Taking up the shield of Valour

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This article was published 11/06/2018 (2734 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s newest professional sports team will pay homage to the past while prepping the community for a future in soccer.

On June 6, representatives of the Winnipeg Football Club and the Canadian Premier League announced a new professional men’s soccer team for Winnipeg.

Named in memory of Winnipeg’s Pine Street boys, Valour FC is the latest addition to the Canadian Premier League, which will launch in spring 2019. The CPL is a Tier 1, Canadian Soccer Association, and FIFA-sanctioned soccer league with four teams announced to compete, including the HFX Wanderers (located in Halifax), York 9 FC (Toronto), and Cavalry FC (Calgary), and at least four more to be revealed in the coming weeks.

The name and crest, according to WFC chief executive officer Wade Miller, honours Cpl. Lionel Clarke, Sgt. Maj. Frederick Hall, and Lt. Robert Shankland, all of whom lived on Winnipeg’s Pine Street and were awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery in the First World War. Pine Street was later renamed Valour Road.

“Your Valour FC is truly Manitoban,” Miller said. “We know that our team and our supporters will proudly represent all the Valour FC crest stands for — courage, honour and pride.”

According to officials, the team’s logo is also a nod to Winnipeg’s most iconic settings. The V represents the meeting point of the Red River and Assiniboine River and is designed to incorporate a W, for Winnipeg. The arc of wheat at the top of the crest is meant to represent the province’s agriculture industry while the team’s colours — valour maroon, wheat gold, and earth black — make reference to the heritage of the prairies.

WFC will own and operate Valour FC, which will play out of Investors Group Field next spring. The regular season is expected to include about 28 games and the roster and coaching staff — yet to be announced — will be weighted heavily with local, Manitoba talent, Miller said.

“We’ve seen over the past four years through all of the women’s friendly matches, and the FIFA (Women’s) World Cup, just what this city, and this province… the passion it has for soccer,” Miller said.

“It is the time for us to give young Canadian soccer players the opportunity to play professional soccer in Canada. I look forward to seeing which Manitobans are on this pitch next year.”

CPL commissioner David Clanachan, the former chairman of Restaurant Brands International Canada and former chief operating officer of Tim Hortons Canada, said the league is “for Canadians, by Canadians,” and is making an effort to connect with minor soccer associations to establish an “inclusive” feeder system for the future.

“This is about developing kids. We need to create hometown heroes,” Clanachan said.  “We want to see young Canadians have a pathway and have a dream going forward about what they’re doing.”

Clanachan noted conversations about compensation for players are ongoing but anticipates that players will be employed full time. The league is also working with clubs to make sure local talent chooses to stay in Winnipeg. One incentive to play within the CPL, Clanachan said, is the possibility for teams such as Valour FC to potentially break into the CONCACAF Champions League, and maybe even the FIFA Club World Cup.

In the early years of the CPL, Clanachan said they are projecting attendance at 6,000 to 10,000 spectators per game, bolstered by the province’s large newcomer population and growing soccer community.

The average price of a ticket (and potentially a bite to eat at the stadium) will run between $20 and $30, he added.

“I think Winnipeg’s gonna do extremely well,” he said.

“I can’t imagine not wanting to be a part of this. It’s family affordable, for sure… when I look at this great stadium around me, I think how could you not want to watch soccer in this palace.”