The Canadian Premier League has awarded an expansion side to SixFive Sports & Entertainment in Vancouver. The league is set to formally announce the move on Wednesday morning. The ninth club will start play in 2023 and will be based in a yet-to-be-named municipality in the Greater Vancouver area. Transfermarkt understands that several markets are being discussed but that two locations are currently the favorites to land the team and build the city’s first soccer-specific stadium, which could become an important part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup infrastructure.
“BC has the second-largest provincial soccer association in Canada with a lot of future young soccer stars in the making,” CPL commissioner David Clanachan said to Transfermarkt. “A CPL club will continue to grow the soccer industry that has provides roles for administrators, sport science and physiotherapy professionals, along with marketers, operations staff, coaches, referees while also allowing for commercial cooperation and partnerships.”
SixFive is a Canadian-based investment fund led by financier and Knightsbridge Capital owner Dean Shillington and the Pacific FC owners and former Bundesliga players Josh Simpson and Rob Friend. The two former Canadian national team players run the Starlight Investment group, which has been fundamental in both establishing Pacific FC on Vancouver Island and turning the club into one of the best teams in the CPL.
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25. Russell Teibert – Vancouver Whitecaps – €1 million
Expansion: “Excited to bring the Canadian Premier League to Vancouver”
With the expansion to Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia will receive a second team and provide a natural rival to Pacific FC, who are based in Langford, a suburb of Victoria. “We are excited to bring the Canadian Premier League to Vancouver,” SixFive co-founder Dean Shillington said. “We are currently speaking to several municipalities about a location and a potential new stadium for this club’s home pitch. Growing the league and investing in the Canadian game is our mission and we are thrilled to bring a new, fan-centric, and energizing CPL team to Vancouver.”
CanMNT Squad for the November qualifiers
Goalkeeper: Maxime Crépeau – Vancouver Whitecaps FC – Market value: $2.2m
Expansion to Vancouver also means that for the first time the league will be operating in a market already occupied by Major League Soccer. “We’re not,” Clanachan said when asked whether he was worried about having to compete with the Vancouver Whitecaps. “The Whitecaps are part of Major League Soccer. The Canadian Premier League is Canada’s Tier 1 domestic men’s professional soccer league with teams from coast to coast. The focus of the CPL is to continue to grow in markets that are suitable for our fan base.”
