Soccer fans in the Greater Victoria region have a lot to look forward to in the coming year, as the newly established Canadian Premier League (CPL) announced Friday that it would grant a conditional club for Vancouver Island.
The new team will play in Langford at Westhills Stadium, and will participate in the CPL’s inaugural season when it debuts in spring 2019.
“We are incredibly excited about the possibilities in Greater Victoria and are confident that a professional team representing Vancouver Island can be an overwhelming success,” said CPL Commissioner David Clanachan.
Westhills Stadium will see a series of improvements, including increased seating, as part of its lease agreement with the team.
The team will be led by local soccer professionals and former Men’s National Team members, Rob Friend and Josh Simpson, along with Vancouver financier Dean Shillington.
The CPL is a professional men’s soccer league that launched earlier this year, positioning itself as a league “for Canadians, by Canadians.”
The league even has its own manifesto, which states, “We are many, we are one.”
