Valour FC is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, which competes in the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned through the Winnipeg Football Club.

History

On May 6, 2017, Winnipeg was one of two cities accepted by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

for professional club membership when the

was unanimously approved. It was confirmed that

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

clubs the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

were behind the ownership groups. Wade Miller, CEO of the Winnipeg Football Club, was named as the club's president. In May 2018, it was reported that the club would be called Valour FC. On June 6, 2018 the club was officially unveiled as the fourth team to join the

. As well as confirming its place in the league for the 2019 launch season, the club also revealed its crest, colours and branding. On June 26, the club named Rob Gale as the first head coach and general manager. In the overall standings, Valour ranked 7th of 7 teams in 2019, 6th of 8 teams in 2020, and 5th of 8 teams in 2021. On September 23, 2021, while in 5th place, Valour FC sacked head coach Rob Gale and named Phillip Dos Santos as his replacement.

Stadium

The club plays its home games at Princess Auto Stadium, a 33,234-seat

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

stadium. The stadium opened in 2013 on the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

campus next to University Stadium. The stadium is also used by the

and the University of Manitoba Bisons

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team.

Crest and colours

The club's identity is heavily linked to the story of Winnipeg's Valour Road, and named to recognize Corporal Leo Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland, who all lived on the same street and received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for acts of bravery during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The letter "V" in the centre of the crest emulates a folded medal ribbon and also represents the meeting of the Red River and

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River ( ; ) is a long river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked ...

in Winnipeg. The right side of the "V" creates a "W" for Winnipeg, and the circle under the "V" is in the shape of the Victoria Cross medal. The wheat at the top of the crest represents Manitoba's agricultural industry. The official club colours are maroon, gold and black (branded by the club as "Valour maroon," "wheat gold," and "earth black"). These colours symbolize the ribbon of the

and the wheat fields and soil of the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

Youth

On August 8, 2018, Valour FC Elite Girls (formerly the Manitoba Blizzard) was founded to give girls in Winnipeg an opportunity to travel to college showcases in the U.S and Canada, while getting educated on the recruiting process. The team will be led by Head Coach Jim Zinko and Manager Trevor Kidd. Training begins in the fall, while the Valour FC Elite Girls competition season runs from late November into April.

Club culture

The club's mascot leans heavily on imagery of the Victoria Cross, being a lion named 'Vic'. He wears the club's colours on a t-shirt, shorts, and wristbands. Red River Rising Supporters group first met at Nicolino's Restaurant in January 2017, before a Winnipeg team was announced. The group met regularly in anticipation of an eventual Winnipeg team and now occupy section 144 at Princess Auto Stadium. The section is known as The Trench.

Players and staff

Roster

Current staff

Head coaches

Club captains

Records

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 () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

CONCACAF League The CONCACAF League was an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It was announced on 8 May 2017. The compet ...

, and other competitive continental matches.

All-time most appearances

Note: Bold indicates active player

All-time top scorers

Note: Bold indicates active player

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = background:#000000;; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #b9975b; , list1 = {{Valour FC squad {{Canadian Premier League {{Manitoba Sports Canadian Premier League teams Association football clubs established in 2017 Soccer clubs in Winnipeg 2017 establishments in Manitoba