Valour FC

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Valour FC
Valour FC logo.svg
Full nameValour Football Club[1]
FoundedMay 6, 2017; 4 years ago (2017-05-06)
StadiumIG Field, Winnipeg
Capacity33,234
OwnerWinnipeg Football Club
(community ownership)
PresidentWade Miller
CoachPhillip Dos Santos
LeagueCanadian Premier League
2021Canadian Premier League, 5th
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field.

The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned through the Winnipeg Football Club.

History[]

On May 6, 2017, Winnipeg was one of two cities accepted by the Canadian Soccer Association for professional club membership when the Canadian Premier League was unanimously approved.[2] It was confirmed that Canadian Football League clubs the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were behind the ownership groups.[3] Wade Miller, CEO of the Winnipeg Football Club, was named as the club's president.[4]

In May 2018, it was reported that the club would be called Valour FC.[5] On June 6, 2018 the club was officially unveiled as the fourth team to join the Canadian Premier League.[6] As well as confirming its place in the league for the 2019 launch season, the club also revealed its crest, colours and branding.[7] On June 26, the club named Rob Gale as the first head coach and general manager.[8]

In the overall standings, Valour ranked 6th of 7 teams in 2019, 6th of 8 teams in 2020, and 5th of 8 teams in 2021. On September 23, 2021, while in 5th place, Valour FC sacked head coach Rob Gale and named Phillip Dos Santos as his replacement.[9]

Stadium[]

Exterior façade of IG Field, the home field for Valour FC.

The club plays its home games at IG Field, a 33,234-seat Canadian football stadium.[10] The stadium opened in 2013 on the University of Manitoba campus next to University Stadium.[11] The stadium is also used by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the University of Manitoba Bisons football team, and the Winnipeg Rifles.[12]

Crest and colours[]

The club's identity is heavily linked to the story of Winnipeg's Valour Road, and named to recognize Corporal Leo Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland, who all lived on the same street and received the Victoria Cross for acts of bravery during the First World War.[13]

The letter "V" in the centre of the crest emulates a folded medal ribbon and also represents the meeting of the Red River and Assiniboine River in Winnipeg.[14] The right side of the "V" creates a "W" for Winnipeg, and the circle under the "V" is in the shape of the Victoria Cross medal. The wheat at the top of the crest represents Manitoba's agricultural industry.[15]

The official club colours are maroon, gold and black (branded by the club as "Valour maroon," "wheat gold," and "earth black"). These colours symbolize the ribbon of the Victoria Cross and the wheat fields and soil of the Canadian Prairies.[14]

Youth[]

On August 8, 2018, Valour FC Elite Girls (formerly the Manitoba Blizzard) was founded to give girls in Winnipeg an opportunity to travel to college showcases in the U.S and Canada, while getting educated on the recruiting process. The team will be led by Head Coach Jim Zinko and Manager Trevor Kidd. Training begins in the fall, while the Valour FC Elite Girls competition season runs from late November into April.[16]

Club culture[]

The club's mascot leans heavily on imagery of the Victoria Cross, being a lion named 'Vic'. He wears the club's colours on a t-shirt, shorts, and wristbands.[17][non-primary source needed]

Red River Rising Supporters group first met at Nicolino's Restaurant in January 2017, before a Winnipeg team was announced. The group met regularly in anticipation of an eventual Winnipeg team and now occupy section 144 at IG Field.[18] The section is known as The Trench.[19]

Players and staff[]

Roster[]

As of January 28, 2022[20]
No. Position Player Nation
4 DF Tony Mikhael  Lebanon
7 MF Moses Dyer  New Zealand
14 MF Stefan Cebara  Canada
16 FW Daryl Fordyce  Northern Ireland
19 FW William Akio  South Sudan
27 MF Raphael Ohin  Ghana
35 DF Andrew Jean-Baptiste  Haiti
77 DF Federico Peña  Trinidad and Tobago
82 MF Andy Baquero  Cuba
— MF Daniel Ascanio (on loan from Real Santander)  Colombia
— DF Matteo de Brienne  Canada
— DF Jonathan Esparza  United States
— MF Diego Gutiérrez  Canada
— FW Walter Ponce  Chile
— GK Rayane Yesli  Algeria

Current staff[]

As of January 12, 2022[21][22][23]
Executive
President & CEO Wade Miller
General manager Phillip Dos Santos
Coaching staff
Head coach Phillip Dos Santos
Assistant coach Jay Bhindi
Assistant coach Damian Rocke
Goalkeeping coach Patrick Di Stefani

Head coaches[]

As of November 6, 2021
Coach Nation Tenure Record
G W D L Win %
Rob Gale  England June 26, 2018 – September 23, 2021 57 18 8 31 031.58
Phillip Dos Santos  Canada September 23, 2021 – present 10 3 3 4 030.00

Club captains[]

Years Name Nation
2019 Jordan Murrell[24][25] Canada Canada
2019 Skylar Thomas[24] Canada Canada
2020 Dylan Carreiro[26] Canada Canada
2020–present Daryl Fordyce[27] Northern Ireland Northern Ireland
2021–present Andrew Jean-Baptiste[27] Haiti Haiti

Records[]

Year-by-year[]

Season League Playoffs CC Continental Average
attendance 		Top goalscorer(s)
Div League Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Pos. Name Goals
2019[28] 1 CPL 28 8 4 16 30 52 –22 28 1.00 6th DNQ R2 DNQ 5,335 Canada Marco Bustos 7
2020 CPL 7 2 2 3 8 9 –1 8 1.14 6th DNQ N/A Eight players 1
2021 CPL 28 10 5 13 38 36 +2 35 1.25 5th QF New Zealand Moses Dyer 9

1. Average attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league season, league playoffs, Canadian Championship, CONCACAF League, and other competitive continental matches.

All-time most appearances[]

As of September 6, 2020[29]
# Name Nation Career at club Games Played
CPL Cup Int'l Total
1 Diego Gutiérrez  Canada 2019–2020 30 1 0 31
Dylan Carreiro  Canada 2019–2020 30 1 0 31
3 Raphael Ohin  Ghana 2019–present 27 2 0 29
4 Marco Bustos  Canada 2019 25 2 0 27
5 Skylar Thomas  Canada 2019 22 1 0 23
Louis Béland-Goyette  Canada 2019 21 2 0 23
7 Jordan Murrell  Canada 2019 20 2 0 22
Tyler Attardo  Canada 2019 20 2 0 22
9 Adam Mitter  England 2019 20 1 0 21
10 Martín Arguiñarena  Uruguay 2019 18 2 0 20

Note: Bold indicates active player

References[]

  1. ^ "Valour Football Club". Valour FC. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  2. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (May 6, 2017). "Canadian Premier League unanimously ratified by CSA". Waking the Red. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  3. ^ Friesen, Paul (May 12, 2017). "New soccer league could work here". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Golby, Travis (May 7, 2017). "Winnipeg scores spot in Canadian pro soccer league". CBC News. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  5. ^ "The CanPL Hub on Twitter". Twitter. May 18, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  6. ^ McIsaac, Greg (June 6, 2018). "Valour FC Joins Canadian Premier League". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  7. ^ "Winnipeg entry in the Canadian Premier League to be called Valour FC". National Post. June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "Rob Gale named inaugural Head Coach & GM". Valour FC. June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  9. ^ Jaques, John (September 23, 2021). "Valour FC Fires Rob Gale, Names Phillip Dos Santos As New Head Coach". Northern Tribune. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "Stadium Profile". valourfc.canpl.ca. Valour FC. June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  11. ^ "Investors Group Field costs balloon to $203.5M". CBC News. September 23, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  12. ^ "Stadium History". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  13. ^ "Winnipeg entry in the Canadian Premier League to be called Valour FC". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Emblem Inspiration". valourfc.canpl.ca. Valour FC. June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  15. ^ "Valour FC announced as fourth CanPL team". The CanPL Hub. June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  16. ^ "Valour FC Elite Girls". valourfc.canpl.ca. Valour FC. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  17. ^ "Meet Valour FC's mascot". Valour FC. canpl.ca. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  18. ^ Sawatzky, Mike (April 30, 2019). "Eager soccer fans will ensure Red River Rising all season long". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  19. ^ Sawatzky, Mike (May 4, 2019). "Soccer fans revved about Valour FC debut". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  20. ^ "Roster". Valour FC. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  21. ^ "Stewardship". valourfc.canpl.ca. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  22. ^ "Technical Staff". valourfc.canpl.ca. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  23. ^ Jacques, John (January 12, 2022). "Valour FC Adds Jay Bhindi To Coaching Staff". Northern Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Valour FC names Jordan Murrell, Skylar Thomas as inaugural captains". canpl.com. Canadian Premier League. April 24, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  25. ^ "Valour's Murrell apologizes for red card incident, steps down as captain". canpl.com. Canadian Premier League. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  26. ^ "Valour FC parts ways with Canadian midfielder Dylan Carreiro". canpl.ca. Canadian Premier League. October 17, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  27. ^ a b "'My heart was pounding': Valour FC reveal Jean-Baptiste & Fordyce as 2021 captains". canpl.ca. Canadian Premier League. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  28. ^ "Canadian Premier League". Canadian Premier League 2019 Standings. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  29. ^ "Valour FC Stats and History". FBRef. Retrieved July 14, 2021.

External links[]

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