April 25 – Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) has taken over the ownership and operation of Canadian Premier League (CPL) side York United from the Baldassarra family, with the league expected to announce new investors in the coming weeks.
The Baldassarra family was part of the original ownership group in the founding CPL club in 2018, ahead of the League’s inaugural season. The family became sole owners of the club in 2021.
Mark Noonan, CEO, Canadian Soccer Business and Commissioner, Canadian Premier League, said: “We collectively agreed it is best to find new owners for York United to help this club further blossom into what we know it can be: a world-class organisation befitting of the soccer-mad community in the York Region. In the meantime, it’s business as usual.”
Rumours are that the club has already attracted investor interest though no figures have been released on the scale of the financial commitment needed to secure the club, or the expectations of the league from any new investor. The team currently plays its games at York Lions Stadium though there has been discussion about building a training centre and soccer-specific stadium at Woodbine Racetrack.
The eight-team Canadian Premier League is now in its fifth season and has become the pathway for Canadian clubs into Concacaf’s Champions League. CSB represents all rights associated with the Canadian Premier League and League1, as well as representing Canada Soccer for all corporate partnerships and media rights to its national teams.
CSB said that York President/CEO and General Manager Angus McNab will continue during the club’s transition to new ownership and “will now report to CSB on business operations and to the CPL League Office on soccer matters. All business and technical staff will be retained in their roles as the club continues its 2023 CPL campaign.”
“We have been so proud to invest in the future of Canadian soccer in recent years,” said Michael Baldassarra. “However, moving forward, we felt the club, community and its supporters would be better served by having new custodians at the helm bringing fresh energy and ideas.”
Noonan thanked “Michael, Carlo and the entire Baldassarra family for their early belief in the CPL and the role they played in getting the League to where it is today.”
This isn’t the first time that the CPL has taken over the operation of a club, having in December 2021 taken charge of FC Edmonton from owners Tom and Dave Fath. The plan then was to find new ownership, but the league ended up folding the franchise last November.
The York United situation is different in that it is in a major sports market in Toronto that is a proven soccer market with the financial capability to support a professional franchise. Toronto FC plays in the MLS, but even so the CPL believes there is space for its clubs in the city.
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