HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional

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 in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. The club competes in the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

at the top of the

Canadian soccer league system The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), w ...

, and play their home matches at

Wanderers Grounds Wanderers Grounds is a sporting complex in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and home to Canadian Premier League professional soccer club HFX Wanderers FC. The grounds were originally part of the Halifax Commons. The land was used in the 1880s by the Halifa ...

History

In December 2016, Sports & Entertainment Atlantic owner Derek Martin met with

officials to discuss launching a franchise in Halifax. Martin pitched the idea of a pop-up stadium to Halifax City Councillors in March 2017, and approval was given three months later. On May 5, 2018, Halifax was one of four groups accepted by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ( ...

for professional club membership. HFX Wanderers FC was officially unveiled on May 25, 2018, as the third team to join the Canadian Premier League. As well as confirming their place in the league for the 2019 launch season, the club also revealed their crest, colours and branding. On July 28, 2018, HFX Wanderers FC fielded an Atlantic Selects team to play a friendly against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

's under-21 squad at Wanderers Grounds. The Atlantic Selects won on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

after a 2–2 score in regulation time. The official attendance was 4,809. They played their first league game on April 28, 2019, in 1–0 away loss to

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 201 ...

Stadium

The club plays their home games at

. The modular stadium opened with a capacity of 6,500 spectators. The stadium's design allows for it to be expanded as required for future growth.

Crest and colours

The shape of the crest takes inspiration from the

Halifax Citadel Citadel Hill is a hill that is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the English in 1749, and were referred to as Fort George—but only ...

, located near the club's stadium. The crest includes the

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada; it opened on April 2, 1955. The bridge is one of two suspension bridges linking the Halifax Peninsula to Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Mu ...

, which connects the

Halifax Peninsula The Halifax Peninsula is peninsula within the urban area of the Municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia. History The town of Halifax was founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations under the com ...

with Dartmouth, and an anchor to represent the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...

. Underneath the club's name reads the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

motto, ''Ar Cala, Ar Dachaigh, Ar n-Anam'', which translates to Our Harbour, Our Home, Our Soul. Scottish Gaelic is used to signify that Nova Scotia is one of the few places remaining where the language is still spoken. The crest was created by Canadian graphic designer Mark Guilherme based on consultation and feedback from meetings with supporters, Halifax city leaders and local residents. The official club colours are navy, grey, and cyan (branded by the club as "harbour blue," "naval grey," and "aqua ocean"). These colours symbolize the night sky, the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

, and the

Club culture

Supporters

The Kitchen - Halifax Wanderers (48174195702)

The first supporters group to lobby for a Halifax team to join the Canadian Premier League was founded in September 2016 under the name Wanderers SG. At the launch event to unveil HFX Wanderers' identity, supporters announced they were changing their name to Privateers 1882 in order for the club to continue the Wanderers name. The 1882 signifies the year of formation for the

Wanderers Amateur Athletic Club The Halifax Wanderers, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada were the amateur athletic teams of the ''Wanderers Amateur Athletic Club'', organized in 1882, and in existence until 1982. History The Club was founded by members of the Wanderer's Cri ...

, who previously competed at the

. 'Privateers' refers to the history of

privateering A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

in the region, as well as the popular regional song

Barrett's Privateers "Barrett's Privateers" is a modern folk song in the style of a sea shanty, written and performed by Canadian musician Stan Rogers, having been inspired after a song session with the Friends of Fiddler's Green at the Northern Lights Festival Bor� ...

Honours

**Runners-up:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Players and staff

Roster

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.

Out on loan

Current staff

Head coaches

Club captains

Record

Year-by-year

1. Average attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league season, league playoffs,

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

CONCACAF League The CONCACAF League was an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF as its second-tier continental competition. It was announced on 8 May 2017. The competition uses a knockout cup format with each round having two leg ...

, and other competitive continental matches.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = background:#052149;; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #00e2ff; , list1 = {{HFX Wanderers FC squad {{Canadian Premier League {{Nova Scotia Sports Association football clubs established in 2018 Canadian Premier League teams Sport in Halifax, Nova Scotia Soccer clubs in Nova Scotia 2018 establishments in Nova Scotia