Guelph Minor Football welcomes county youth

GUELPH  – The Guelph Minor Football Association (GMFA) is calling out to Wellington County residents with a passion for football.

“Canada’s always been such  a hockey country that ... football’s often been forgotten,” said league president Mike Ferigo. 

“And it’s a sport now that seems to be actually growing more than it ever used to be. Our numbers are higher than what we used to be.”

Established in 1971, the GMFA accepts youth players aged eight to 18, for spring and fall seasons, with five teams – U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 – competing in leagues run by Football Ontario.

“We run a spring season, which starts April 1 ... and runs, usually till about the first week in August depending on how we do in playoffs,” said Ferigo.

“And then we run a fall season, which starts two weeks after that and runs until mid November.” 

Things will be kicking off soon for the U16 team, as indoor practice and training starts Feb. 15. 

“Our U16 team is starting the earliest ... because they won the spring or the summer league last year [and] we got promoted to triple ‘A’ for that team,” said Ferigo.

While the league doesn’t typically hold tryouts, if the numbers are there, tryouts will occur. 

“We can only carry so many kids, right? So it becomes a numbers game,” said Ferigo. 

“If we go over a certain amount then ... we do have tryouts for our teams, and they’re generally completed in and around the first week or two of the season.” 

Aside from Guelph, the nearest youth football organizations are in Waterloo and Owen Sound. 

“We have players coming from ... all over,” said Ferigo. “There’s not a lot [of leagues] north of Wellington County.”

Despite being one of the few organizations in the area, Ferigo says the GMFA has “very few” players from Wellington County.

“That’s one of our biggest things,” said Ferigo. “The reason why we try and reach out to those areas [Wellington County]. A lot of those kids don’t even know ... even in our own town, there’s a lot of people that don’t know minor football exists.”

Ferigo said football helps develop discipline, offers physical and mental health benefits and can instil a sense of belonging, as teams are very close-knit.

“For the U10s, we carry around 25 players. The U16 and U18 teams have upwards of 65 to 70 people on a team,” said Ferigo.

“It’s very family oriented. My son, started playing football when he was seven years old (and) is still good friends with players that he’s played with since he was seven years old.”

For more information, or to fill out a registration form visit, guelphminorfootball.net or email Ferigo @ferigo.football@gmail.com.’