The Saanich Fusion U15 girls soccer team will compete in the cup playoffs after winning an appeal with B.C. Soccer.
It’s welcome news for the team which had its Lower Island Soccer Association season end in mid-February when the LISA board of directors disqualified the team for using more than its ineligible number of out-of-catchment player transfers. The Fusion submitted their appeal to B.C. Soccer on Feb. 23 and learned they had won the appeal at Thursday at 2 p.m.
See: Saanich Fusion dispute team disqualification
However, the team disputed the ruling saying it was inconsistent with other how other teams were operating, including a local competitor team in the same U15 girls division, which was pulled together this year from five different catchments.
Because of this appeal decision, B.C. Soccer orders that the sanctions imposed on the team be immediately revoked, said U15 Fusion girls coach Caelen Bright.
“We are so excited, the team is thrilled,” Bright said. “The girls were all in school when we found out at. It’s what we hoped for, that the team would be treated fairly and given a chance to play. We had played all year for this and were suddenly cut out.”
The team now has the right to compete in the cup playoffs which actually started last week.
“We’re not sure when we will play yet, hopefully this weekend, but at least we know it’s going to happen,” Bright said.
The cup playoffs lead to the Island championship and, for those that qualify, the cup provincials this summer.
The Saanich Fusion was disqualified for adding two players beyond its quota of three out-of-catchment players, plus the child of a coach, for a total of four.
A U18 Gorge girls team was also in the same situation and has also won its appeal.
