could be — kick starting professional soccer in the city. The Winnipeg Fury — founded in 1987 — was a professional team in the Canadian Soccer League which won the CSL championship in 1992.
His son Raff took to the podium, tearfully sharing what it means to have his father’s contributions recognized.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Raff Cantafio wipes away a tear after speaking during an announcement Friday that the province will be investing $750,000 to support upgrades to the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.
“Soccer was his love and it was a huge part of his identity, but it was also his way of reaching people,” he said. “He created community, he nurtured friendships, he bridged languages and backgrounds, he brought people together. Inspired them to believe in themselves and showed us how sport can help us become better people.”
Many supporters of the game gathered at the complex to celebrate the future of the sport, including multiple generations of Cantafios. The funds will help continue Ralph’s desire to support amateur and professional players.
“Ralph Cantafio showed us what’s possible when passion, community and sport come together,” Sport Minister Nellie Kennedy said. “And it’s up to all of us to carry that legacy forward.”
Vergara said the funding will have wide-reaching impacts.
“This commitment represents far more than funding for a facility. It is an investment in healthy communities, in youth, in volunteers, [and] in the future of sport across Manitoba,” he said.
With a room full of soccer fans and players, the conference ended the way Ralph would’ve wanted — people shuffling out to the field with a ball in hand, ready to play.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Young people take part in a soccer scrimmage Friday after an announcement that the province will commit $750,000 into upgrades at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.
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