By Fred Alvarado Fred is a community journalist with FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE

After 10 straight years, the Regent Park soccer house league for kids that has been a free program at Nelson Mandela soccer field on Saturdays from 9am-2pm is currently struggling to continue their free program for the kids in the Regent Park Community and surrounding areas as they no longer have funding. 

In this episode,T'ai James Simm-Smith, Director of Operations of Regent Park United Soccer Club and Orville Reynolds, Regent Park United Soccer Club coach speak about the history of the club and the impact of the denial of funding in the City's 2022 awards would have for Regent Park kids. The Regent Park Social Development Plan Grant Application 2022 was denied.

Simm-Smith wrote a statement on the RPNA Community Discussion Board on Facebook to let the community know about their lack of funding to run the kids soccer program.

 “It’s sad, but the Regent Park United Soccer Club did not get funding needed to sustain our growing program. Some of our coaches, feel that the community let them down and will be moving on to helping other communities who also need a soccer program like the one we ran for ten years. It’s just sad that our soccer program didn’t get the funding while the other one, who has no kids’ soccer teams, got the funding we were asking for. It’s a sad day when bureaucrats cannot provide organizations who actually do great work with the proper funding. We will be lucky if we have our U16 rep team and another younger rep team playing, as we want to continue our Friday night practises at Regent Park Athletic Grounds. Very sad start to 2023. Unfortunately, it’s the children in the community who will suffer”, he wrote.

Although the Regent Park United Soccer Club did not receive funding from the 2022 SDP call for proposals, the City of Toronto did award another Regent Park soccer group, the Toronto Futbol Athletic Advancement, a grant  in the amount of  $66,125.00.