Vancouver Rise FC

Vancouver Rise FC is a professional women's soccer club based in Vancouver, British Columbia that will compete in the Northern Super League, in the top flight of the Canadian soccer league system. Majority-owned by Vancouver Whitecaps co-owner Greg Kerfoot, the club is led by Sinead King, and managed by Stephanie Labbé. Its colours are teal, black, and gold, while its crest depicts the North Shore Mountains. Its home games will be played at a "smaller and more intimate" stadium – Swangard Stadium in Burnaby is one of the venues currently being considered by the club.

Alongside the Calgary Wild, the Rise were one of the first two clubs to join the Northern Super League, and are a spiritual successor to the Whitecaps' former women's team. The club was co-developed with the league itself, in an effort to retain female players from the Whitecaps' academy team, and provide equity between the organization's men's and women's programs. It will play its first season in 2025, as one of the league's six charter members.

History

The Vancouver Whitecaps, a club with a long history in Vancouver, first organized an amateur women's team that played twelve seasons in the USL W-League between 2001 and 2012. The team enjoyed consistent success, regularly topping the league's western conference, and winning two USLW titles in 2004 and 2006. The establishment of a professional women's league in the United States led to difficulties in retaining players however, and the Whitecaps ultimately folded the team. A Canada Soccer REX academy for women's soccer operated by the Whitecaps was later set up in 2015, with explorations into entering the National Women's Soccer League as an expansion franchise being undertaken in 2017 and 2018.

Unsuccessful negotiations with the NWSL, an expansion of the academy, and an entry into the semi-professional League1 British Columbia in 2022, provided an impetus for the Whitecaps to help establish a professional women's league in Canada as a way to retain elite female players trained in the academy. Greg Kerfoot, the Whitecaps' co-owner, also sought to prioritize equity between the organization's men's and women's programs by offering its female players a professional pathway. In December 2022, the Whitecaps and Calgary Foothills FC acquired the first two licences to run clubs in the Northern Super League, then tentatively known as Project Eight – a league they helped foster through the Whitecaps' general manager of its women's programs, Stephanie Labbé. Labbé and Sinead King were the new club's first two executive hires, and primarily directed the club's development through its formative years; which coincided with the retirement of Burnaby native Christine Sinclair from football in 2023–24, giving Sinclair an opportunity to acquire a minority ownership in the club during her final season of play. Its name, the "Vancouver Rise", and its branding was unveiled at an event celebrating the club's launch on August 26, 2024, hosted at the D/6 Bar & Lounge in Parq Vancouver.

Identity

Vancouver-based advertising agency Victory Creative Group designed the Vancouver Rise's branding, which employs the colours teal to represent the British Columbia mainland coastal forests, black to represent the Pacific Ocean, and gold to represent sunsets over the Pacific. The club name ''Rise'' is an allusion to the phrase " rise to the occasion", and is intended to evoke both "a beacon of empowerment and progress", and sunrises over the Cascade Range. Three snow-capped mountains, an allusion to the Vancouver Whitecaps' crest, are illustrated atop the Rise's crest, depicting the North Shore Mountains that overlook Vancouver's skyline. In particular, they represent Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, and Mount Seymour. A "bursting golden Sun" occupies the crest's base, representing the "rising stars" the club aspires to produce – its six rays referencing the charter members of the Northern Super League.

The Rise sought a relatable brand that reflected both the demographics and geography of Greater Vancouver, that "brings emotions and also has a deep tie" to the city. Along with "Vancouver Rise", the club had also registered the names "Vancouver Queens" and "Vancouver Summit" as trademarks with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. "Vancouver Breakers", one of the names of the Whitecaps' former women's team, was also considered. The use of gold in the club's colours was encouraged by Labbé, as a reminder of the Canadian national team's gold medal-winning performance at the 2020 Olympic football tournament, of which she was a part of.

Stadium

The Rise intend to play their home games at a "smaller and more intimate" stadium that would facilitate an average attendance of over 5,000. Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, the historic home ground of the Vancouver Whitecaps' predecessors, is one of the venues currently being considered. Though a tenancy at Metro Vancouver's primary rectangular sports stadium, the 54,500-capacity BC Place, has been ruled out by the club, it intends to occasionally play matches there.

Organization

Vancouver Whitecaps co-owner Greg Kerfoot holds a majority ownership in the club, though it operates with a degree of autonomy from the Whitecaps, including managing its own media relations. Alongside Kerfoot, Christine Sinclair holds a minority ownership. Former HSBC executive Sinead King serves as the club's president and chief business officer, while Stephanie Labbé, the general manager of the Whitecaps' women's programs and a former national team player, serves as the club's sporting director. The club's director of partnerships is Rachel Orris.

See also

* List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada
* List of soccer clubs in Canada
* Vancouver Angels

References

Sources
#
Citations

External links

Official website

Vancouver Rise FC
at the Northern Super League

{{British Columbia Sports

Rise FC, Vancouver
2022 establishments in British Columbia
Association football clubs established in 2022
Northern Super League teams
Rise FC, Vancouver