 | |
| Full name | Rivers Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 5, 2021 |
| Stadium | Hillside Stadium Kamloops, British Columbia |
| Capacity | 1,060 |
| Head coach | John Antulov (men) Jost Hausendorf (women) |
| League | League1 British Columbia |
| 2023 | L1BC, 6th (men) L1BC, 8th (women) |
| Website | Club website |
Rivers FC is a Canadian semi-professional football club based in Kamloops, British Columbia that competes in League1 British Columbia.
The club was officially unveiled on November 5, 2021, as an inaugural license holder for the first season of the new semi-professional League1 British Columbia in 2022. [1] The club's name is derived from the North Thompson River and South Thompson River which converge in Kamloops. [2] The club will field teams in both the male and female divisions, [3] [4] and the team is affiliated with Thompson Rivers University, announcing that the head coaches of the men's and women's Thompson Rivers WolfPack teams will serve as the head coaches for the Rivers male and female teams. [5] [6] [7] The team is expected to serve as a good recruiting tool for the university, as well as to keep the school's players playing in the offseason. [8] The club is expected to use both the TRU's Hillside Stadium and McArthur Island Park as its home field. [9] In December, they announced a relationship with youth club Thompson Okanagan FC to develop their player pathway. [10] [11] They also announced the formation of a reserve team, called Rivers FC II, that will play in the Pacific Coast Soccer League. [12] [13]
Their inaugural matches occurred on May 22, at home, against Altitude FC for both the men and women. [14] In their debut matches, the men's team drew 1-1, while the women won their match 2-0, with a combined attendance of over 700 watching both matches. [15] [16] In their inaugural season, the men finished in fifth, while the women finished in seventh. [17]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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|
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
 Keith Liddiard | General manager |
| Mark Pennington | Technical director |
| John Antulov | Men's Head Coach |
 Hee Young Chung | Men's and Women's Assistant Coach |
| Justin Donaldson | Men's Assistant Coach |
| Kevin Brechin | Athletic Therapist |
| Luis Adamo | Men's Goalkeeper Coach |
| Jost Hausendorf | Women's Head Coach |
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Juan de Fuca Plate | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | League1 British Columbia | 7 | 3–4–5 | 5th | did not qualify | 4th [lower-alpha 1] | [20] |
| 2023 | 8 | 4–4–6 | 6th | did not qualify | 8th [lower-alpha 1] | [20] | |
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Juan de Fuca Plate | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | League1 British Columbia | 7 | 1–1–10 | 7th | did not qualify | 4th [lower-alpha 1] | [21] |
| 2023 | 8 | 1–0–13 | 8th | did not qualify | 8th [lower-alpha 1] | [21] | |
The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 BC team:
The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past, clubs from Washington and Oregon have competed.
The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which oversees the system and domestic cups but does not operate any of its component leagues. In addition, some Canadian teams compete in leagues that are based in the United States.
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The Juan de Fuca Plate is an annual trophy awarded by supporters to the best semi-professional team in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The trophy is currently awarded to the League1 British Columbia club who accrues the greatest number of combined points across the men's and women's divisions. From 2012 through 2019, it was awarded to the winner of the season series of matches played between British Columbian teams in the Premier Development League.
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League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in British Columbia, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the BC Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian soccer league system. The league is a member of League1 Canada.
Altitude FC is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in North Vancouver, British Columbia that plays in League1 British Columbia.
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League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional women's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian soccer league system. The L1O women's division part of League1 Canada, the national third tier with regional divisions, with L1O equivalent to the Première ligue de soccer du Québec and League1 British Columbia.
The 2022 League1 British Columbia season was the inaugural season of play for League1 British Columbia, a pro-am league in the Canadian soccer league system. The league is the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of British Columbia except for fully professional clubs in the Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer. Seven clubs participated in the 2022 season in both the men's and women's divisions.
The Canada Soccer National Development Centre and Canada Soccer EXCEL programs are full-time women's soccer development programs run by the Canadian Soccer Association in partnership with the various provincial associations to develop Canadian women's soccer players as part of the Canadian women's soccer pathway. There are three National Development Centres in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia and Regional EXCEL programs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
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Akwasi "Junior" Agyekum, is a Canadian soccer player.
