Brian Reginald Gant (born April 23, 1952) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired

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 ...

player who spent nine seasons 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 ...

and played fifteen games with the Canada national team.

Player

Professional

After playing college soccer at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

, Gant signed with the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

of the

in 1974. After three seasons in Vancouver, he moved to the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

in 1977. He remained with the Timbers until they folded in 1982, playing a total of six outdoor and two indoor seasons with them.

International

Gant made 17 combined international ("A" and "B") appearances for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from 1973 and 1981. He played in two cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He also played for Canada in eight exhibition matches against club or select teams.

Coach

Since 1990, Gant has been a youth coach with

F.C. Portland FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

, a youth soccer club in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. He also coached girls' high school soccer at Catlin Gabel School in Portland, and as such was named District 1 Coach of the Year for 2003. Gant led the Catlin Gabel Eagles to 13 state championships, 11 consecutively from 1994 to 2004.

Personal

Brian's brother

Bruce Gant Bruce Gant (born September 26, 1956) is a Canadian retired soccer player who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League. Gant attended Simon Fraser University, playing on the men's soccer team. He was a 1976 First Team NAIA All Amer ...

was also a professional and international soccer player. His brother-in-law Bill Sinclair was a teammate with the New Westminster Blues. His niece

Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward and captains both National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. An Olympic go ...

is a star Canadian player for

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

. His wife is a school teacher and sports coach.

Sources

*
''www.fcportland.org''''www.oregonlive.com''

References

1952 births Living people Men's association football defenders Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Soccer players from Portland, Oregon Soccer players from Vancouver Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's soccer players Simon Fraser University alumni Portland Timbers (1975–1982) players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players {{Canada-footy-bio-stub