International students looking to play their favourite sport in Greater Vernon have been red carded.
Thanks to a ruling from soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, more than 50 international high school students from Grades 8 to 12, living and studying in Vernon, have been told they can’t play on any youth league soccer team in the city.
“It stems from a FIFA regulation passed down from Canada Soccer Association to B.C. Soccer to the North Okanagan Youth Soccer Association,” said Jason Elligott, acting executive director of B.C. Soccer Association.
The ruling states that all individuals that come from another country and want to play soccer need to have an International Transfer Certificate.
Elligott said one of the requirements to obtain an ITC when going through the application process is that the student’s parents need to be moving with the child to Canada for purposes other than playing soccer.
If the player can’t obtain an ITC, they can’t register for a local soccer league. To be covered by B.C. Soccer Association’s insurance policy, a player must be registered. BCSA and North Okanagan Youth Soccer can’t register a player because of the FIFA ruling, so they can’t insure the player as well.
“It’s not a Vernon-only issue,” said Elligott. “It’s happening in all pockets in B.C. and across Canada. We’ve had discussions with the CSA around the regulation and they’re talking to FIFA about it.”
International students have played in NOYSA before, but FIFA has made it clear to the governing bodies in Canada that the rules must be adhered to.
“Our board has done everything we could to make this work,” said Marina Korberg, executive director of NOYSA. “We’ve had discussion with B.C. Soccer, we’ve talked with insurance companies, but because we can’t register the players in the first place, they’re not to be insured and we can’t get them outside insurance.
“We’re in a position where we want to see all of the kids playing soccer.”
International students can play on school-based teams or school-sanctioned programs.
Derri-Ann Cooper is an international teacher coordinator in the Vernon School District, which houses about 200 international students. Some students are here for five months. Some are here for three years.
Cooper said the students are devastated by the ruling.
“I understand the ruling not allowing import players to play but I’m not clear as to why they can’t play house soccer,” said Cooper. “They would bring so much skill and leadership to minor soccer.”
Cooper said one student looks out the window from his billet’s home overlooking Marshall Field, where there are five soccer pitches, almost all of them in use on the weekends and evenings.
“He wants to know why he can’t even practise with the kids,” said Cooper.
Luis Hernandez, 16, is a Grade 11 student and a goalkeeper from Guanajuato, located in the middle of Mexico. He said he would love to play in Vernon with his friends and share his skills.
“We love the game,” he said.
International teachers such as Cooper have tried to create a league for the students, and have received great support from the Vernon area schools.
The problem is finding a field.
“We get an hour and 15 minutes every Thursday at MacDonald Park at Seaton Secondary but we only get one field, so some kids don’t play for two-to-three weeks,” said Cooper, who helped organize games between Vernon and Kelowna international students at MacDonald.
“They sometimes have to miss school to play soccer because we can’t get any field times away from school.”
Added Hernandez: “We prefer to play with all of the people to share our skills but we’re happy to be able to play.”
Cooper hopes the CSA’s discussions over the ruling with FIFA go well.
“I get they’re worried about imports but the rules have to change for those kids,” she said. “International students bring a lot to every community and they should be able to participate in all activities that other students are able to.”
