Alongside the Calgary Wild, the Rise were one of the first two clubs to join the Northern Super League, and are a spiritual successor to the Whitecaps' former women's team. The club was co-developed with the league itself, in an effort to retain female players from the Whitecaps' academy team, and provide equity between the organization's men's and women's programs. It will play its first season in 2025, as one of the league's six charter members.
Unsuccessful negotiations with the NWSL, an expansion of the academy, and an entry into the semi-professionalLeague1 British Columbia in 2022, provided an impetus for the Whitecaps to help establish a professional women's league in Canada as a way to retain elite female players trained in the academy.[11] Greg Kerfoot, the Whitecaps' co-owner, also sought to prioritize equity between the organization's men's and women's programs by offering its female players a professional pathway.[12] In December 2022, the Whitecaps and Calgary Foothills FC acquired the first two licences to run clubs in the Northern Super League, then tentatively known as Project Eight – a league they helped foster through the Whitecaps' general manager of its women's programs, Stephanie Labbé.[13][14][15] Labbé and Sinead King were the new club's first two executive hires, and primarily directed the club's development through its formative years;[16][17] which coincided with the retirement of Burnaby native Christine Sinclair from football in 2023–24, giving Sinclair an opportunity to acquire a minority ownership in the club during her final season of play.[18][19][20] Its name, the "Vancouver Rise", and its branding was unveiled at an event celebrating the club's launch on 26 August 2024, hosted at the D/6 Bar & Lounge in Parq Vancouver.[21][22]
The Rise will play their home games at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby,[34][35] the historic home ground of the Vancouver Whitecaps' predecessors. Though a tenancy at Metro Vancouver's primary rectangular sports stadium, the 54,500-capacity BC Place, has been ruled out by the club,[29] it intends to occasionally play matches there.[33][36]
Players and Staff
Players
As of January 23, 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^ abWeber, Marc (7 December 2012). "Whitecaps won't field W-League team in 2013". The Province. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022. For the first time since joining the USL W-League in 2001, the Vancouver Whitecaps will not field a women's team in 2013. Before this yet-to-be-named league begins play, it was the WPS skimming top Canadian talent away from the Whitecaps...
^Brady, Rachel (7 December 2022). "Vancouver, Calgary announced as first teams in women's pro soccer league". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022. Both already run teams for girls and women from grassroots to the elite level under their organizational umbrellas. But they watch many of those female players leave to go play professionally abroad, since no pro league exists for them yet in Canada. The Whitecaps and Foothills both wanted to do something about that...
^Adams, J.J. (4 July 2024). "Whitecaps' women's team locks down a business King". The Province. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024. King will oversee the business side of the new club and will work closely with Stephanie Labbe, general manager of women's soccer.
^ abEwen 2024, "[Labbé] "I think it's soulful, and [...] it brings emotions and also has a deep tie to our community, to the city." Rise president Sinead King feels that the logo "has a little nod to the Whitecaps without being too similar to it.""
^ abKarstens-Smith, Gemma (26 August 2024). "Vancouver Rise FC unveiled as city's Northern Super League franchise". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024. The colour of the sun is special to Labbe, who was Canada's goalkeeper when the team captured an Olympic championship at the Tokyo Games. [...] there may be opportunities to have some games at B.C. Place [...] Rise and the Whitecaps share an owner in Greg Kerfoot, but will operate as separate clubs.
