The 1968 Vancouver Royal Canadians season was the second season in the history of the Vancouver Royal Canadians

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club. The club played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

(NASL) at Empire Stadium in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Following the 1967 season, the USA and the FIFA-blacklisted National Professional Soccer League merged to form the

. The merger meant that teams from the predecessor leagues competing against each other in the same markets needed to be moved, combined, or folded. As part of this process, George Fleharty bought the Vancouver Royal Canadians from E.G. Eakins and folded his NPSL team, the

San Francisco Golden Gate Gales The San Francisco Golden Gate Gales were an American soccer team that played in the United Soccer Association (USA). The team was based in San Francisco, California and played their home games at the Candlestick Park. The team folded when the U ...

. The new owner shortened the name to Vancouver Royals and chose player-coach

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...

over future England coach

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

, the previous owner's new manager for the Vancouver Royals; he resigned when offered the demotion to assistant coach. The 1968 Vancouver Royals' roster was put together without the preparation or advantage of importing an entire team. A significant amount of the team was recruited by Bobby Robson including two brothers from Hong Kong playing in England. Ferenc Puskás also brought in several Europeans, a few players with connections to the Golden Gate Gaels, as well as at least two local players from local leagues. A few foreign players settled in Vancouver after their playing careers including

Peter Dinsdale Peter Dinsdale (19 October 1938 – 5 June 2004) was a football player and coach. He played 239 times for Huddersfield Town and was head coach of the Canadian national soccer team for qualifying for the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Player Born in ...

. The Vancouver Royals had the third highest average attendance in the league at 6,197. The club folded after the 1968 season as the NASL contracted from seventeen clubs to five for the 1969 NASL season. The five remaining teams were located roughly in the U.S. Midwest with one team on the east coast.

Coaches

Players

Num = Number, Pos = Position, Height in cm, Weight in kg, Apps = Appearances, G = Goals, A = Assists

Coaches

Players

Results

Standings

Results by round

Match results

See also

External links

References