The 2026 EMDSL Festival for teams aged U8 to U11 inclusive will be held over two weekends at 1 Password Park located at 355 Burwell Road in St Thomas. Teams will play two games on their assigned Festival Day. The park also has playgrounds and a splash pad for the teams to enjoy and the concession will be operational. There will also be a skills and drills area for the teams to show off their skills! Please see below for your assigned Festival Day.
Assigned Festival Day
Due to the World Cup Finals being on Sunday July 19th, the preseason assigned Festival Day may have changed for your age group. The league apologizes for any inconvenience caused for this change. Teams are able to opt out of the Festival without penalty by emailing admin@emdsl.ca by May 22nd. Teams opting out after this date will face an opt out fee and any teams not showing up for their games will be assessed a forfeit fee for each game missed. Please ensure you review your date with your team as soon as possible to ensure you will have enough players to participate
Saturday July 4th: U9 Boys, U9 Boys Tier 3, U9 Girls Tier 3, U10 Boys Tier 2.
Sunday July 5th: U8 Boys, U8 Boys Tier 3, U9 Girls, U10 Boys Tier 1, U10 Boys Tier 3.
Saturday July 18th: U11 Boys all tiers, U11 Girls all tiers.
Sunday July 19th: U10 Girls all tiers, last games to start at noon.
Notes
Teams are responsible for the match official fees for any Festival games where you are the assigned home team.
Schedules will be released shortly after the May 22nd opt out date.
Festival Field Map
Registration is now open to Clubs interested in registering teams for the 2026 EMDSL outdoor soccer season. Clubs must be members of the EMSA District or have the appropriate play out and play in rights approved by their home District and by EMSA. All registrations are subject to the approval of the league and the district.
Please ensure you have read the registration instruction file below prior to registering.
Important Notes:
For Tier 3 teams U14 and above only, please register with the following year of birth:
U14/U15 aged teams use the 2011 year of birth.
U16/U17 aged teams use the 2009 year of birth.
U18 aged teams use the 2008 year of birth.
Tier 3 only offers U15/U17 double year cohort divisions for 2026 and single aged U18 if there are enough registered teams. Players do not have to be the same birth year but teams must register in the division that matches the oldest birth year player on the team.
There is no heading of the ball permitted for grassroots age groups in 2026. U8-U13 inclusive.
For U8 and U9 teams, teams selecting Tier 3 will be grouped into the recreational pool and teams selecting Tier 1 or 2 will be grouped into the development pool. Separate Tiers will not be hosted at these age groups.
Handwritten applications are no longer being accepted. Only the completed excel format will be accepted. Please ensure your applications are returned in excel format. Other formats will not be accepted.
Team fees must be received by e-transfer, or by cheque or bank draft at the BMO Centre 295 Rectory Street, London ON, N5Z 0A3 address by the applicable registration deadline.
For 2026 E-transfer of funds is now accepted: payment@emdsl.ca auto deposit is in place so please include your club name in the notes section for any e-transfers sent.
Coach information is no longer required on the application forms. This information must be added later when you activate your team on the EMDSL website closer to the start of the season.
If there are any special requests or questions please contact the league administrator listed on the contacts page of the website. Note that the league cannot answer questions with respect to player eligibility. These should go first to your Club and then to the District. The League cannot override any decisions made by the District or Ontario Soccer.
Fees for 2026 are $300.00 for Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams, and $200.00 for Tier 3 teams.
Ready to Register:
For 2026 only the excel multi team form is available for use. Please ensure you email your completed form in excel format to admin@emdsl.ca. Please ensure you have asked all your questions prior to registration to avoid non acceptance of your team(s).
Below is the excel registration option:
Please see the outdoor match official fees for 2026.
Please see the game days below for the 2026 outdoor season. Note that depending on the number of registrations per age group and gender some divisions may be combined or not offered. These are the suggested game days. Note that some clubs may not have fields on the designated day and may have to adjust accordingly.
Congratulations to our 2025 Gus Fabrikis Bursary recipients. Both individuals have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the game of soccer in the District and we wish them all the best in their post secondary education.
Please see below dates to mark in your calendar for the 2026 Outdoor Soccer Season.
