Ahead of their big game in Kelowna Sunday, members of the Vancouver Football Club and the Calgary Cavalry of the Canadian Premier League met with the media to discuss this highly anticipated game and the expansion opportunities that come with it.
Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi was the first to take questions, voicing his excitement to be in Kelowna and to be a part of potential Canadian soccer history.
“I was fortunate enough to visit this community and this city of Kelowna and I was so impressed with its beauty and hospitality. For me, I am humbled by the reception and the good will I felt from the Mayor and everyone in the city,” said Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi.
“We are excited to be a part of something special to help grow the game in Canada… It’s a really important moment for football and soccer in Canada and for us to be a part of it, we will remember it, I think, forever and ever.”
The Cavalry come into Sunday’s game riding an eight-game undefeated streak, and they look to keep that going on Sunday with a win over Vancouver FC.
“For us it’s the same preparation. We’re definitely a unit and that doesn’t just mean the goalkeeper and the defenders, it means the whole team, we attack together and we defend together,” said Calgary captain and goalkeeper Marco Carducci.
“We’re still relatively early into the season and getting into that stride, and for us we take a lot of pride in that, defending and not conceding goals, and we’ll try to do the same thing this weekend.”
While players are excited to hit the field on Sunday, there’s another aspect in play with potential league expansion and fan engagement, something both teams are really looking forward to.
Carducc says that it takes a lot of people to get something going like this.
“I have teammates of mine as we speak that are engaging with schools and teams and meeting the community and people. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. We get to play soccer for 90 minutes and enjoy this, but it really is about the growth of that next generation and that engagement with the people, that’s why we love it,” said Carducci.
The Vancouver Football Club will take on the Calgary Cavalry at the Apple Bowl on Father’s Day Sunday, with the game getting underway at 2:00 p.m.
