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Atimaven Mititic i? ma Blated $52.00 (mag & WeX ahision acese gatan C 0 190C ~~ Ethnic power key to KDSL Pete Cudhea Chronicle Staff hile professional soccer continues to Wltruggle in the Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo marâ€" ket, the Kitchener and District Soccer League just keeps rolling along into its 16th season. The Canadian Soccer League was dealt a major blow last week after the Kitchener Kickers and the Hamilton Steelers announced that they‘ll be taking a year‘s absence from the league. For Kitchener, it‘s the second time a soccer franschise has suffered a financial setback. Three seasons ago the Kitchener Spirit discovered they were losing more than their fair share at the gate and had to fold their tent. But, for Kitchener and District Soccer League (KDSL) president Tony Kocis, it‘s soccer as usual ‘as the 12â€"team first division and 10â€"team second division kicked off the 1992 season over the weekend. Despite having a professional team in Kitchener, the KDSL, with its bands of loyal fans, have survived the notions that they‘d lose all their fans, and maybe several teams because of the higher competitive CSL However, they wouldn‘t be upset to lose players to the Kickers, for the goal of any amateur athlete is to play in the professional ranks. In fact, the Kickers and KDSL had an agreement that its players could be called up to practice and possibly make the team. Local KDSL players on a professional team is money in the "... I think this is the beginning of the end for the CSL." KDSL President Tony Kocis bank as far as gate receipts go. "It‘s a real shock to see Kitchener, and especially Hamilton drop out of the league," Kocis said. " This is only my opinion, but I think this is the beginning of the end for the CSL." It‘s no secret that soccer in Kitchener and Waterloo has outlasted just about every other amateur sport in terms of longevity. And as long as there are ethnic groups living in the community, there will be soccer. Kitchener and Waterloo is an ethnic hotbed and with the worldâ€"wide popularity of soccer, it‘s no wonder that the KDSL has survived in this community. The league has ‘been popular for many seasons with Greek, Portuguese, German, United Kingdom and Italian teams, but over the past few seasons other nationalities have begun to make their mark in the league, especially in the second division. (Continued on page 38) Pete Cudhes photo