Eric King

Eric King... he was 19 years old when he moved to Toronto, ON on 9 May 1957; moved to Saskatchewan a year later... he married his wife Shirley on 29 September 1962 (they had children Lisa and Michelle)... he was 73 years old when he passed away in Kingston, ON on 30 May 2011... earned B.A. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1968... earned Bachelor Education from the University of Saskatchewan in 1969... was an English teacher at Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon (1969-70), including serving as coach for the school’s soccer and table tennis teams...

honoured as a Canada Soccer Life Member... honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame (he was was shortlisted as an alternate builder in the inaugural year of 2000 and later honoured in 2002)... recipient of Canada Soccer’s Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award in 1994...

said King in 1971, “before coming to the (National Sports) Centre, I worked off my kitchen table and out of a small room in my basement (in Saskatoon)”... said King in 1977, “we want to get those (World Cup) games on home TV to win over the unconverted. It’s important for the growth and development of the game in Canada”... said Terry Quinn in 1994, “under this gentleman’s leadership, Canada Soccer secured the support of corporate sponsors for many national programs... with increased corporate sponsorship in 1980, Canada Soccer’s budget exceeded one million dollars” for the first time... wrote Colin Jose in 2001, his “greatest contribution to the game was causing FIFA to change the way it sold the TV rights for the World Cup in North America. An eight-year lobbying campaign resulted in FIFA changing the process resulting in Canadians seeing every World Cup game on home TV beginning in 1982... wrote King in 2011, “during a 34 year career in sport, I had the opportunity to travel extensively, visiting every continent and making lifelong friends along the way”...