Toronto and the Spurs revolution in Canada

There’s a Spurs revolution slowly spreading across Canada.

Sparked by the work of Toronto Spurs, with a particular nod to their board and chairman, Matt Franck, Spurs fans are now wearing their colours loud and proud all over a country that covers almost 10 million square kilometres.

Spurs Canada, the original club, remains, but in what Matt now calls ‘an incubator role’. Meanwhile, Toronto Spurs have been joined by Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver as official supporters’ clubs. Calgary and Montreal could soon follow.

Last season’s run to the Champions League Final proved the catalyst for change as Matt, a Spurs fan going back to the early 1980s out of Kitchener, Ontario, explained. “I was the only Tottenham fan I knew growing up and for the first 25 years of my life!”

If that sounds like a familiar story to our fans in Canada, it’s very much no longer the case.

“A few years back in the Spurs Canada days we were always bouncing around,” continued Matt. “In Toronto, we had a home pub for while at Scallywags, but that was the Liverpool supporters’ home pub. Chelsea were in there as well. For a while, we went to Real Sports. Then, a few years ago, we went into Scotland Yard, and things have really taken off.

“After the win against Man City (Champions League quarter-final) in April last year, we used Spurs Canada’s Twitter account to start organising more ‘watch’ parties in Canada, to the point that by the time we reached the Champions League Final, we had 20 different watch parties in parts of this country that I didn’t know there were any football fans, let alone Spurs fans!

“Then, at our AGM, 15 June, the decision was unanimous - let’s turn this local and help other cities get off the ground.”

The revolution, or evolution, started that day and Matt points to the invaluable work of Roger Lyne, Ian Adler, Akash Jhaveri, Shawn Williacy, Brian Dagul and Mark Sandler of getting this project where it is today. “This machine doesn’t run without everyone who raised their hand that day and said they wanted to be part of this evolution,” he said.

The proof is in the pudding, as we say. Go back to the Champions League Final, and as well as Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, Spurs fans were watching together in Surrey, Victoria, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Fredricton and Halifax.

Scotland Yard was packed to the rafters for final night in Madrid and the venue is very much now home to Toronto Spurs, a club flourishing with over 200 members.

Matt added: “There is great energy and a sense of community now. People walk into the room and they are shaking hands, asking ‘how are you doing?’ We want that spirit of the High Road here. We want it to mean something and we want to be an example.

“We get together for football, but there’s a lot more we can do with it. We can help each other, and help kids, like the Regent Park Soccer League, where we are literally helping kids who might not play, to play. We also have the Toronto Spurs Support Network (TSSN, see below) and it’s unfortunate, but we’ve recently put that into action for the first time to help a couple of members. We all know that the hardest thing is to ask for help but through the TSSN, we can help, and that’s something to be proud of.”

That takes us into Toronto Spurs and their work in the community...

Toronto Spurs in the community

The Waitress Relief Fund

Members came together and successfully combined for a donation of over $3,400 for the waitresses at Scotland Yard, funds to help them cover the gap between the start of the lockdown and whenever the government aid programme kicked in. Matt explained: “In North America servers in pubs/bars/restaurants are paid less than minimum wage because of the tipping culture here, meaning that more people served equals more money for them. The waitresses missed out on St Patrick’s Day, our games against Man U, West Ham, NBA and NHL. Losing those big days was a huge hit to the bank balance; much bigger than say losing a Wednesday afternoon shift.”

Toronto Spurs Support Network

Members built a community support network that spans the Greater Toronto Area (GTA covers more than 7,100 km² housing approximately six million people). Over 20 members have volunteered their time and energy to help those who are at high risk, in self-isolation, or who simply can't get out to attend to the necessary errands in life. Another member is providing cook-at-home meal kits.

Regent Park Soccer League

Toronto Spurs members have raised more than $3,500 for the Regent Park Soccer League. Regent Park is Canada's largest housing project, home to around 15,000 people, 45% of whom live at or below the poverty line according to the most recent census in 2011, and where crime, drug abuse and gang activity is prevalent. The RPSL enables children from six to 15 years old to play organised football for free by providing leagues, clubs, kits and coaching, while also financially assisting the more talented players to play in the higher-level city leagues.