VANCOUVER WHITECAPS & MLS NEWS
David Norman developing his game in “fast-paced” Scottish Championship – Whitecaps FC
While the majority of Whitecaps FC players have entered the offseason, one up-and-coming player on the team has been earning increased competitive minutes on the pitch.
Timbers beat Sporting KC, advance to MLS Cup final – Sportsnet
Diego Valeri scored a pair of goals, including one in stoppage time, and Portland beat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 on Thursday night to advance to MLS Cup for the second time in four years.
Vermes: Sporting KC “accomplished a lot” despite falling short of MLS Cup – Sporting KC
Thursday night’s match presented itself with the opportunity Sporting KC were looking for all season long: One game, at home at Children’s Mercy Park, with a chance to go to MLS Cup.
RBNY 1-0 Atlanta: Defense sends Atlanta to MLS finals – NBC Sports
Tata Martino’s squad has stormed through the Major League Soccer season on two principles: possession and cutting edge. The playoffs are a completely different animal.
USMNT to hire Gregg Berhalter as head coach, ending months-long search for Bruce Arena replacement – CBS Sports
Berhalter, 45, has coached the Columbus Crew in the MLS since 2013 and is coming off a playoff exit at the hands of the New York Red Bulls in the conference semifinals. As the coach of the Crew, he compiled a record of 74-69-50, including an MLS Cup final appearance in 2015 where his team lost to the Portland Timbers.
Settled with FC Cincinnati, Fanendo Adi readying for his MLS return – MLS
“I had never heard of Cincinnati before,” Adi tells MLSsoccer.com. But that didn’t stop him. Adi didn’t need to know anything about the city, as he has been in this position before.
Reports linking Mario Balotelli to Union are false, Ernst Tanner says – Philly.com
In the last few days, reports surfaced in a few corners of the internet claiming that the Union have been talking with famous — indeed, notorious — striker Mario Balotelli. Those reports are false, Union sporting director Ernst Tanner told the Inquirer and Daily News on Thursday night.
GM Bezbatchenko opens up on year-end roster moves ahead of 2019 season – Toronto FC
A day after the club announced their roster decisions, Toronto FC Sr. Vice-President, Soccer Operations & General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko spoke about their implications as focus turns to the 2019 season.
Home from home: Mexico agree 4-year deal to play in Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium – Inside World Football
The Mexican football federation (FMF), which has long been touring the US with its national team, has agreed a deal with the Dallas Cowboys, MLS’ FC Dallas, and the Dallas Sports Commission to make the AT&T Stadium its official home in the US four the next four year.
Alan Kelly earns MLS Referee of the Year honor for third time – MLS
Alan Kelly is the 2018 MLS Referee of the Year, Major League Soccer and PRO announced on Friday morning.
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BC SOCCER NEWS
Kadin Chung returns to B.C. hungry to prove himself at Pacific FC – Canadian Premier League
Pacific FC unveiled local product Kadin Chung as its first player in club history on Thursday, making him part of the first batch of players in Canadian Premier League history.
Chilliwack’s Jordyn Huitema nominated for Canada Soccer award – Chilliwack Progress
Chilliwack FC grad Jordyn Huitema is one of eight female players nominated for Canada Soccer’s Canadian Youth International Player of the Year award.
VISL Division 1 Week 12 matches – BC Soccer Web
Friday night starts off with the battle of Saanich as Lakehill and Gorge meet up at Braefoot Park. Lakehill will look to carry on with their great result last week, and Gorge will try to get a w after a tough loss to Cowichan.
KYSE Executive Director Keith Liddiard Retires – BC Soccer Web
Friday, November 30th––is Keith Liddiard’s last day as the Executive Director of KYSA.
Academy Report: U-19s open Winter Showcase with 2-0 win – Whitecaps FC
Whitecaps FC U-19 Academy opened up the 2018 Winter Showcase with a 2-0 win versus MLS club rivals Colorado Rapids on Thursday.
Nominations open for Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards – Nanaimo Bulletin
Organizers hoping sports community will nominate deserving athletes, teams, coaches.
Cowichan United draws even with Prospect Lake – Cowichan Valley Citizen
Cowichan United played so well in their 2-2 tie with Prospect Lake on Sunday afternoon, head coach Tyler Hughes felt that even the opposing team wouldn’t have had a problem if his team had won.
BC Soccer hosts its second Technical Director Diploma Course – BCSA
Registration is now open for the BC Soccer Technical Director Diploma held at the FORTIUS Sport & Health Complex in Burnaby February 22-23, 2019.
Pacific FC now accepting memberships for 2019 Canadian Premier League season – Pacific FC
Join Vancouver Island’s new CPL club! Become a Member of Pacific Football Club for first access seat selection and tickets.
PHOTOS: 2018 BC Provincial Cup Parade of Champions – BC Soccer Web
See the winners from the 2018 BC Provincial Cup.
Becoming a BC Soccer Referee – BCSA
Whether you are an experienced referee new to British Columbia or if you are new to the discipline of refereeing BC Soccer Assoc. has a clinic and a pathway for you. The minimum age to become a referee is 12 years old (small sided) and 14 years old (11-a-side). Please enjoy the short video showcasing some Referee programs that BC Soccer offers and continue below for more on how to become a referee in BC!
Free Physiotherapy Clinical Trial for Achilles Pain at UBC – UBC Centre for Hip Health & Mobility
Do you have Achilles pain? Interested in free Physiotherapy? If yes, join our clinical trial to look at the effectiveness of intramuscular stimulation (IMS), a form of acupuncture therapy, in treating Achilles tendon pain.
The BC Soccer Web Guide to Empire Field – BC Soccer Web
Empire Fields and Plateau Sports Park is the lofty and formal name given to Vancouver’s newest addition to the soccer scene. Yet, anyone who’s ever kicked or carried both kinds of footballs around these parts knows the place by heart.
Introducing BC Soccer Web Syndication – BC Soccer Web
You can now add BC Soccer Web news to your website simply by adding our new RSS Feed! Find out more.
Send your Soccer News to BC Soccer Web! – BC Soccer Web
BC Soccer Web is the hub for soccer in British Columbia. We want to share your soccer news with the entire province, and you can help by letting us know! We want your match reports, club news, league standings, and info on upcoming tournaments and clinics. Whether you submit links to existing news on the web, or your own original writing, we want to share it with the soccer community in B.C.
CANADA SOCCER NEWS
First class: Canadian Premier League signings ready to compete in historic inaugural season – Canadian Premier League
If FC Edmonton doesn’t get the unique pleasure of featuring in April’s inaugural CPL fixture, Randy Edwini-Bonsu hopes for the next best thing. “If I’m not playing in that first game, I’ll be hoping it ends 0-0,” Edwini-Bonsu told CanPL.ca as the league’s first players were revealed Thursday from coast-to-coast.
FC Edmonton start to put CPL roster together with signing of first two players – Edmonton Sun
Things are starting to come together for FC Edmonton as they continue towards the inaugural Canadian Premier League season.
Cavalry FC signs first two players to CPL soccer dream – Edmonton Journal
First, there was a dream. Then came the league, the team, the logo and GM/head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Now, Calgary Cavalry FC has signed its first two players.
Valour FC signs Canadian defender Skylar Thomas – Global
Winnipeg’s new professional soccer team has made its first signing.
Wanderers take another step forward – Chronicle Herald
Zachary Sukunda loves the idea of being part of Halifax Wanderers FC history. The 23-year-old defender became the Canadian Premier League franchise’s first-ever signing on Thursday as the team took another significant step forward.
Bekker and Nanco first two Forge FC signings – Hamilton Spectator
The league commissioner guesses that in 20 years they’ll be the subjects of a soccer trivia question. “Who were the very first ones?” the Canadian Premier League’s David Clanachan says. The correct answer, in Hamilton, will be Kyle Bekker and Chris Nanco.
Canadian Premier League’s first 10 players an eclectic bunch – Sportsnet
It’s all starting to feel very real with regards to the Canadian Premier League.
‘We are going to surprise people’ — Canadian Premier League players bullish on quality of play in maiden season – SN
The Canadian Premier League will be Canada’s first division when it kicks off in April 2019, but no one knows quite what to expect when the first whistle is blown.
Canadian Premier League strikes the right chord with first signings – Waking the Red
For Canadians by Canadians. It’s a tagline that was used in the first-ever promotional video released by the Canadian Premier League. Wrapped up in that is the mission statement of the league, one created to augment the standards of Canadian soccer both on and off the field.
Rhian Wilkinson’s successful transition from player to coach is proof of concept for Canada – The Equalizer
The 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup may have given us a glimpse into one of the next great up-and-coming coaches in women’s soccer: Rhian Wilkinson. Capped 181 times for Canada and holder of two Olympic bronze medals, Wilkinson recently retired from playing and jumped straight into coaching.
Valley’s Connor Grant excels on and off the pitch – Truro Daily
Connor Grant continues to accomplish a lot as a student athlete. Last month saw Grant complete his rookie soccer season with Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics of the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association. During the league’s awards banquet in late October, Grant was pleasantly surprised when he was named the 2018 ACAA Rookie of The Year.
USL & LOWER DIVISION NEWS
Dillon Stadium soccer promoters made tens of thousands in potentially illegal campaign contributions – Hartford Courant
A total of $47,500 in campaign contributions were made in recent months by Hartford Sports Group (HSG) lead partner Bruce Mandell, his wife and their college freshman daughter — and now questions have been raised about the legality of those donations, which went to the state Republican Party and its unsuccessful gubernatorial nominee, Bob Stefanowski. The questions loom as the latest complication in a $14 million, mostly state-funded project to rebuild and revive Hartford’s long-dormant Dillon Stadium in Colt Park. Dillon is slated to become the home of a new United Soccer League (USL) expansion team, Hartford Athletic.
ZORROS ANNOUNCE 10 RETURNING PLAYERS FOR 2019 SEASON – Fresno FC
Fresno FC announced today that the majority of the club’s main contributors will return for the 2019 USL Championship season, pending league and federation approval. A total of 10 Foxes, including top goal scorers Jemal Johnson and Juan Pablo Caffa, will sport the sky and navy blues for another year.
Leading Scorer Guzman Returns to San Antonio – USL
On Thursday, San Antonio FC announced the re-signing of forward Ever Guzman for the 2019 USL season, pending league and federation clearance. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
PacNW Becomes Tenth Evergreen Premier League Member – GoalWA
The Evergreen Premier League is excited to announce that Pacific Northwest Soccer Club has been admitted to the league as the 10th member of the EPLWA. The Tukwila, Washington based club will begin play for the 2019 season and will be based out of Starfire Sports. The team will train at Starfire but a home venue for games is still to be determined.
Roughnecks Introduce Barry Williams as President – USL
Tulsa Roughnecks FC announced today the addition of influential local businessman Barry Williams to the club’s ownership group, and the appointment of Williams as the club’s President, a move that heralds an exciting new era for the USL Championship club.
NWSL & WOMEN’S WORLD SOCCER NEWS
Fifa examining claims of sexual and physical abuse on Afghanistan women’s team – The Guardian
Fifa is examining allegations that members of the Afghanistan national women’s team were sexually and physically abused by men from the country’s football federation, including its president, Keramuudin Karim.
W-League Week 4: Dowie hat trick propels Victory – The Equalizer
We look at the highlights from the Westfield W-League in Australia for Week 4.
South Africa aim to make history against Nigeria in women’s Afcon final – The Guardian
Perennial winners Nigeria face a challenge to their dominance from Desiree Ellis’s vibrant young South Africa side in Saturday’s final in Ghana.
Road to Vienna: 2019/20 #UWCL dates, access list – UEFA
The 2020 UEFA Women’s Champions League final will be played that May at Viola Park in Vienna, and the season’s dates and provisional access list have been released.
Aberdeen announce new women’s team – Evening Express
As revealed in the Evening Express last Thursday, the Dons had been in talks with Aberdeen Ladies about taking over the running of the club’s senior side, and Pittodrie chiefs have now announced a deal has been agreed.
Norway skipper talks emotions, ambitions and free-kick magic – FIFA
“Even now, I get emotional talking about it.” Maren Mjelde is in conversation with FIFA.com, and talk has turned to her wonderful free-kick at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Norway captain laughs as she admits to having tried, and failed, to replicate it countless times in the three-and-a-half years since.
Match fixing: $150k offered to three Belgian women’s youth players to fix game – Inside World Football
Three players from Belgium’s U16 women’s team were approached in a match fixing attempt during an international tournament this year, the Belgian FA (KBVB) has revealed.
WORLD SOCCER NEWS
Copa Libertadores final second leg to be played in Madrid – Sportsnet
The twice-postponed Copa Libertadores final between Argentina archrivals Boca Juniors and River Plate will be played in Madrid on Dec. 9.
CONMEBOL sanctions River Plate for Copa Libertadores fan violence – NBC Sports
The South American federation also announced via an official statement sanctions to River Plate for the attacks that led to the movement of the game, forcing the club to play its next two home matches behind closed doors and fining them $400,000.
European soccer weekend: 3 derbies in England on Sunday – CityNews
What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend.
Milan survives big Europa League fright, surprise loss for Sevilla – Sportsnet
AC Milan was given a helping hand by two own goals as it survived a big scare before beating Dudelange of Luxembourg 5-2 in the Europa League on Thursday.
SAINT-ETIENNE BANKING ON HOME HELP TO HANDLE NANTES – Ligue 1
AS Saint-Etienne will hope their formidable home record will be enough to see off a resurgent FC Nantes in Friday’s Week 15 curtain-raiser and keep them in contention for a top-three place.
CAF 2018 Player of the Year nominees dominated by overseas club players – Inside World Football
he Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the names of the nominees for its annual awards with 34 men and 15 women vying for the African Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year awards.
Colombia’s Junior reaches first Copa Sudamericana final – NBC Sports
The Copa Sudamericana will feature first-time finalists Junior Barranquilla of Colombia and Atletico Paranaense of Brazil next week.
Spanish league sues soccer federation over match in US – London Free Press
The Spanish league has taken legal action against the country’s soccer federation in an effort to get approval for a regular-season match in the United States.
FIFA set to end big club warehousing of top youth talent with cap on loans – Inside World Football
FIFA finally look set to stop cash-rich clubs, like Chelsea, hoarding the best young players to the detriment of everyone else.
Rangers chairman Dave King says some shareholders have links to organised crime – BBC Sport
Rangers chairman Dave King has told a court he suspects some shareholders in the club have links to organised crime.
Life and death on a football pitch: The Mitchell Cole story – SN
On one side, the pitches at Finsbury Leisure Centre face Mitchell Street. It was there one freezing cold Friday night in late November 2012 that Mitchell Cole died, a stone’s throw from his mother’s flat where he grew up and where that evening his son and pregnant wife first received the news that he’d collapsed on the pitch.
The 2018/19 Guide to Soccer on TV in Canada (and online) – BC Soccer Web
Finding your match on TV or online in Canada has become more difficult in recent years. League broadcast rights change hands, new online services pop up, and some leagues and channels vanish from our screens altogether. Fear not! BC Soccer Web has got you covered! We’ve made our way through the web of cable channels and online services available so you can watch the matches you want.