Vancouver Island’s own Pacific FC was crowned Canadian Premier League Champions Sunday night as they defeated Forge FC in Hamilton 1-0.
Running on little sleep after a long flight back from Ontario, VP of Operations Brad Norris-Jones told CHEK News after three years the young talented team was ready.
“You take these 18 and 19-year-olds and finally they get their game together, they get our coach for the second year and he’s figured out how to win, it was our time,” he said.
Playing out of Langford’s Starlight Stadium, Pacific FC has had a strong year. Mayor Stewart Young said that’s not only good for his city but the entire island.
“It’s been great for Langford, it’s really put soccer on the map for the whole island, there are fans up and down the island, we’ve had great crowds all year long,” Young said.
And with this championship win, it’s expected those crowds will only grow bigger.
“I just talked to my ticketing team and the phones are ringing, people are excited and renewing tickets and buying season tickets,” said Norris-Jones.
It’s the first professional championship for a Victoria-area team since 1966 when the Victoria Maple Leafs won the Lester Patrick Cup and it comes at a time when Canadian soccer is on a roll.
“The Olympic gold medal for the women in Tokyo over the summer followed by the Canadian men now looking like they’ll qualify for the 2022 World Cup,” said Times Colonist sports reporter Cleve Dheensaw. “You know it’s all filtering down to kids watching this and being inspired to play the game.”
And fans will get a chance to celebrate with the Pacific FC champions in the New Year.
“We’re going to have a big parade and a party for them in January when they all come back,” said Young. “We’ll do it up right, Langford will put on a good show for everybody because this is pretty amazing.”
The win also means Pacific FC qualifies for the CONCACAF League next season and will get to play host to a team from Central America.
April Lawrence
