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Kingston & Richmond Hill Kicking Off with League2 Expansion in 2026
By It was announced today that League2 Ontario has welcomed its newest two clubs who will be joining the fold come the 2026 campaign, just in time for the World Cup in Canada.
Kicking off come next season will be the Kingston Sentinels and the Richmond Hill Raiders, with the former coming from Kingston’s venture into the CanPL while the latter has seen success in the L1Ontario U20 Reserve league.
With both sides fielding squads in the women’s and men’s divisions, let’s take a look at the two of them!
Kingston Sentinels
Owners: Victory Group Ventures
Home Pitch: CaraCo Home Field at INVISTA Centre in Kingston
Home Pitch Capacity: 750 in Bleachers, additional in standing room
Despite a failed bid to build a permanent soccer venue to host a Canadian Premier League side in the Limestone City, Paul Barbeau and the team at Victory Group were unfazed and opted to proceed down the semi-pro route with the Sentinels.
Speaking via press release, Barbeau spoke to the untapped potential within this Eastern Ontario market.
“While it is two hours from Ottawa, Toronto, and Montréal, there is nothing at a semi-professional or professional level in that region, but there’s 10,000 kids registered in soccer and that’s growing every year,” said the co-owner. “League1 Ontario is the next step and a natural progression.”
Despite the hiccup at City Council earlier this year, the ownership group remains determined to bring a CanPL expansion side to complement their L1 rosters by 2027. Incidentally, club plans to open a new soccer-specific venue in the city for both the pro and semi-pro sides that same year, with plans to operate the Sentinels in a similar vain to York United’s Academy roster in the L1O-Championship.
Speaking via the same press release as above, Operations Manager at League1 Ontario, Chris Keem, praised the Sentinels organization for their outlook and in-depth expansion proposal. “Paul and the team at Victory Group Ventures approached us with an exciting and ambitious proposal, and a deep passion to make a big impact in the Eastern Ontario,” said Keem. “We are happy to welcome Kingston Sentinels to the League2 Divisions, congratulate them on their achievements so far”
This is not Kingston’s first foray into the semi-professional world. The Kingston/Cataraqui Clippers participated in the inaugural season of League1 Ontario back in 2014 and operated a men’s squad until 2016 while their women’s side only had one season in 2016. Both rosters failed to make much of an impact in the league with no playoffs appearances over the course of their existence and only going as far as the quarterfinals in the L1 Cup.
Richmond Hill Raiders
Owners: Richmond Hill SC (volunteer run)
Home Pitch: Richmond Green East
Home Pitch Capacity: 100 in Bleachers, additional in standing room
After five season at the reserve level with a U20 roster, the Richmond Hill Raiders will be making the jump to League2 Ontario alongside the Sentinels come 2026. Outside of pulling from the northern GTA region, the club has an expansive talent pool through their affiliations with Newmarket SC, Lake Simcoe SC, and the Thunder Bay Chill at the ODPL level, thus providing them plenty of potential stars to fill their ranks.
Led by Mirco Schroff, who comes with expansion experience via Darby FC/Whitby FC, the Raiders plan to create another true pathway-to-pro. Speaking via another L1O presser, Schroff revelled in the new opportunities open to their players. “[Expansion is] allowing us to strengthen the development model that we have from our grassroots levels and through the adult game,” he said. “Our strategic plan is geared to maturing the club … with development on future investment into facilities and other components that work towards the standards.”
Chris Keem also touched on Richmond Hill’s presence in the reserve leagues, calling them a “valued guest club in our reserve competitions.”
“From their League1 Ontario reserves experience, Mirco and the club’s leadership understand how the Pro-Am game is evolving,” said the L1 Manager, “We are delighted that they share the same visions to build player pathways and connections with communities.”
Both clubs are slated to kick off alongside the rest of League2 Ontario in April 2026. The league has yet to announce any further expansion, however it well established that many organizations have approached the league regarding new franchises.