Simcoe County Rovers Football Club is a Canadian semi-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 based in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, that plays in the League1 Ontario Premier men's and women's divisions. The Rovers won the 2023 League1 Ontario championship and qualified for the 2024 Canadian Championship. The Rovers played their first season in League1 Ontario in 2022.

History

The club was founded in 2021, by former Canadian national team player

Julian de Guzman Julian Bobby de Guzman (born March 25, 1981) is a Canadian soccer executive and former professional player and coach. De Guzman was the first Canadian to play in the Spanish La Liga. While playing in Spain, he was voted 2007–08 Deportivo La ...

, Peter Raco, and the Barrie Soccer Club under the name FC Barrie, who had initially been part of the group forming

1812 FC Barrie 1812 FC Barrie (also known as 1812 FC) was a Canadian semi-professional soccer club that played in League1 Ontario in 2021. In their sole season of operation, the club played home matches at Terry Fox Stadium in Brampton, Ontario. The team was ...

, before departing to form their own team. On July 6, 2021, the club was officially unveiled under the name Simcoe County Rovers FC as a joint partnership between Raco and de Guzman. In August 2021, it was announced that Canadian national team player Cyle Larin was joining the club as a co-owner; in December 2021, fellow Canadian national team player

Doneil Henry Doneil Jor-Dee Ashley Henry (born April 20, 1993) is a Canadian professional soccer player who currently plays for Minnesota United of Major League Soccer and the Canada national team. Club career Early career Henry's parents, Beverly and M ...

was announced as another co-owner. In January 2022, Canadian women's team player

Janine Beckie Janine Elizabeth Beckie (born August 20, 1994) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Portland Thorns FC and the Canada national team. She previously played for Sky Blue FC, the Houston Das ...

also joined the ownership group. In April 2022,

Atiba Hutchinson Atiba Hutchinson (born 8 February 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder and captains both Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and the Canada national team. While playing in Denmark he won the Danish Super Liga Player o ...

also joined the ownership group. Since its formation, the team has been affiliated with youth clubs Barrie SC and Aurora FC (who previously operated a team in League1 Ontario until 2020), and Orangeville-based school

Athlete Institute The Athlete Institute is an athletic centre located in Mono, Ontario. It is made up of two facilities, the training centre and the fieldhouse. The institute is home to The Orangeville Prep Basketball Academy, who compete in the Ontario Scholastic ...

. On October 21, 2021, it was announced that the club was officially joining both the

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

and female divisions of League1 Ontario for 2022, acquiring the license of Aurora FC, who did not play in 2021 and joined the Rovers as an affiliate club. Both teams played their debut matches on April 24 against

Blue Devils FC Blue Devils Football Club (formerly known as Oakville Blue Devils FC) is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakville, Ontario. The senior men's and women's teams currently compete in League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. History ...

, with the women winning 3–0 and the men drawing 1–1. In 2022, the men's reserve team won the League1 Ontario U21 Reserve Division. In 2023, the men finished the regular season in second place, earning their first home playoff game, where they defeated Vaughan Azzurri in the semi-finals, in front of over 1,200 fans. In the championship final, they defeated

Scrosoppi FC Scrosoppi FC is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Milton, Ontario that plays in League1 Ontario. The club is named after St. Luigi Scrosoppi, who is the patron saint of footballers. History The club was founded in 2020, partne ...

to win the League1 Ontario title, thereby qualifying for the 2024 Canadian Championship. Over 600 travelling supporters attended the League1 Ontario final, marking a League1 Canada traveling supporters record. On April 24, 2024, the club made their

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 ...

debut, where they were defeated 5-0 by

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

, with over 2000 estimated Rovers fans having purchased tickets and attending the match.

Players, staff, and ownership

Men's roster

Coaching staff

Owners

Rovers Sports and Entertainment Group (RSEG) owns the Simcoe County Rovers Football Club. RSEG is made up of current and former Canadian National team players, as well as others. The ownership group includes

, Peter Raco, Kosi Stobbs, Will Devellis, Jason Melbourne, David Zbar, Steve Mantzouranis, as well as Canadian national team players

, Cyle Larin, and

Executives

Seasons

Men

Women

Honours

Senior * League1 Ontario **Champions (1):

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

*Trent Severn Cup **Winners (2): 2022, 2023 Reserves * League1 Ontario U-21 Reserve Division **Champions (1): 2022

Notable players

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

Men

Women

Club records

Below are current record holders for the club.

Men

Women

References

{{Barrie Soccer clubs in Ontario League1 Ontario teams Association football clubs established in 2021 Sport in Barrie Sport in Simcoe County