Thursday November 3, 2022 | VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The anticipated second Canadian Premier League (CPL) club in BC was announced yesterday in Langley. Emergence of the team was first announced in November 2021. The league announced back in April that the Vancouver-area club would call Willoughby Community Park in Langley home.
Called Vancouver FC, the league’s newest club will be a rival to the Pacific FC team based in Langford. Matches between the two teams will be part of the mix.
Rob Friend is president of both clubs.
Inaugural season in 2023:
Vancouver FC’s inaugural season will get underway in 2023.
The club’s name, logo and colours were launched at an in-person event at the Langley Events Centre in Langley last night.
Friend, a former member of the Canadian Men’s National Team, also announced that industry veteran Afshin Ghotbi, 58, will lead the club as its first head coach.
That will now make nine clubs within the CPL, stretching across the country: Pacific FC (Vancouver Island), Cavalry FC (Calgary), FC Edmonton (Edmonton), Valour FC (Winnipeg), Forge FC (Hamilton), York United FC (Greater Toronto area), Atletico Ottawa (Ottawa), HFX Wanderers FC (Halifax), Vancouver FC (Greater Vancouver).
The CPL launched in 2019 with seven teams under then Commissioner David Clanachan.
New market expansion:
“We are delighted to officially announce Vancouver FC as part of the Canadian Premier League family,” said CPL Commissioner Mark Noonan in a news release Wednesday evening.
“Expanding into new markets across Canada is critical to the growth of the CPL, but we do not take the responsibility of launching a new team lightly. A successful expansion requires a dedicated ownership group, the backing of the local communities and corporate sponsors, and top-class infrastructure. I am confident the foundation Rob Friend and the team at Vancouver FC is laying will lead to lasting success on and off the pitch,” said Noonan.
V-shaped logo:
The new club’s logo features a V-shape design, a silhouette traditional to many sports organizations on BC’s south coast. The design evokes a bald eagle, a species which gathers in this region.
The wings of the design emulate the cables that unite the Lower Mainland, as well as the precision of agricultural fields in the Fraser Valley, a symbol of the potential for growth here at home. A neutral palette of shades of charcoal black, silver, dark grey and cinder are complemented by pops of warm red throughout the club branding.
Soccer on the mainland:
“Honouring our sporting past, celebrating our region and uniting the South Coast are among our key objectives as we introduce soccer fans on the Lower Mainland to Vancouver FC,” said Friend as Vancouver FC owner.
“We look forward to sharing the region’s existing passion for the game with the rest of the Canadian Premier League through its support for our club and, together with our fans, building an even stronger soccer culture on and off the field that serves as a point of connection for all of our local communities.”
Inaugural coach:
Leading Vancouver FC’s charge on the field will be Ghotbi. The native of Iran, who was raised in the United States, has held head and assistant coaching roles in the United Soccer League, Major League Soccer, the Persian Gulf Pro League, Thailand’s Thai League 1, Japan’s J1 League and the Chinese Super League over a career that has spanned nearly four decades.
Ghotbi was part of coaching staffs at three FIFA World Cups: as an assistant with the United States at 1998 FIFA World Cup France™ and as an assistant with South Korea at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.
He previously helmed the Iranian national team as head coach from 2009 to 2011 and most recently served as the manager of Cangzhou Mighty Lions in the Chinese Super League.
“I want to thank Rob Friend and the team at Vancouver FC for trusting me with this exciting project,” said Ghotbi. “Now is an exciting moment for Canadian soccer, and the ever-growing passion for the game on the Lower Mainland is already evident to me. I look forward to building a club that will make our communities proud on and off the field.”
About CPL:
The Canadian Premier League (CPL), Canada’s Tier 1 domestic professional men’s soccer league, is in its fourth season in 2022, competing in the CONCACAF and FIFA sanctioned series of competitions. Playing in world-class and unique venues, and partnering with strong community-led ownership groups, the CPL brings top-tier professional soccer to eight communities from coast to coast. The CPL has announced plans to expand to nine markets in 2023 with a team in Vancouver, and to grow to 12 teams by 2025.
===== RELATED:
Langford-based Pacific FC brings in new managing director from Toronto (August 16, 2022)
Pacific FC moves Merriman up to head coach (January 21, 2022)
CPL Commissioner Clanachan chooses home town | background of the CPL (January 10, 2022)
Season 3 fallout: Pacific FC loses two top players to Forge FC (January 9, 2022)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends covers news of the south Vancouver Island region with an eye to news of British Columbia and national issues. Mary P Brooke is the editor and owner/publisher.
Island Social Trends is a fully online news portal that launched in mid-2020 at islandsocialtrends.ca, emerging from its predecessor publication West Shore Voice News (2014-2020) and before that Sooke Voice News (2011-2013) and MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010).