Friday February 14, 2020 ~ LANGFORD
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
Westhills Stadium in Langford will be hosting an exhibition professional men’s soccer game on Friday March 27, with the match-up being Canada vs Trinidad & Tobago.
Tickets go on sale February 20 starting at 10 am, with prices starting at $20. There will be a special pre-sale window on February 19 for Canada Soccer insiders. www.canadasoccer.com
That’s was the main message today at a media event at the stadium, at which Canada Soccer and Pacific FC made the announcement that will precede Pacific FC’s participation in the 2020 Canadian Professional League (CPL) season.
About 60 people packed into the City of Langford VIP lounge to be there for this first 2020 sporting announcement for the stadium as spring approaches.
Trinidad & Tobago is considered to be a powerhouse team. Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach John Herdman talked about a kind of ‘friendly hostility’ to ramp up interest to fill the stands in the 6,000-seat stadium on March 27.
Langford was clearly pleased to have wooed this game to what for international pro soccer teams is still a relatively small stadium. Langford Mayor Stew Young, and Councillors Matt Sahlstrom, Lanny Seaton, Lillian Szpak, and Roger Wade attended.
Also attending were members of the Langford business community Dale Gann, Director of Business Development with Royal Roads University, and leaders in the sporting community including Pacific FC CEO Rob Friend and various members of his staff. Rugby Canada’s Gareth Rees (who is a member of the Canadian Rugby Hall of Fame), and BC Soccer was also represented.
Since Herdman took over at Canada Soccer in 2018, he has produced 12 of 16 victories in international matches. In 2019 it was first time Canada had defeated Mexico, Costa Rica and the United States in one year. Two of those at the youth level and the men’s team beating the USA for the first time in 34 years.
This game in Langford on March 27 could help the Canadian men’s team qualify for their first world cup since 1986, said the Canada Soccer coach.
“Pacific FC has created a football community” on Vancouver Island, said Herdman.
Pacific FC is going to do whatever they can to help support the Canada Men’s team when they visit in Langford next month, said Friend. He added that “we’re going to create a men’s-women’s national identity here” for soccer.
This is the first time in 35 years that the men’s national team will be in Langford. It has taken many years for soccer to rebuild in Canada after the 1980s, and also since the 1990s the City of Langford and region has been growing, with their Westhills Stadium now large enough to host more high-profile events (the city’s official stadium expansion celebration was held on August 24, 2019).
If the March 27 game sells out, organizers say there could be a second game at Westhills Stadium on Tuesday March 31.