Indoor Soccer World Cup Coming to Ontario?

Is Ontario fit to host the World Cup?

Maybe – the first-ever indoor soccer World Cup.

That was the message that Professional Arena Soccer League Commissioner Kevin Milliken had during a one-on-one interview with OntarioFury.com during his visit to the indoor soccer team’s opening game Sunday.

Milliken announced the formation and awarding of the indoor soccer World Cup during a news conference Saturday in San Diego. To be played in 2015, the only guaranteed host sites announced so far are San Diego and Dallas. But Ontario may end up in the mix as well.

“It’s going to be regional,” Milliken said to the Fury. “And it’s going to come down to dates, and it’s going to come down how our PASL teams perform at the gate. And what owners we decide, and what buildings we decide. Obviously (Citizens Business Bank Arena) is a plenty nice enough venue. So we’re going to have four regions, with four teams in each region. So this region, obviously we have, potentially Las Vegas, Ontario and San Diego. So the beginning rounds there’s going to be six games, so that could potentially be two games in each building. We’re going to do that around the country in different areas where we’ve got three-four teams close together where we could use the facilities like that.”

The tournament will be played under the direction of the recently formed World Mini Football Association, and will feature 16 teams. Milliken said that United States team – which will be coached by San Diego Sockers coach Phil Salvagio – will play at least one game in San Diego, while Mexico’s team will play at least one game in Dallas. The choice was done in part to maximize attendance at each venue, something that is planned for other potential venues.

“And we’re going to be smart about what teams qualify and where we put them,” Milliken said in the interview. “For example, if El Salvador qualifies, they’re probably going to get a game in Ontario if things are going well here, because the I think the largest El Salvadorian population outside of El Salvador is right here in LA. So we’re going to pick venues and groups, so fans can come and see their home team.”

The commissioner was bullish on the future of his league, which has seen growth since being founded six years ago. Fourteen of the 20 teams now play in venues that feature a capacity of more than 5,000 spectators – and the league attendance record was shattered opening weekend when 9,627 fans saw the home opener of the Monterrey Flash. The World Cup, he said, can only help.

“Absolutely. Again, we’re already getting eyeballs on the sport,” Milliken said. “The fact that we had a league attendance record in Monterrey of 9,627 just a week ago. San Diego had close to 6,000 last night. Dallas regularly sells out. And this is not a bad crowd here tonight. I really think it will be really good.”