Spring is for Renewals

The spring season means renewal and ADB Creative Consulting has renewed collaborations with a number of key soccer organizations, both here and abroad, as the playing season winds down in certain parts of the world while the competitive season is just beginning here in North America.

Last month, I renewed a collaboration with Steve Nijjar, head of Toronto-based Steve Nijjar Sports & Entertainment, and president of Racing Madrid, the lower division Spanish club that he and his partners revived some three years ago and, today, is on the verge of an historic promotion.

The club sits atop its group in the regional league of the capital city of Madrid and is destined to clinch promotion to the fifth tier of Spanish football within a matter of weeks. It’s a compelling story that has already been chronicled previously with features in the Globe and Mail and the Canadian Press.

But now, with promotion a realistic target, Steve has once again been actively pursued by Canadian media. A nationally-televised interview with OMNI News Punjabi was followed by an interview with The Game Plan across multiple formats. The digital publication South Asian Daily also reached out to Steve for a widely distributed story this month. Once promotion is confirmed, potentially later this month, I will be collaborating with Steve once again on further announcements regarding his club and its domestic and global ambitions.

I also renewed a collaboration this month with The Borough FC, Scarborough’s representative in League1 Ontario which, this season, will compete in the Men’s Championship division. The club, operated by Andrew Ornoch of Dutch Connections FC, kicked off the new season with an activation event this past weekend with its Scarborough-based retail apparel partner, Scarborough Spots. Held at Scarborough’s iconic Eglinton Square Mall, the event was very well attended and featured freestylers, a DJ, skills challenges, giveaways and some limited Borough FC merchandise. The team begins play on the pitch this weekend with a League1 Cup match against Club Roma in St. Catharines.

Beyond that opening match, Andrew and I have devised a three-part communications campaign that will promote a number of the club’s community initiatives in tandem with key home games during the 2025 season. Look for extensive media coverage of this ambitious club as the season progresses.

In addition, I have also renewed my collaboration with League1 Ontario to provide livestreaming play by play on several men’s and women’s designated Game of the Week matches throughout the 2025 season. The new season officially kicks off tonight with League1 Cup action from Waterloo and there are two Games of the Week scheduled this weekend. Consult the league’s website (https://league1ontario.com/) and YouTube channel for the designated Games of the Week this season. I also hope to contribute to the league’s new weekly highlights show, also available on YouTube, which debuts tomorrow.

A Year of Choices and Challenges

2024 was a challenging year for business development and new business creation. Sport and not for profit organizations have limited budgets to begin with and, forced to contend with an ever-shrinking dollar and a very competitive marketplace, many simply do not have the means to initiate multi-media marketing campaigns.

I was, however, fortunate to establish a collaboration, through my consultancy, ADB Creative Consulting, with three new partners this year. At the beginning of the year, working alongside the talented visual artists at Creatica Studios™ | A Creative Agency That Digs Strategy, Content and Execution | Toronto, I was elated to have been chosen to supervise the production of the 2024 Dragon Ball, on behalf of the Yee Hong Community Wellness Foundation, televised on OMNI TV. The spectacular entertainment, along with the glitz and glamour of the annual event, provided the backdrop for the 60-minute production that featured captivating performances, behind the scenes clips, and interviews with notable politicians and personalities. I was very proud to have worked on this project for the first time and I look forward to continuing my collaboration with the event’s organizing committee in 2025 and beyond.

In the spring, I began another new collaboration with Andrew Ornoch and his Scarborough-based League1 Ontario expansion pro-am soccer club, Borough FC.  As a long-time Scarborough resident, I was excited to help Andrew establish the new club’s brand identity and create some media awareness for the fledgling organization, which has pledged a commitment to excellence, community engagement and a passion for the beautiful game. Our efforts produced several media appearances over the span of a couple of weeks, at the start of the club’s inaugural season in May, including interviews with Rogers TV Durham, 680 NewsRadio Toronto and The GamePlan podcast.

Later, in July, I had the opportunity to represent the newly-rebranded Milton Magic FC (Milton Youth Soccer Club) and its international summer camp with guest coach Alberto Bollini, a European Championship-winning manager with the Italian National Youth Team. In a span of eight days, we generated six separate media interviews with the coach, in both English and Italian, with the likes of OMNI TV, Footy Prime The Podcast, The Next Pod and CHIN Radio. This was an encouraging response for a brand new initiative.

ADB Creative Consulting also renewed collaborations with several other organizations this past year, including Steve Nijjar Sports & Entertainment, League1 Ontario, League1 Canada, OneSoccer, and also established a relationship with Collegiate Prospects International, a new entity in the university scholarship player identification system.

Looking ahead to 2025, I’m excited to reveal that I will be introducing a new program designed specifically for sport and not for profit organizations, a learning module accompanied by a booklet. I’ll have more details and specifics early in the New Year but I’ve spent the better part of the past six months building out this project and I’m looking forward to testing it and sharing it with the sports community.

In the meantime, I’d like to thank the many LinkedIn connections that reached out with comments, questions or just a note of encouragement this past year. I am truly grateful for all your support. I wish everyone a safe and pleasant holiday season and I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with some of you in 2025.

Educate, Inspire, Elevate

It was an absolute pleasure to have moderated an insightful and informative communications/PR/marketing strategies session at the League1 Ontario Summit last weekend in Hamilton attended by dozens of members from L1O organizations across the province.

I was joined by three exceptional panelists including: David Zbar, Chief Marketing Officer, Simcoe County Rovers & President, My Left Foot; Duncan Stewart, Strategic Advisor, Plus.Fan; and Laura Armstrong, Senior Director of Communications, Canadian Premier League. 

During the 90-minute session we discussed an array of relevant topics from strategies for building a strong and loyal fan base to practical advice for establishing media relationships.  In between sessions, I had a chance to re-connect with some old friends in new places and also met a number of young team executives who are re-invigorating established clubs. 

I want to thank Chris Keem and Dino Rossi from League1 Ontario for inviting me to play a small part at the weekend summit.  Hopefully we were able to provide L1O member clubs with shared experiences and key learnings they can implement as they look ahead to the 2025 season. 

League 1 Canada Women’s Interprovincial Championships

I was very proud to have contributed play by play commentary on two games at the third annual League 1 Canada women’s interprovincial championships for OneSoccer at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton last weekend. This competition was launched in 2022 and features representative club teams from four provincial Division III Pro-Am leagues: Ligue 1 Quebec, League 1 Ontario, League 1 BC and League 1 Alberta. This event offers the opportunity for top tier female clubs within the League 1 Canada alliance to compete on a national stage for the first time.


I was involved with a semifinal match as well as an outstanding gold medal match between defending champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC of BC & a newcomer to the competition, CS Mont Royal Outremont from Quebec, in a thrilling final that was decided on a dramatic penalty shootout. Working alongside a League 1 Ontario legend like Jade Kovacevic made the experience even more memorable.

Congratulations to Whitecaps FC who, as a result of their victory, have secured a berth to the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup, a prestigious international club competition featuring the top women’s teams from across North and Central America and the Caribbean. Having already qualified for the continental competition after winning the same national title in 2023, Whitecaps FC will represent Canada at this year’s edition of the Concacaf W Champions Cup, when they visit Alianza Women FC of El Salvador in a preliminary round match this Thursday. Best of luck to Head Coach Katie Collar and the entire Whitecaps FC coaching and playing staff!

Multi-tasking in July

I’ve always been committed to promoting soccer at every level from grassroots to professional. Over the past month, I’ve been involved in several activities, with the promotion of the game in mind, from creating social media content to being a media liaison to sliding behind the microphone for another play by play gig.  Here’s just some of what I’ve been up to in the past month: 

Capturing memories as six Toronto Blizzard academy graduates embark on their university/ college careers stateside;

Drawing local media attention to Milton Magic’s development camp featuring Italian national youth team head coach Alberto Bollini;

Calling the action between League 1 Ontario Premier division rivals Woodbridge Strikers & Burlington SC at a newly refurbished Vaughan Grove Stadium.

And the month isn’t over yet! I have one more play by play gig to cap it off with the League 1 Ontario Women’s Cup Final set for the evening of July 31 at the Ontario Soccer Centre. I’ll see you there!

Introducing The Borough FC

I am very proud to be assisting The Borough FC, the newest League 1 Ontario soccer club, in promoting its brand and identity to the media, as a representative of the city of Scarborough, in its inaugural season.

Playing home games at iconic Birchmount Stadium, The Borough FC is a community focused club with key partnerships already established with the Scarborough Health Network and Feed Scarborough, a local food bank.

Club owner and Head Coach Andrew Ornoch has carefully nurtured a foundation with his Dutch Connections FC academy program that serves as the grassroots development system for The Borough FC.

As an expansion team, The Borough FC has entered the provincial competitive pyramid at the bottom, in the newly-created third tier, League 2 Ontario, alongside fellow newcomers Sudbury Cyclones, and a host of 2nd teams belonging to established L1O franchises like Sigma FC, Woodbridge Strikers and North Toronto Nitros.

Ornoch’s aim is to climb the ladder all the way to the top of the pyramid, to the L1O Premier Division, in a patient and purposeful manner, all the while creating a community bond and a vibrant, game day atmosphere at Birchmount Stadium.

Only a month since it first kicked a ball, The Borough FC has already been featured on 680 News Radio Toronto, Rogers TV Durham Region and OneSoccer, with several more media interviews and appearances scheduled in the days and weeks ahead.

As a life long Scarborough resident, it is an absolute pleasure for me to act as a liaison between the club and the local and regional sports media to help establish The Borough FC’s presence in the community. I look forward to lending my expertise to the club as it expands its reach across Scarborough and the Greater Toronto Area.

Canadian latest celebrity owner to steer European soccer club towards promotion

Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny have set the bar for celebrity soccer ownership as Wrexham AFC earned a double promotion over the past two years to rise from the fifth-tier National League to play in the third-tier English League One next season.

TV personalities Mark Consuelos and his wife, Kelly Ripa, have tasted success with their own Italian club, Campobasso, who also earned a double promotion over two seasons, moving from the fifth division to Serie C, Italy’s third tier of professional football, where they will begin play next season.

Now, Canadian entrepreneur Steve Nijjar, a former athlete and film actor himself, is on the verge of guiding his Spanish team, Racing Madrid FC, to a promotion or, at the very least, qualification to the prestigious Copa del Rey, Spain’s national cup competition, open to both professional and amateur clubs.

Nijjar acquired the assets of the once-dormant Spanish club in August of 2022. Founded in 1914, the club has a rich history, having competed with traditional city rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in its earliest years. But the club became insolvent and ceased operations in 1974. That is, until Nijjar revived the club almost two years ago.

Racing Madrid FC competes in Group 2 of the Preferente Madrid, the regional league of the city of Madrid, the sixth level overall, five notches below La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. The club currently occupies fifth place in the standings as regular season play winds down this season. A fifth place finish or higher would see Racing Madrid earn a berth to next season’s Copa del Rey. A top two finish would mean automatic promotion to the Tercera Federación, the fifth tier of Spanish professional football.

Last year, in his first season in charge, Nijjar, CEO & Founder of Steve Nijjar Sports & Entertainment (SNSE), guided the club to an eighth place finish in the 18-team regional league. This season, promotion to the next level was the club’s primary objective. Nijjar brought in several established domestic players and a new coaching staff.  When the club faltered in the early stages of the season, Nijjar made a coaching change and, almost immediately, Racing Madrid FC found its legs and began a steady rise to the top half of the league, crafting a 14-match unbeaten streak along the way.

“That unbeaten run speaks volumes of the new coaching staff,” stated Nijjar. “The players bought into the system and the team is playing a style that’s been my vision all along. It’s a delight to watch the progress Racing Madrid has made in just our second season of operation.

As is commonplace with other celebrity club ownership structures, Nijjar recently added a notable partner, Canadian comedian Russell Peters. The two men have been acquaintances for several years and they found a common interest in Racing Madrid.

“We’ve always had mutual respect for each other,” Nijjar told The Game Plan in a recent interview. “We understand the struggles we’ve had. We just know what we both went through to get to where we’re at. We’re both proud of one another. He’s a Canadian icon as far as I’m concerned.”

“My ambition is to rise up to the top echelon of Spanish football. So I hope Ryan Reynolds takes notice because we’re on track to achieve our own promotion”, Nijjar continued with a friendly nod to the Canadian actor/entrepreneur who has transformed Wrexham AFC since his takeover of that Welsh club in 2021.                   

In addition to operating the Spanish club under the SNSE banner, Nijjar is also being recognized here at home for his past achievements in Canadian soccer. He is part of the 2024 class of inductees to the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame. Nijjar, who previously owned and coached the Brampton Hitmen to a Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) championship, will be inducted this month, in the builder’s category, alongside five other local sports achievers, including Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe.

Along with his operation of the Spanish pro club, Nijjar continues to nurture young athletes toward professional soccer careers through his ownership stake in Titan Sportsplex Niagara, an indoor sports facility in the Niagara Region.

Behind the Scenes of the 35th Annual Dragon Ball Gala

It was an absolute pleasure and delight to return to television production this past week, helping to capture some of the memorable moments from the 35th Annual Dragon Ball Gala, presented by the Yee Hong Wellness Foundation, marking the start of the Lunar New Year. After contributing as a Segment Producer for their livestream presentation in 2022, during the Covid-impacted years, it was nice to attend the event in person at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and also to assume the role of Associate Producer for the 2024 edition of the Gala TV special that will air on OMNI TV.

Our crew hit the ground running mid-afternoon as we began the production by speaking to the Convention Centre Sous Chef who gave us a sneak peek at the four course meal that was being prepared for the Gala. We then recorded show openings and closings with our very talented hosts Winston Sih and Caitlin Wong. As the Gala got underway, we spoke to some of the evening’s performers and vendors, as well as notable VIP guests such as Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti and Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie. We captured some of the vibrant and colourful decor as well as the energy and excitement evident in the room throughout the evening.

My thanks go out to Cathy Zhou and Esther Cho from the Yee Hong Foundation who worked very hard to line up the interviewees and provided the logistical support that ensured the production flowed smoothly throughout the evening. And thanks also to the Creatica Studios team of Shahid Shafiq and Daud (David) Ahmadi, who creatively and artistically captured all the key events on the day and provided the post production facilities to complete the production, which is scheduled to be broadcast on OMNI TV on Saturday, February 24.

My consulting services have expanded over recent years to include communications and marketing strategies, media relations and social media content creation, but my first opportunity and first passion in the media industry was television production and I’m always happy to return to my roots and put my stamp on an entertaining television program that is culturally significant and widely accessible for the enjoyment of a national audience.

360 Soccer Centre Buzzing with Holiday Activity

As the renovation and refurbishment continues behind the scenes at the 360 Soccer Centre, the new home of the Toronto Blizzard Development Academy, there are plenty of events planned this month at the new sports venue in Vaughan. From a goalkeepers’ clinic to a 7v7 tournament to a Junior Blizzard youth day camp, there is no shortage of activity as we approach the Christmas holiday period.

The Centre will be a hub of soccer action during the Christmas break as parents and kids take advantage of the many programs available at the new facility. And the early part of 2024 promises even more events and attractions as well as a significant new addition to the space. More to come on that in the New Year!

In my role as a communications consultant for 360 Soccer Centre and the Blizzard Academy, I’ve been busy developing strategies, coordinating projects and creating content, including interviews, web blogs and a newsletter. One of the stories I’m most excited about is my feature on Rebecca Bartosh. After graduating from Kansas State University, the Toronto Blizzard alumnus signed to play professionally in Italy this season and, this month, is representing the island of Guam, her birth nation, in the East Asian Football Federation Championship, a preliminary qualifying round to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Read about her unique soccer journey in the link: https://torontoblizzard.com/spotlight-blizzard-graduate-rebecca-bartosh/. 

A New Venture with a New Sports Complex

I am very excited to share that I have taken on a consulting role with the “360 Soccer Centre”, a new high performance athletic complex in Vaughan.  The 50-thousand square foot facility is the new permanent home of the Toronto Blizzard soccer academy and features two indoor turf fields, multiple change rooms, a weight room and a sprint track. The venue will also host “Top Ballers”, a new high tech installation designed specifically for soccer players to improve their skill development. Former Canadian Olympic gold medalist Mark McKoy will also move his strength, conditioning and fitness program to the new facility.

I’ll be assisting with all internal and external communications, including content creation for web and social media, newsletters, publications, as well as community and media relations.

This facility will be a game changer for student athletes who aspire to play elite level soccer at American or Canadian universities and colleges or who have ambitions of playing professionally. The venue can provide all the amenities required for players to reach their potential. 

I am thankful to Blizzard Academy Director and Head Coach Joe Parolini for offering me this opportunity to help build a comprehensive communications strategy for this new facility.

If you would like to learn more about this new venue or are interested in a collaboration, please contact me at alfdeblasis@gmail.com.