Grassroots Programming Information

Canada Soccer

In 2020, Canada Soccer announced its reimagined approach for youth programming in Canada and released the Grassroots Standards to be implemented nation-wide by 2026. Since that announcement, Canada Soccer has worked closely with the Technical Directors from the Provincial and Territorial Members to revise and update this document to guide clubs towards good practices in player development. By reimagining the approach, Canada Soccer aims to create an ecosystem with as many players as possible, for as long as possible, and in the best environments possible.

Canada Soccer has set out the following goals:

1. “Keep more young players involved in soccer for longer by providing them with an enjoyable experience through access to high quality training and meaningful competition based on interest rather than ability.”
2. “Produce clear training and competition guidelines for clubs so that they can deliver the best possible environment for young players.”

The Grassroots Standards that Canada Soccer has established are structured around a set of guiding principles for grassroots soccer in Canada. These principles are:

• Grassroots Programs should be appropriately structured for the age and stage of the participating players and allow for the opportunity for multi-sport participation, activity sampling, and life balance.
• Grassroots Matches should be played on fields, with goals and balls, and following a match day format that is developmentally appropriate for the participating players.
• Coaches have the greatest impact on the experience of players, and every child deserves a properly qualified coach.
• Children register to play soccer, not to watch others play or spend time traveling. Teams should strive for fair playing time and limit travel time as much as possible.
• Talent Identification and selection should be delayed as long as possible to provide as many players as possible with the best training environment available.
• Match results should not be the focus of grassroots soccer as this restricts player development and negatively impacts the player experience.

While Canada has some of the highest registration numbers for youth players in the world, these numbers are dropping. Even with two thirds of players being U13 or younger, attrition rates in sport are rising. Canada Soccer’s revised approach to grassroots programs in the country hopes to address the challenges that have traditionally been present within youth soccer.

Grassroots Programming is defined as all programming for youth up to U13 and this reimagined approach includes the first three stages of the Long-term Player Development model: Active Start (U4-U6), FUNdamentals (U6-U9), and Learn to Train (U10-U13).

Manitoba Soccer

Responsible for implementing national standards, the Manitoba Soccer Association has been working closely with Canada Soccer and WYSA to serve as a platform for change and to facilitate the environment for growth within the sport. This includes community outreach, educational meetings, question and answer sessions, and constant support and engagement with its membership. The MSA provides coaching certification and training to help develop coaches and give them the tools to help prepare the next generation of players. The new Grassroots Standards implementation highlights the need for a developmental shift. Manitoba Soccer aims to change not only how we train, but also to raise the collective standard of how young players experience soccer.

In Manitoba, Grassroots Programming will be implemented using a phased approach, starting first in the 2026 Outdoor Season with the U8, U9, and U10. Those who are U11 in 2026 will remain part of the traditional league programming and will be the last group of players within that system. In 2027, U11s will be added to the Grassroots Programming framework.

Manitoba Soccer has prepared a structure for how Grassroots Centres can be established within the community through 5 key objectives: Safe Environment, Organized Set Up, Player Movement, Player Learning, and Player Enjoyment. You can read more about these objectives within the Resource Section found below.

Certification courses for coaches within each pillar of the LTPD model are also administered by the MSA. Their Technical Staff are constantly working to provide and support the community with continued education and training materials, including presentations and session plans with clear objectives designed with a players-first approach. This guidance is crucial as the implementation of the new Grassroots Programming approach to Youth Soccer is implemented and rolled out across the province.

Winnipeg Youth Soccer

The Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association serves as the liaison to its Member Organizations and Manitoba Soccer. While the individual youth organizations will be responsible for facilitating internal programming, WYSA will be the link that connects them all with the larger Grassroots Programming effort around the province and the nation.

Within the province, Grassroots Programming will be implemented across 4 Programming Blocks and at 2 Programming Levels. Block 1 will occur during May and June, Block 2 will occur during August and September, Block 3 will be from Mid-October to Mid-December, and Block 4 will in February and March. During each Block, certain days of the week will be designated as Training Days and others as Match Days. Member Organizations will be responsible for running Station-Based Training and following the Grassroots Standards and the established Match Day Format. On Match Days, rosters will be established from the Open Roster System to form dynamic teams that can be adjusted and adapted to best suit the needs of the players. These Match Days Rosters will change week-to-week to aid in the development of the players and encourage growth. Players who have registered for Grassroots Level 1 and Grassroots Level 2 will still be placed within the same pool of players and will train and play together. Training Frequency is determined by the Level that a player has registered for - Grassroots Level 1 players will train once a week, while Grassroots Level 2 players will train twice a week.

With support from the community, a Grassroots Programming Calendar has been created which outlines a full calendar year of soccer with WYSA. The calendar highlights the differences between the 2025 Season and the upcoming 2026 Season which will see the first real implementation of the new Grassroots Programming format. Two registration periods will be offered throughout the calendar year, one in the springtime for Blocks 1 and 2 during the outdoor season, and another in the fall for Blocks 3 and 4 during the indoor season. Families will be able to register for the first, the second, or for both Blocks based on the family’s preferences.

A Grassroots Programming Block Overview has also been established, which provides guidance on what a block could look like during a given season. Depending on the Member Organization hosting the program and the age of the player, a training session for a Grassroots 1 program might occur on a Wednesday, while a training session for a Grassroots 2 program might occur on Mondays and Wednesdays. These same two programs may meet again on Saturdays for the organization’s Match Day where the players will be formed into dynamic teams to play full games. Twice a month, WYSA will organize Match Days between multiple Organizations to help foster player growth and development. Additionally, WYSA will also be hosting a Jamboree once per Block in addition to the WYSA Match Days. This Jamboree will be a day dedicated to players from all Member Organizations, rather than smaller groups spread out across the city and region.

Grassroots Programming Block and Calendar Overview:

Key Terms

Community Competitive - updated terminology for the U13 to U17 Premier stream within Manitoba.

Community Recreational - updated terminology for the U11 to U18 Recreational stream within Manitoba for the 2026 Seasons.

Developmental - referring to the playing stream for U11 to U12 Developmental divisions which is a pathway towards Community Competitive play for the 2026 Seasons.

Festival - see Match Day Format.

Game Leader - an individual such as a Coach or Technical Staff in a leadership role like a match official who facilitates a match with two teams. Game Leaders ensure that the Grassroots Standards for the Match Day Format are adhered to and that they achieve the following objectives on the field: enabling children to have a fun and rewarding experience while competing in small-sided games; ensuring player safety; and implementing simplified rules while keeping the game moving, such as limiting stoppages and assisting young players with all restarts.

Grassroots Levels 1 & 2 - Grassroots Level 1 and Level 2 are family-choice commitment levels and are not separate training groups. They determine how many times per week a child attends training, and all children train together. Grassroots Level 1 players will train once a week, while Grassroots Level 2 players will train twice a week The difference between levels is not player ability, but an organization’s operational tier and readiness - ex: staffing. An organization’s operational tier determines who can provide Grassroots Level 1 programming and who can offer Level 2 programming.

• Level 1: Leadership requires Grassroots age-appropriate training.
• Level 2: Leadership requires a C Diploma or Children’s Diploma.

An organization that does not have meet the requirements of Level 2 cannot provide Level 2 programming.

Grassroots Programming - all programming up to Under 13. This includes the first three stages of Long-Term Player Development; Active Start (U-4/U-6 M/F), FUNdamentals (U-6/U-8 F, U-6/U-10 M), & Learn to Train (U-8/U-11 F, U-9/U-12 M).

Grassroots Standards - the set of standards established by Canada Soccer which guide soccer development in Canada up to U13.

Long-Term Player Development - LTPD is a model of athlete development that parallels what doctors and psychologists have long used to better understand human development: as a series of distinct stages, which take us from infancy through adulthood. LTPD is designed to give players an optimal soccer experience at every stage by putting their needs front and center.

Jamboree - a Festival hosted by WYSA that brings all teams within a competition together where all games take place at a large venue with several additional events and amenities available for teams to experience.

Match Day Format - Grassroots programs must utilize a Festival Format for match days. “Festival Format” involves a number of teams playing their matches at a single venue rather than a match with a single home and away team as occurs in a League Format. A Match Day may include one or two matches in a day but does not include placement or elimination games. Match Days will alternate between being hosted locally by each organization and being hosted by WYSA. The Match Days hosted by WYSA will bring two or more organizations together but will not be a singular large-scale event like a Jamboree.

Match Day Roster - the match day roster is the list of players that a coach has available to play in a given match. It is important for coaches to remain within the standards provided; too few players and there is an increased risk of fatigue, burnout, and injury. Too many players and there is a risk of boredom as players will spend too much time on the sidelines and not enough time playing soccer. Canada Soccer requires “Fair Playing Time” for all players with a target of each player playing at least 50% of each match up to U13.

Match Format - The match format refers to the number of players on each team. As children are not miniature adults, it is important that they play in match formats that are appropriate for their age and stage of development. Smaller match formats for younger ages ensure players have more touches on the ball and greater development opportunities, which adds to their enjoyment of the game. This can range from very few players (1v1, 2v2 or 3v3) to the full FIFA regulation game format of 11v11.

Member Organization - an organization within the soccer landscape which is sanctioned through the governing body. WYSA’s member organizations are youth soccer clubs from Winnipeg and the surrounding region. WYSA is a member of Manitoba Soccer, who is a provincial member of Canada Soccer.

Open Roster System - an Open Roster System allows players to be moved between teams on an ongoing basis rather than the traditional approach of fixed rosters which place a group of players onto a team at the beginning of the season with limited or no opportunity for movement. In addition to exposing children to a variety of experiences, including being a leader and follower, playing with friends and having the opportunity to make new ones, amongst others, open rosters also better facilitate meaningful competition between teams, which is instrumental to player development.

Program Blocks - programs for young players are often broken up into seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) or into multi-week “blocks.” Manitoba’s implementation of Grassroots Programming will have 2 Blocks during the Outdoor Season and 2 Blocks during the Indoor Season.

Quality Service Provider - a member organization that meets Canada Soccer’s Standards for Quality Soccer which are designed to outline the minimum expectations of member organizations in Canada. A QSP is expected to provide a developmentally appropriate, safe, enjoyable, accessible, inclusive, and welcoming environment for their participants, which differentiates it from non-member soccer and unorganized play.

Station-Based Training - a format where players rotate through small-group stations focused on specific skills. It ensures higher engagement and more touches on the ball.