By Jonathan Nierman / MLSnet.com Staff

Major League Soccer welcomed its 13th team on Thursday when the league's first-ever Canadian club, Toronto FC, was unveiled at a press conference in the Ontario city. The team's name and logo were announced to the public for the first time and play will begin north of the border in the 2007 season at the National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place, which is currently under construction.

"We are very excited about our new partnership with Major League Soccer under the leadership of Commissioner Don Garber and his outstanding team in the league office," said Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the group that owns the team. "In just 10 years, Major League Soccer has grown its league to 12 solid franchises, all backed by strong ownership. The league has played a vital role in renewing interest in soccer throughout North America. It plays a key role in creating a new generation of skilled soccer players and enthusiastic soccer fans."

MLSE reached an agreement with the governments of Canada and Ontario to build a permanent soccer-specific stadium at Exhibition Place in October of 2005. MLSE's executives then met with the Major League Soccer board of governors at MLS Cup 2005 in Frisco, Texas and expansion negotiations continued at a vigorous pace.

"I'm excited to join you all here today for what will be known as one of the great historic days for soccer in North America, certainly soccer in Canada and soccer in the city of Toronto," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "We're thrilled, absolutely excited, to be teaming up with the folks at MLSE. This was a process that actually moved very quickly."

All parties involved in Thursday's announcement stressed that further fast action is expected out of Toronto. Tanenbaum, Garber, and Canadian Soccer Association chief operating officer Kevan Pipe all stressed the importance that Toronto's new team can have on quickly improving Canada's national team.

Canada has only once qualified for the FIFA World Cup, taking part in the event in 1986. Citing the U.S. team's rapid improvement on the international stage since the inception of the league in 1996, Pipe is enthusiastic that the same will happen north of the border.

"For the Canadian Soccer Association, the immediate impact for us is apparent. It's going to allow our national team program, our national team players to play finally in Canada at a truly completely professional level that we haven't had yet to this time. We expect to see immediate improvement," he said.

"We expect to see a lot of our players coming back from Europe to play for Toronto FC. We expect to see an awful lot of our young players to be signing on with Toronto FC. And certainly with two seasons under our belt by the time World Cup qualifying comes around in the fall of 2008, yes, we fully expect to achieve our goal finally of qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 for the first time since 1986."

MLSE, which owns several other sports teams including the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs, the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors and the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies, helped to fund the construction of the new 20,000-seat soccer stadium at Exhibition Place, set to open next May.

MLSE and Major League Soccer representatives all cited the first-class facility as one of the most appealing factors of expanding to Toronto. In addition to MLS games, the facility will also be the premier venue at next summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup, hosting the championship game in one of soccer's top competitions.

"We want our soccer fans to enjoy a tremendous soccer experience. There are two reasons for my enthusiasm. Firstly, the new National Soccer Stadium finally gives Toronto a permanent soccer facility - a first-class facility that supports an exciting game on the pitch, a facility that supports player growth and development at all levels: professional, amateur and grassroots," said Tanenbaum. "Plus, the new stadium provides a wonderful stage to attract the world of soccer to Toronto. The second reason for my enthusiasm is the MLSE leadership team. We are committed to putting a soccer team on the pitch that will connect with our Toronto soccer fans. Our team will compete effectively and excitingly."

While plans for the acquisition of the players that will actually make up Toronto FC have yet to be announced, there are already a few Canadians that are among the top performers in Major League Soccer. Most notably is Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, a finalist for the Honda MVP award last season. Pipe garnered great cheers from the locals in attendance by making an early push to acquire De Rosario's services.

"Don (Garber)'s going to kick me for saying this afterwards, but I want to see Dwayne De Rosario wearing this jersey next year," he said.

Soccer fans can visit the newly-launched Toronto FC web site at www.torontofc.ca for the latest information on the club, including how to secure tickets for the team's inaugural season.