End of women’s Fury shocks head coach
Dom Oliveri didn’t see it coming. The head coach of the Ottawa Fury women’s team said he was caught entirely by surprise when it was shut down on Tuesday.
“I think everybody involved with the program is a little shocked and surprised today,” Oliveri said after the announcement was made by parent organization Ottawa Fury FC. “There was no indication that this was coming.”
Oliveri joined the Fury women’s program as an assistant coach in 2005 and had served as head coach for the past four seasons, which included the 2012 team that won its only W-League North American Championship. This year’s club finished third in the W-League tournament at Bradenton, Fla. Oliveri said he was in the midst of planning for 2015.
“We had talked with players and coaches, looking to get players to come here, and some had committed to playing for the club,” Oliveri said. “It’s definitely a tough day. It’s definitely unfortunate that some of the players won’t get to experience what a great city Ottawa is.”
Oliveri thanked fans of the Fury women, saying the support was “appreciated more than they can know.”
John Pugh, who bought the W-League Fury in 2002 and is now president of the Ottawa Fury FC of the men’s North American Soccer League and one of five partners in Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, said it was “purely a business decision” to shutter the women’s team.
“The challenges have always been the same. Travel is always a major cost,” Pugh said.
“These are amateur players. They don’t get paid for playing. But, if you think it through, there are very significant costs bringing the players here. Once they’re here, they need to be looked after well. Once they’re here, they are going to be travelling to away games, and, if you look at the other side of the equation, you’re not going to see huge crowds at women’s games.”
Fury W-League home games had in recent years been played at the Algonquin College soccer complex, where seating capacity measured in the hundreds. In comparison, Pugh said Fury FC averaged about 4,500 for its first NASL season, which was split between Carleton University’s 3,000-capacity Keith Harris Sta-
Everybody involved with the program is a little shocked and surprised today.
dium and 24,000-seat TD Place stadium at Lansdowne Park.
Tuesday’s announcement was surprising not just because the Fury women’s team had enjoyed significant success in the pro-am W-League, but also because the FIFA Women’s World Cup next June and July is expected to give women’s soccer a significant boost in visibility, locally and nationally. The draw for the tournament that will take place in six Canadian cities, including Ottawa, is scheduled for Saturday at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau.
Two members of the Fury, de- fender Kadeisha Buchanan and forward Ashley Lawrence, made their debut with the Canadian women’s team in 2014, playing alongside Fury alumnae Diana Matheson, Christina Julien, Carmelina Moscato, Robyn Gayle, Marie-Eve Nault and Rhian Wilkinson.
“It is the end of an era, that’s true, but in many other ways it’s the beginning of another era for soccer in Ottawa. I’m very glad to have been part of that adventure in women’s soccer,” Pugh said. “We have a tremendous love there. It has been a labour of love. In terms of women’s soccer, it put Ottawa on the map.”
There were 25 teams in the W-League in 2014, but Tuesday’s announcement was its second shock in less than three weeks. The L.A. Blues, previously known as the Pali Blues, had won four W-League titles in seven years but were still shut down by owner Ali Mansouri and family.
The Equalizer, a website about women’s soccer, quoted longtime Blues manager Charlie Naimo as saying that the team’s demise should be “an eye-opener” for those wanting a pro team in Southern California. “The reality is there’s a big disconnect in this country with on-field success and off-field success.”
The Vancouver Whitecaps organization closed down its W-League club in December 2012, two seasons after its long-standing elite men’s squad joined Major League Soccer.
As for the timing of the Fury announcement, Pugh said this was the time of year that, even when he was the sole owner of the club, a decision would be made about how to operate it in the following season. Making the news public now will allow the W-League to plan appropriately for 2015, he said.
In announcing the end of the team, the Fury FC said the organization would “continue to develop female players through their Elite Girls Academy and grassroots and community initiatives.”