Rivers FC is a Canadian semi-professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

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, ...

that competes in

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada, which began play in May 2022. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British ...

History

The club was officially unveiled on November 5, 2021, as an inaugural license holder for the first season of the new semi-professional

in 2022. The club's name is derived from the

North Thompson River The North Thompson River is the northern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the toe of the Thompson Glacier in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mou ...

and

South Thompson River The South Thompson River is the southern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake at the town of Chase and flows appro ...

which converge in

. The club will field teams in both the male and female divisions, and the team is affiliated with

Thompson Rivers University Thompson Rivers University (commonly referred to as TRU) is a public teaching and research university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees and vocational training. Its main campus is in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, and its name c ...

, announcing that the head coaches of the men's and women's

Thompson Rivers WolfPack The TRU WolfPack are the athletic teams that represent Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. They were known as the UCC Sun Demons prior to the creation of the university in 2005. Teams WolfPack Varsity Clubs: * Bask ...

teams will serve as the head coaches for the Rivers male and female teams. The team is expected to serve as a good recruiting tool for the university, as well as to keep the school's players playing in the offseason. The club is expected to use both the TRU's

Hillside Stadium Hillside Stadium is a multi-purpose, fully lit stadium located next to Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. It is the home of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, Kamloops Broncos of the Canadian Junior Football League, and the Kaml ...

and McArthur Island Park as its home field. In December, they announced a relationship with youth club Thompson Okanagan FC to develop their player pathway. They also announced the formation of a reserve team, called Rivers FC II, that will play in the

Pacific Coast Soccer League The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past clubs from Washington and Oregon have competed. PCSL is considered to be British Columbia's premier summer league. The ...

. Their inaugural matches occurred on May 22, at home, against Altitude FC for both the men and women. In their debut matches, the men's team drew 1-1, while the women won their match 2-0, with a combined attendance of over 700 watching both matches.

Players

Current squad

Personnel

Seasons

Men

Women

Notable players

The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 BC team:

Men

Women

References

{{British Columbia Sports Soccer clubs in British Columbia

Rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Association football clubs established in 2021 2021 establishments in British Columbia