2023 Vancouver FC season explained

Club:	Vancouver FC
Season:	2023
Manager:	Afshin Ghotbi
Chairman:	Rob Friend
Stadium:	Willoughby Community Park Stadium
League:	Canadian Premier League
League Result:	7th
Cup1:	Canadian Championship
Cup1 Result:	Preliminary round
League Topscorer:	Shaan Hundal Gabriel Bitar (6 each)
Mgrtitle:	Coach
Chrtitle:	President
Nextseason:	2024
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Average Attendance:
Highest Attendance:	6,177 vs. Cavalry FC (May 7)
Lowest Attendance:	2,099 vs. HFX Wanderers (September 23)
Largest Win:	2–0 vs. Forge FC (Home, June 20, CPL)
Largest Loss:	0–5 vs. Atlético Ottawa (Home, May 13, CPL)

The 2023 Vancouver FC season was the first season in the history of Vancouver FC.^[1] In addition to the Canadian Premier League, the club competed in the Canadian Championship.^[2]

For their inaugural season, Vancouver FC appointed Afshin Ghotbi as the club's new head coach on November 2, 2022.^[3]

Current squad

As of September 5, 2023

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (Age)	Previous club
Goalkeepers
1	Callum Irving		GK	December 31, 2023	Pacific FC
21	Jeremy Zielinski		GK	December 31, 2023	Hawaii Pacific Sharks
Defenders
2			RB	December 31, 2023	Toronto FC
3	Rocco Romeo		CB	December 31, 2023	Valour FC
4	Ibrahim Bakare		CB	December 31, 2023	Cheshunt F.C.
12	Tyler Crawford		LB	December 31, 2023	Michigan State Spartans
20	Anthony White		CB	December 31, 2023	Toronto Varsity Blues
25	James Cameron		RB	December 31, 2023	Unity FC
Midfielders
6	Renan Garcia		CM	December 31, 2023	Comercial
8	Nima Moazeni Zadeh		CM / AM	December 31, 2023	Capilano Blues
11	Gabriel Bitar		AM / CF	December 31, 2023	FC Edmonton
13	Vasco Fry		CM	December 31, 2023	Whitecaps FC 2
14	Nicky Gyimah		RW	December 31, 2023	Slough Town
16	Elliot Simmons		CM	December 31, 2023	Cavalry FC
17	Min-jae Kwak		LW	December 31, 2023	Syracuse Pulse
19	Mikaël Cantave		AM / CF	December 31, 2023	Cavalry FC
24	Lennon Thompson		CM	December 31, 2023	Unity FC
26	Taryck Tahid		AM / CF	December 31, 2023	VanCity Pro FA
33	Ivan Mejia		CM	December 31, 2023	TSS FC Rovers
Forwards
7	Nathaniel St. Louis		CF	December 31, 2023	UAB Blazers
9	Alejandro Díaz		FW	December 31, 2023	Sogndal
10	Shaan Hundal		CF	December 31, 2023	Inter Miami CF II
15	Mouhamadou Kane		CF	December 31, 2023	York United
18	Ameer Kinani		CF	December 31, 2023	TMU Bold

Staff

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Player	From club	Fee/notes	Date	Source
			Pacific FC	Free		^[4]
			Cavalry FC	Free		^[5]
			York United	Undisclosed		^[6]
			Simcoe County Rovers	Free		^[7]
			UAB Blazers	Free		^[8]
			Valour FC	Free		^[9]
			FC Edmonton	Free		^[10]
			FC Edmonton	Free		^[11]
			Inter Miami CF II	Free		^[12]
			Michigan State Spartans	Free		^[13]
			Hawaii Pacific Sharks	Free		^[14]
			Cal Poly Pomona Broncos	Free
			Capilano Blues	Free
			CF Montréal Academy	Free		^[15]
			Guadalajara	Free		^[16]
			Toronto FC	Free		^[17]
			Slough Town	Free		^[18]
			Syracuse Pulse	Free
			Cheshunt F.C.	Free		^[19]
			Toronto Varsity Blues	Selected 1st overall in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft, signed a Standard Player Contract	March 22, 2023	^[20]
			TMU Bold	Selected 2nd overall in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft, signed a CPL-U SPORTS contract	March 22, 2023
		align=Robe, Emmanuel	Emmanuel Robe	Romford F.C.	Free		^[21]
		align=Cameron, James	James Cameron	Unity FC	Signed to a development contract, later converted to an Exceptional Young Talent contract		^[22] ^[23]
		align=Thompson, Lennon	Lennon Thompson	Unity FC	Signed to a development contract
		align=Jamshidi, Kourosh	Kourosh Jamshidi	Unity FC	Signed to a development contract
		align=Tahid, Taryck	Taryck Tahid	VanCity Pro FA	Free		^[24]
		align=Cantave, Mikaël	Mikaël Cantave	Cavalry FC	Free		^[25]
		align=Garcia, Renan	Renan Garcia	Comercial	Free		^[26]
		align=Mejia, Ivan	Ivan Mejia	TSS FC Rovers	Free		^[27]

Loans in

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
		align=Mares, Cristian	Cristian Mares	Club Puebla	Season-long loan		^[28]
		align=Schneider, Trevor	Trevor Schneider	Altitude FC	Short-term relief player
		align=Díaz, Alejandro	Alejandro Díaz	Sogndal	One year loan		^[29]
		align=Fry, Vasco	Vasco Fry	Whitecaps FC 2	Loaned until end of season		^[30]

Draft picks

Vancouver FC selected the following players in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft.^{[31] [32]} Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.

Round	Selection	Pos.	Player	Nationality	University
1	1	DF	Anthony White		Toronto
1	2	FW	Ameer Kinani		TMU

Out

Transferred out

No.	Pos.	Player	To club	Fee/notes	Date	Source
		align=Mares, Cristian	Cristian Mares	Club Puebla	Loan terminated
19		align=Henry, Maël	Maël Henry	Cavalry FC
13		align=Robe, Emmanuel	Emmanuel Robe		Contract terminated by mutual consent
10		align=Sandoval, Gael	Gael Sandoval	UdeG	Contract terminated by mutual consent
5		align=Martínez, Eugene	Eugene Martínez		Contract terminated by mutual consent
23		align= John-Wentworth, Kahlil	Kahlil John-Wentworth		Contract terminated by mutual consent
22		align= Simmons, Marcus	Marcus Simmons	Valletta F.C.			^[33]

Competitions

Matches are listed in Langley local time: Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7)

Canadian Premier League

See main article: 2023 Canadian Premier League season.

Matches

Canadian Championship

See main article: article and 2023 Canadian Championship.

Statistics

Appearances and goals

|-! colspan="10" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers |-! colspan="10" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders |-! colspan="10" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders |-! colspan="10" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards

Goalscorers

width=15		width=15		width=15		width=15		width=145	Name	width=80	CPL	width=80	Canadian Championship	width=80	Total
1	10	FW		Shaan Hundal	6	0	6
	11	MF		Gabriel Bitar	6	0	6
3	19	MF		Mikaël Cantave	4	0	4
4	26	FW		Taryck Tahid	3	0	3
5	9	FW		Alejandro Díaz	2	0	2
6	6	MF		Renan Garcia	1	0	1
	10	MF		Gael Sandoval	1	0	1
	13	MF		Vasco Fry	1	0	1
	17	MF		Min-jae Kwak	1	0	1
	18	FW		Ameer Kinani	1	0	1
	25	DF		James Cameron	1	0	1
Own Goals					1	0	1
Totals					28	0	28

Clean sheets

width=15		width=15		width=15		width=15		width=145	Name	width=80	CPL	width=80	Canadian Championship	width=80	Total
1	1	GK		Callum Irving	5	0	5
Totals					5	0	5

Disciplinary record

			Player	CPL			Canadian Championship			Total
1	GK		Callum Irving	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2	DF		Kadin Chung	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
3	DF		Rocco Romeo	6	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	1
4	DF		Ibrahim Bakare	5	0	0	1	0	0	6	0	0
5	DF		Eugene Martínez	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1
6	MF		Renan Garcia	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
7	FW		Nathaniel St. Louis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF		Nima Moazeni Zadeh	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
9	FW		Alejandro Díaz	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	FW		Shaan Hundal	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
10	MF		Gael Sandoval	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
11	MF		Gabriel Bitar	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
12	DF		Tyler Crawford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	MF		Vasco Fry	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0
13	FW		Emmanuel Robe	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
14	MF		Nicky Gyimah	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
15	FW		Mouhamadou Kane	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF		Elliot Simmons	3	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0
17	MF		Min-jae Kwak	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
18	FW		Ameer Kinani	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1
19	MF		Maël Henry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF		Mikaël Cantave	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
20	DF		Anthony White	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
22	MF		Marcus Simmons	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
23	DF		Kahlil John-Wentworth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	MF		Lennon Thompson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
25	DF		James Cameron	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
26	MF		Taryck Tahid	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
31	GK		Jeremy Zielinski	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF		Ivan Mejia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW		Kourosh Jamshidi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals				59	0	3	2	0	0	61	0	3

Honours

Canadian Premier League Awards

The Canadian Premier League Awards took place on October 26 in Hamilton.^[34]

Monthly Awards

!Month!Name!Award!Source

May	Callum Irving	Goalkeeper of the Month	^[36]

Team of the Week

The Gatorade Team of the Week was selected by the CPL's Kristian Jack and OneSoccer's Oliver Platt.

!Week!Name!Source

scope=row style=text-align:center	1	Callum Irving	^[37]
2	Callum Irving (2) Rocco Romeo Gabriel Bitar Shaan Hundal	^[38]
3	Kadin Chung	^[39]
4	Ibrahim Bakare	^[40]
6	Tyler Crawford Min-jae Kwak	^[41]
7	Eugene Martínez	^[42]
8	T.J. Tahid	^[43]
11	Callum Irving (3) Anthony White	^[44]
13	Rocco Romeo (2)	^[45]
17	James Cameron	^[46]
19	Gabriel Bitar (2)	^[47]
20	Gabriel Bitar (3)	^[48]
22	James Cameron (2) Gabriel Bitar (4) Mikaël Cantave	^[49]

External links

• Official site

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2 November 2022 . 'This market is ready for something different': Vancouver FC owner Rob Friend on the vision behind the CPL's newest club . 13 January 2023 . Canadian Premier League.
2. Web site: 3 November 2023 . Canadian Championship welcomes League1 BC as new entrant for 2023 . 13 January 2023 . Canada Soccer . en-CA.
3. Web site: November 2, 2022 . 'It's a way of life': Vancouver FC coach Afshin Ghotbi reflects on passion, unifying power of soccer . March 29, 2023 . Canadian Premier League.
4. Web site: Vancouver FC announces goalkeeper Callum Irving as first-ever signing . Canadian Premier League. December 14, 2022 . December 14, 2022.
5. Web site: Vancouver FC Adds Free Agent Elliot Simmons . Northern Tribune . December 21, 2022 . December 21, 2022.
6. Web site: Vancouver FC signs forward Mamadou Kane . Canadian Premier League. December 22, 2022 . December 22, 2022.
7. Web site: Vancouver FC Adds Rovers Left-Back John-Wentworth . Northern Tribune. January 12, 2023 . January 12, 2023.
8. Web site: Vancouver FC Signs Nathaniel St. Louis . Northern Tribune. January 13, 2023 . January 13, 2023.
9. Web site: Vancouver FC signs Canadian defender Rocco Romeo . Canadian Premier League . January 16, 2023 . January 16, 2023.
10. Web site: Vancouver FC add Canadian talent Gabriel Bitar . Canadian Premier League . January 18, 2023 . January 18, 2023.
11. Web site: Vancouver FC sign fullback Marcus Simmons . Canadian Premier League . January 25, 2023 . January 25, 2023.
12. Web site: Shaan Hundal returns to CPL with Vancouver FC . Canadian Premier League . January 31, 2023 . January 31, 2023.
13. Web site: Vancouver FC Signs Left-Back Tyler Crawford To Pro Deal . Northern Tribune . February 2, 2023 . February 2, 2023.
14. Web site: Vancouver FC signs trio out of open trials . Canadian Premier League . February 23, 2023 . February 23, 2023.
15. Web site: Vancouver FC Adds Mael Henry . Northern Tribune . February 28, 2023 . February 28, 2023.
16. Web site: Vancouver FC land marquee signing in Gael Sandoval . Canadian Premier League . March 1, 2023 . March 1, 2023.
17. Web site: Kadin Chung returns to CPL with hometown Vancouver FC . Canadian Premier League . March 6, 2023 . March 6, 2023.
18. Web site: Vancouver FC add international wingers Nicky Gyimah and Min-jae Kwak . Canadian Premier League . March 8, 2023 . March 8, 2023.
19. Web site: Centre-back Ibrahim Bakare joins Vancouver FC . Canadian Premier League . March 10, 2023 . March 10, 2023.
20. Web site: Vancouver FC sign top two 2023 CPL-U SPORTS Draft picks . Canadian Premier League . March 22, 2023 . March 22, 2023.
21. Web site: Vancouver FC add striker Emmanuel Robe . Canadian Premier League. April 14, 2023. April 14, 2023.
22. Web site: Ghotbi Adds James Cameron, Others To Vancouver FC . Northern Tribune. May 3, 2023. May 3, 2023.
23. Web site: Vancouver FC signs another local star in James Cameron . Vancouver FC. July 20, 2023. July 20, 2023.
24. Web site: Vancouver FC announce signing of youngest player in CPL history Taryck Tahid . Canadian Premier League. May 6, 2023. May 6, 2023.
25. Web site: Vancouver FC acquire Cantave from Cavalry FC; Henry transferred from VFC to Cavs . Canadian Premier League. June 29, 2023. June 29, 2023.
26. Web site: Vancouver FC brings on a guiding hand in Renan Garcia . Vancouver FC. July 13, 2023. July 13, 2023.
27. Web site: Vancouver FC adds Ivan Mejia to their roster . Vancouver FC. August 5, 2023. August 5, 2023.
28. Web site: Club Puebla Loans Mares To Vancouver FC . Northern Tribune. February 28, 2023. February 28, 2023.
29. Web site: Diaz on loan to Vancouver FC. Sogndal Football. July 7, 2023. July 7, 2023.
30. Web site: Vancouver FC adds midfielder Vasco Fry on loan. Canadian Premier League. August 3, 2023. August 3, 2023.
31. Web site: 15 December 2022 . 2023 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Breakdown of all 16 selections . 13 January 2023 . Canadian Premier League.
32. Web site: 15 December 2022 . Vancouver FC select White, Kinani as club's first-ever CPL-U SPORTS Draft picks . 13 January 2023 . Canadian Premier League.
33. Web site: From Vancouver To Valletta: Marcus Simmons Inks Deal In Malta . Northern Tribune . September 5, 2023 . September 5, 2023.
34. Web site: Jacques . John . May 19, 2024 . 2023 CPL Awards Round Up: Cavalry Dominates The Show . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027021611/https://northerntribune.ca/2023-canadian-premier-league-awards-winners/ . October 27, 2023 . October 27, 2023 . Northern Tribune.
35. Web site: October 17, 2023 . Cameron, De Brienne, Poku nominated for Best Canadian U-21 Player Award . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231017165514/https://canpl.ca/article/cameron-de-brienne-poku-nominated-for-best-canadian-u-21-player-award . October 17, 2023 . May 19, 2024 . Canadian Premier League.
36. 1654516455835090945 . CPLsoccer . After leading the league in saves during his first month with expansion side @vanfootballclub, @CallumIrving is the Canadian Premier League Goalkeeper of the Month for April 2023, presented by @AllstateCanada! . Canadian Premier League . May 5, 2023 . May 19, 2024.
37. Web site: 2023-04-17 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 1) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
38. Web site: Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 2) . May 20, 2024 . Canadian Premier League.
39. Web site: 2023-05-01 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 3) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
40. Web site: May 8, 2023 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 4) . May 20, 2024 . Canadian Premier League.
41. Web site: 2023-05-23 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 6) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
42. Web site: 2023-05-29 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 7) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
43. Web site: 2023-06-05 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 8) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
44. Web site: 2023-06-26 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 11) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
45. Web site: 2023-07-10 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 13) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
46. Web site: 2023-08-08 . Gatorade Team of the Week 2023 (Week 17) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
47. Web site: 2023-08-21 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 19) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
48. Web site: 2023-08-28 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 20) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.
49. Web site: 2023-09-11 . Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 22) . 2024-05-20 . Canadian Premier League.