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York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 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 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
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
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 ...
. 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 ...
and plays its home games at
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
's
York Lions Stadium York Lions Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the Keele Campus of Toronto's York University in the former city of North York. It is home to the York Lions, the varsity teams of York University, the Toronto Arrows of Major League Rugby and Y ...
.


History

In December 2017, former
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
international Jimmy Brennan stepped down as executive director of Aurora FC and announced his intentions to take a role within the Canadian Premier League. In March 2018, it was revealed that Brennan had been named executive vice-president of York Sports & Entertainment back in January. The following day, it was revealed that the company's president Preben Ganzhorn named himself as president of an unknown entity called York9 FC, believed to be a
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 ...
franchise. On May 5, 2018, York Region 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. Greenpark Group, headed by
Carlo Baldassarra Carlo Baldassarra (; born 1939) is an Italian-Canadian businessman who founded homebuilder company Greenpark Group. Career and family Carlo Baldassarra was born in Italy, and immigrated to Canada in 1958 at the age of 19. Less than 10 years later ...
, was revealed as the owner of York9, with his son Mike as the chairman. Both Brennan and Ganzhorn were pictured at the Annual Meeting of the Members when the group was announced. York9 FC was officially unveiled on May 10, 2018, as the first 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. The club adopted the name York9 FC to represent the nine municipalities that make up York Region –
Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
East Gwillimbury East Gwillimbury is a town (lower-tier municipality) on the East Holland River in the upper-tier municipality the Regional Municipality of York. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area of southern Ontario, in Canada. It was formed by the amalgam ...
,
Georgina Georgina may refer to: Names *Georgina (name), a feminine given name Places Australia * Georgina, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland * Georgina Basin, a large sedimentary basin in Australia * Georgina River, a river ...
,
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
,
Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...
, Newmarket, Richmond Hill,
Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...
, and
Whitchurch-Stouffville Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...
. On July 27, 2018, York9 announced executive vice president of soccer operations Jimmy Brennan as the club's first head coach. In August, York9 fielded a York Region Soccer Association Selects team to compete in the U17 International Soccer Cup held at York Lions Stadium. The team beat
Juventus F.C. )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnelli ...
before losing to
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 ...
in the final. The team has been called "Y9" and "The Nine Stripes" by the media and the league. York9's first match was the inaugural CPL match at
Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...
on April 27, 2019, launching the
905 Derby The 905 Derby is a list of association football rivalries, soccer rivalry between Canadian Premier League clubs, Forge FC and York United FC, both based in Southern Ontario. The rivalry gets the "905" nickname from the 905 area code, which encomp ...
with a 1–1 draw, as
Ryan Telfer Ryan Telfer (born 4 March 1994) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a winger for USL Championship club Miami FC and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Club career Early career Born in Canada, Telfer was raised in Trini ...
scored the first goal in Canadian Premier League history. To determine 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 ( ...
's representative in the
CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...
, York9 played in the
2019 Canadian Championship The 2019 Canadian Championship was the twelfth edition of the Canadian Championship, contested from May 15 to September 25, 2019. Montreal Impact won their fourth Canadian Championship title (their tenth Voyageurs Cup) and earned a berth in the ...
competing for the
Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup (french: Coupe des Voyageurs) is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's nationa ...
. The team lost the quarterfinal to Montreal Impact after a 2–2 draw at home and a 1–0 loss at Montreal. York9 was expected to begin their second season in the Canadian Premier League in April 2020 but the season was delayed by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. During the postponement, the club sold young midfielder
Emilio Estevez Emilio Estevez (; born May 12, 1962) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen. Emilio Estevez started his career as an actor and is known for being a member of the acting Bra ...
to Dutch
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
side
ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...
, the first CPL player to be sold to a European top flight. On December 11, 2020, the club was rebranded as York United FC, adopting a new crest and colour scheme along with the name change. While the original club name exclusively targeted York Region, the new branding also represents the City of Toronto. In their first season as York United FC, the club finished 4th in the 2021 Canadian Premier League season. They were eliminated from the playoffs after a 3–1 loss to
Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...
. Following the season, head coach Jim Brennan's tenure at the club ended after it was announced November 23, 2021, that his contract would not be extended. He was replaced by
Martin Nash Martin Nash (born December 27, 1975) is a Canadian association football, soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of York United FC, York United of the Canadian Premier League. A five-time all-league selection in the USL ...
on December 21, 2021.


Stadium

York plays its home matches at
York Lions Stadium York Lions Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the Keele Campus of Toronto's York University in the former city of North York. It is home to the York Lions, the varsity teams of York University, the Toronto Arrows of Major League Rugby and Y ...
in
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
's
Keele Campus The Keele Campus is the main campus of York University in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It occupies roughly 1 square kilometre of land and is situated between Jane Street to the west, Keele Street to the east, Steeles Aven ...
in
York University Heights York University Heights, also known as Northwood Park, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Toronto's northernmost neighbourhoods, located along the northern boundary of Steeles Avenue in the former city of North York. The ...
, a neighbourhood of
North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...
,
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. Initially, the club had planned to use Alumni Field, on the same campus, while York Lions Stadium was being renovated for use at the end of the season. Before the start of the 2021 season, the stadium was renovated with a larger,
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
pitch and the removal of the athletic track which surrounded the playing surface. In 2018, the club announced plans to build a modular, wooden, 15,000-seat stadium within the next three years. , financing and location of the new stadium was yet to be determined. In March 2022,
Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...
announced plans to add an 8,000 seat
soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...
and adjoining training facilities in the northeast corner of their property in
Rexdale Rexdale is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located north-west of the central core, in the district of Etobicoke. Rexdale defines an area of several official neighbourhoods north of Highway 401 (Ontario), Highway 401 and east of Highway ...
,
Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
; this would be the presumed new home of York United and possibly house a future professional
women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the women's professional sports, professional level in multiple c ...
club.


Crest and colours

The club's namesake and crest pays homage to
The Queen's York Rangers la, celer et audax, lit=swift and bold , colors = Green and amethyst blue , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , march = "Braganza" , notable_commanders ...
, as well as Toronto and York Region's predecessors,
York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for th ...
and York County. The crest's shape is derived from that of The Queen's York Rangers, a
Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
regiment based in Toronto and York Region. A blue element on top of the shield symbolizes
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
, a body of water that rivers in York Region and Toronto flow into. The shield features a YU monogram and nine vertical stripes, a nod to the club's nickname "The Nine Stripes". A crown at the top of the shield represents Canada's monarchical history. A
trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
and a
maple leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...
are incorporated into the crown's design, with the former representing
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 ...
. The club's colours are dark green, dark blue, white, and gold, taken from the coat of arms of
York, Toronto York is a district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. The district had a recorded population of 145 ...
, a former city that was later amalgamated into the new City of Toronto in 1998. Unlike the majority of clubs in the CPL, York typically uses home kits that are primarily white.


Former crest and colours

The club used its original branding while it was known as York9 FC, between 2018 and 2020. The main feature of the crest's design was nine beams at the top of the crest, one for each municipality in York Region. The upward angle of the bars is a nod to the region's motto "Ontario's Rising Star". A white trillium at the base of the crest recognized Ontario, the province's floral emblem since 1937. The official club colours were light green, grey, and black (branded by the club as "electric green", "charcoal grey", and "black on black"). These colours symbolized the region's nature (in tandem with the club's environmental focus) and Black Creek.


Club culture

Much more so than other CPL teams, York is a club which relies heavily on data and analytics to make decisions.


Supporters

A supporters' group called Generation IX was present at the club's launch event. Prior to the team's second season in 2020, two new supporters' groups formed: a student supporters' group based out of York University called The Green Lions and a female-led supporters' group called Dames of York. Three new supporters' groups, Centre of the Universe, The Northern Corridor, and Eastenders 416, were formed in 2021.


Rivalries

York United has a geographic rivalry with
Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...
in nearby
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
. As both towns use the 905 area code, it was used to name the derby between the league's closest teams. On January 29, 2019, the Canadian Premier League announced that the inaugural match of the league was going to be a 905 Derby on April 27, 2019, in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.


Players and staff


Roster


Staff


Head coaches

Statistics include regular season and Canadian Championship matches.


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 (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.


All-time top scorers

Note: Bold indicates active player


All-time top assists

Note: Bold indicates active player


All-time most appearances

Note: Bold indicates active player


Single-season records

Note: Bold indicates active player


Awards


Canadian Premier League Awards


York United FC Fan Voted Awards


References


External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = background:#0d6a3a; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #89764e; , list1 = {{York United FC squad {{Canadian Premier League {{Ontario Sports {{Toronto Sports 2018 establishments in Ontario Association football clubs established in 2018 Soccer clubs in Toronto Canadian Premier League teams