DeRo’s primary objective – and arguably his biggest contribution – is his commitment to the community. Growing up as an inner city kid, he had his life transformed through soccer. He feels that there is a need in our community for more programs that inspire, mentor and motivate youth to achieve their full potential.
Dwayne De Rosario
The DeRo Legacy
Growing up, DeRo and his brothers (Mark and Paul) played the majority of their soccer years in Scarborough, coached by their father and mentor Tony De Rosario (aka Coach Tony De), a certified B National Coach.
This partnership between father and sons has led to an accumulation of knowledge and experience that has helped to inspire the creation of the DeRo United training programs and the DeRo United Futbol Academy (DUFA).
In 2014, DeRo initiated the DeRo Foundation in association with the Toronto Community Foundation. The mission of the DeRo Foundation is to use soccer as platforms to help youth within inner city communities develop the life skills and confidence necessary to succeed on and off the field.
Since inception, the DeRo Foundation has worked with community partners at the East Scarborough Storefront KGO (Kingston Road, Galloway and Orton Park) offering free afterschool programs to kids in the KGO community, which is neighbourhood where DeRo and his brothers grew up.
De Rosario and the DeRo United team have also offered free camps to youth across Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Guyana, and Tobago) to help promote the sport and teach kids the values it has taught him. In fact, one of the participants from the Tobago camps, Njemile Charles, was recently awarded a scholarship to play soccer at Bryant & Stratton College in Syracuse, New Jersey after she was identified at the 2014 Tobago camp.
In 2015, DeRo retired from the pitch leaving behind a legacy in Canadian soccer that will surely inspire generations to come. He is now a Major League Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) Ambassador, promoting MLSE sports in Toronto and community initiatives with the MLSE Foundation. DeRo is also a Pan Am Games Ambassador and currently sits on the Minister’s Advisory Panel on Ontario’s Sport Plan.
In 2021, we have joined the Toronto FC family as the first affiliate in the GTA. The best is yet to come!
