On Nov. 26, the Association Régionale de Soccer de Laval was awarded the distinction of being the regional association of the year during a gala evening held by the ARS in Saint-Hyacinthe.
Great year for ARS
The Laval branch of the ARS was nominated along with ARS Québec and ARS South Shore. An all-stars match between senior players from Concordia and Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudière was also nominated in the Event of the Year category.
According to ARS Laval, the organization had an excellent year, during which they held a major event in addition to their usual annual tournaments. They finished the year on a grand scale with the Toyota National Championship U15 Cup which drew thousands of spectators from all over Canada.
More teams coming
Despite a drop in membership, ARS Laval says it is increasing the quality of services it offers to members. At the competition level, the association plans to double the number of teams participating in the Première ligue du Québec. Four teams will be part of the league under the Monteuil and Fabrose clubs.
As well, a new league was born during the 2018 season. A senior league allowed eight girls’ and women’s teams to play during summer 2018 with more activity to come during the summer of 2019. A new partnership was made with the LF5E league in order to offer futsal to players.
Mérite sportif honors
ARS Laval’s individual teams and players also had a good year, the organization reported. During the City of Laval’s recent Mérite sportif awards event, several ARS teams were recognized for their performance. Among these were Chomedey U16MAAA, CS Monteuil U13MAA, CS Monteuil U16FAAA, CS Monteuil U17FAAA, and the Étoiles de l’Est U18MAAA.
At the Fédération de soccer du Québec’s recent red carpet event on Nov. 25, the Laval region was again well represented. Among those honoured were Kevin Mamputu, Anais Stephen, Audrey Chelsey François, Christina Gentile, Laurence Hamel, Renan Dias, Sophie Thérien, Lyes Arfa and Serge Topalian.