Vancouver Whitecaps
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- This is a page on both the current Vancouver soccer club Whitecaps F.C. and the former North American Soccer League franchise, the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Template:Football club infobox The Vancouver Whitecaps (officially Whitecaps F.C.) are a Canadian professional soccer team, which currently plays in the USL First Division (formerly the A-League) of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), the largest system of national soccer leagues in North America. They play at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia. The team was originally known as the Vancouver 86ers of both the A-League and, prior to that, the now-defunct Canadian Soccer League (CSL). The Whitecap colors are white, and blue.
History
The original Vancouver Whitecaps were founded in 1974 and during the 1970s and 1980s played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Whitecaps achieved good success, winning the 1979 Soccer Bowl for Vancouver's only major-sport championship. The Whitecaps of that era included international players such as Peter Beardsley and Alan Ball. Due to the demise of the NASL, in 1984 the Whitecaps, along with many other teams in the NASL, were forced to fold.
In 1986, a professional soccer team was again launched in Vancouver, the Vancouver 86ers -- so named because of both the year of the team's founding and to commemorate Vancouver's hosting of the World's Fair Expo '86 in that year. The 86ers played in the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) winning 4 straight CSL Championships (1988-1991) until that league too folded, at which point the team joined the American Professional Soccer League (A-League).
In 2001, the team reverted back to the old Vancouver Whitecaps moniker (signifying both the 'white caps' of the nearby mountains, and the waves of the Pacific Ocean), and in 2003 the name was again changed, albeit only slightly, to Whitecaps F.C. which encompasses the men's, women's, and youth development teams within the organization.
The Fans
The two biggest supporters' groups are the Southsiders (so named for the south end of the field where they congregate), and the Blue and White Brigade (who congregate in the grandstand), both of whom often chant and sing. The Southsiders are something of a tradition at Swangard Stadium and are easily the most vocal and loyal component of the Whitecaps' support base.
External links
- Vancouver Whitecaps Official Site (http://www.whitecapssoccer.com/)
- 'United Whitecaps' Whitecaps supporters resource page (http://www.geocities.com/unitedwhitecaps)
- Southsiders homepage (http://www.vancouversouthsiders.com)