Vancouver’s new professional women’s soccer team unveils name, logo and colors

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Vancouver’s new professional women’s soccer team has a name, logo and colors. It sounds like a coach and players could be on the way soon, too.

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Vancouver Rise FC doesn’t have much time before they hit the pitch. They are one of the six founding clubs of the Northern Super League, the new Canadian league that is set to play its first games in April 2025.

The Vancouver team unveiled their name at a launch event at Parq Vancouver in front of fan groups and media on Monday afternoon. They will wear teal, gold and black and the logo features three peaks representing Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour.

Season ticket memberships will go on sale to the public in the coming weeks. Visit the team’s website for more information.

Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, also owns Rise FC. While there will inevitably be some sharing of resources, Rise FC leadership says the club will operate as a separate entity. For example, they plan to hire their own media relations staff rather than share it with the Whitecaps.

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Rise FC’s sporting director Stephanie Labbé says the club is “in the middle of the process” of hiring its first coach and she hopes to announce it “within the next month.” She also says she hopes to announce the signing of the first player “in the coming weeks.”

“It’s pretty crazy to think about putting together a full squad,” Labbé explained when asked about how much she and her colleagues have to do and how little time they have to do it. “Some days it’s daunting. Other days it’s really amazing. One good thing is that I like doing puzzles, so I feel like every time I do something I’m adding another piece to the puzzle. Every time I get a new piece to add, it makes the whole thing more exciting and makes it seem more real.”

“Feels more real,” is how Labbé described the way he made Monday’s announcement public.

“For players to be able to see that logo and that team and say, ‘This is the team I want to play for, this is the team that inspires me to be a part of,’ is great,” she added. “For those of us who work on the sporting side, it gives a lot more meaning to what we do.”

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Labbé also spoke passionately about why Rise was chosen as the team name.

“I think there’s this feeling of empowerment,” she said. “I think this name really evokes that feeling. I get goosebumps when I think about what Vancouver Rise can represent, what it can be associated with. I think it’s soulful and, like I said, it evokes emotion and also has a deep connection to our community, to the city.”

Rise President Sinead King says the logo is “a little nod to the Whitecaps without being too similar to them.”

The Vancouver Breakers and later Vancouver Whitecaps used to play in the semi-professional USL W-League.

“We want to make it clear that we are our own identity, our own brand, our own club,” King continued. “We are really proud to support and work with the Whitecaps and Greg Kerfoot has done a tremendous amount of work in women’s soccer, men’s soccer and the overall development of soccer in Canada.”

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A home stadium has not yet been named. King said that “anything over 5,000 fans as a consistent average would be great.” That rules out BC Place as a regular venue. King called Swangard Stadium in Burnaby an “iconic stadium” because of its association with the Vancouver 86ers/Whitecaps playing there, and admitted that “we’re definitely looking at it.”

Labbé declined to answer any questions about Swangard. The facility’s capacity is given as 5,288.

“All I can say is that the venue we have chosen will create a great feeling in this city,” said Labbé. “It will provide a great atmosphere for our fans and players.”

In addition to Vancouver, the Halifax Tides, AFC Toronto, Calgary Wild, Ottawa Rapid and a team from Montreal will also be represented in the Northern Super League.

TSN’s Kate Beirness hosted the launch party on Monday and told the crowd that the league has television deals with both TSN and CBC.

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