Petition for Richmond soccer club membership to be reinstated

A petition is trying to save a youth soccer club in Richmond from losing its district membership.

According to BC Soccer, the Richmond Soccer Association is cancelling Fusion FC’s district membership on Monday.

Albert Beh, whose daughter plays at the club, says he and many other parents are frustrated by the district’s decision.

“For me as a parent, I would like to be able to go to the club that I prefer, but it feels like I’m not allowed to do that, and it just sucks,” he told 1130 NewsRadio.

Beh says his daughter has been playing at the club since September last year.

“Since that time, she’s had so much fun. She actually likes to play the game. She’s re-engaged in playing soccer. She loves her coaches,” he explained.

Last week, BC Soccer said it was advised of the Richmond Soccer Association’s decision “not to approve active membership for Fusion FC with the district association.”

“The decision issued and communicated to the Club, followed a process initiated in 2023, and was reviewed and upheld by an Appeal Arbitrator assigned by the BC Soccer Judicial Body. The Richmond Soccer Association, in consideration of the ongoing playing season at that time, granted Associate Membership to the Club until the end of the Winter Playing Season, terminating on March 31^st, 2025,” the provincial soccer body stated.

In a letter sent to parents from the club this week, the Fusion president and board claimed that the Richmond Soccer Association acted “with bias” to keep the club out of the district.

“Despite this, our application was rejected in October, based on a false claim that we took 100% of a team from another club. That never happened. Players and families who joined Fusion did so of their own choosing, looking for a better, safer, and more supportive soccer experience. And we gave it to them,” the letter stated.

“We appealed. Denied. No opportunity to present our side. We reached out to Canada Soccer. Again—no response. No due process. No accountability,” it continued.

“In my 45 years as a player, coach, board member, and father, I have never been more disheartened. The system is broken. The structure is backwards. Districts hold power over BC Soccer and even Canada Soccer—when it should be the other way around. The game has become about control and politics—not about the kids, and not about the sport we love.”

Beh says his daughter loves soccer and feels like she’s being driven out of the sport. The petition, which has already garnered over 1,300 signatures, calls for the association to reverse its decision.

If his daughter can no longer play for the club, Beh worries his daughter will not want to play at all.

“Some of them are really stuck because they they have to be able to play games, and they cannot find a club at this late time of the season,” he said.

In an email, the Richmond Soccer Association declined an interview, saying an active appeal with BC Soccer is underway. It says it will be issuing a statement on the situation.

“Let us be absolutely clear — we are not giving up,” Fusion FC said in its letter. “We are committed to fighting for the next three months with everything we have. Our mission is to ensure that we are back where we belong — within the Richmond district and BC Soccer — by the fall season.”