The City of Quinte West will be welcoming the best of Under-15 soccer from coast to coast on Thanksgiving weekend.

Mayor Jim Harrison was joined by several municipal, regional, and political dignitaries, as well as representatives from Quinte West Soccer on Tuesday to announce the city as the host site of the 2024 Canada Soccer Toyota National Championships U-15 Cup from Oct. 9 to 14.

The National Championships will welcome national under-15 youth male and female teams from Canada's provincial and territorial soccer associations to Centennial Park, which will transform into ‘Soccer Central’ during the tournament.

There will be matches on the park’s 15 natural-turf outdoor soccer fields, including the newly renovated fields, and free community programming and soccer-themed activities.

Harrison said it was a fantastic day for the city and the region as a whole, as the tournament is slated to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars and revenue to the area.

“The City of Quinte West has invested $75,000 to upgrade the soccer fields and the bleachers and so on to make us a great city but also very supportive (of the event),” Harrison said.

Additionally, Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith announced a $42,000 grant from the Government of Ontario’s Sport Hosting Program to go toward the tournament.

Director of Community Services and Strategic Partnerships Jaclyn Grimmon said this year’s tournament is expected to bring in more than 2,000 participants and visitors to the region.

“Sport tourism is one of the largest, fastest growing sectors in tourism and we certainly have seen the benefits of that through other events that have happened here in the city of Quinte West, and this one will certainly be well positioned for success here in the community as well,” she said.

“The tournament will showcase some of the city's high quality outdoor recreation spaces, including Centennial Park’s recently renovated natural turf outdoor soccer fields."

The upgrades at Centennial Park will also ensure future events of a higher stature will come to the city.

The city has partnered with the Quinte West Soccer Club, the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board and Volunteer and Information Hastings and Prince Edward to form a local organizing committee that has begun planning the championships.

The committee is looking to engage between 200 and 250 local volunteers for the event, committee member Tracey Legault-Davis of VIQ stated.

“An event like this can't run without volunteers. We need this community to rally around us so that we can put this together,” she said.

Legault-Davis encouraged people interested in volunteering to reach out and submit an ‘expression of interest application’ in order to be put on the volunteer list.

“The one thing about our agency that is very specific is we don't just throw a volunteer in anywhere, we want the volunteer to have a positive experience,” she explained.

“We will match our volunteers with the position that is best suited for them.”

The Toyota National Championships in Quinte West, one of three to be held in Canada this year, is supported by various partners including Canada Soccer, the Ontario Sport Hosting Program, and the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board.

All games will be free of charge for fans.

More information about the 2024 Canada Soccer Toyota National Championships U-15 Cup in Quinte West, including sponsorship and volunteering opportunities is available online at this link.