Long time League President Ed Duran of Midwest Soccer Inc is stepping down after the Summer session playoffs and is handing the league that he created over to the Fusion Soccer Club. Ed has run the league in it's current format since the late 80's and his commitment and dedication to the job has been remarkable. Stepping into the void is the Illinois Fusion outfit led by Myron King http://www.illinoisfusion.com/. Acting as league club and player representative, UCFC Director of Football Operations Chris Kang attended a few meetings with other league managers and Fusion to ensure that the existing league teams will have the best possible product. Fields, referees, costs, organization, structure. It was agreed that Fusion ultimately would be a good fit for the existing league teams and they will take over in the Fall. Games will continue to be played at the existing location, Sale Barn fields. Every player will be required to purchase a $25 secondary insurance policy offered through Fusion. The league will be in compliance with the United States Soccer Federation. Referees will be required to be USSF certified and Fusion will look to bring-in only those referees with level 12 or better experience (from a system of 1-16 with 1 being a FIFA ref, 16 being the least experienced). Fusion will provide its website functionality to include a league website complete with standings and team websites (UCFC will continue to operate this independent site). The Fall session will be used as a test bed for Fusions' ability to run its first adult league and for the existing teams to assess continuation under Fusion administration.
League fees were one of the most contentious points in discussions and after some transparency in regards to Fusion's cost structure it was determined that fees will increase, however, not as much as originally expected. This move is viewed as a win-win for all parties involved for now, the City League is becoming more organized with better refereeing, all players will have insurance coverage and Fusion is getting an adult league to compliment its wealth of youth programs. UCFC looks forward to continued competition in the Fall. -CK
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