Pacific FC will have a parade in the new year to celebrate the team’s Canadian Premier League soccer championship triumph when the players are back in town.
The players are out of contract during the off-season and were released shortly after the club’s 1-0 win over Hamilton Forge FC on Dec. 5, according to Brad Norris-Jones, PFC executive vice-president of operations. As only two players live locally during the off-season, many have returned home, he said.
“COVID extended the season by about six weeks and the players are now out of contract,” Norris-Jones said. “They have been here 11 months and it didn’t make sense to have a parade without them.”
A victory parade will likely happen next year around April, when players gather for next season, according to City of Langford spokesperson Donna Petrie.
Before then comes the CPL awards, with coach Pa-Modou Kah, top scorer Terran Campbell and championship winning goal scorer Alessandro Hojabrpour all nominated for end-of-season honours. The award ceremony is being held in Toronto on Dec. 14.
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Something to look forward to next season is seeing how Pacific FC fares in the CONCACAF league, Norris -Jones said. By virtue of their CPL title win, they qualified for this second-tier continental competition – North America’s equivalent of the Europa League. This past season, Forge FC made it to the semifinal stage of the CONCACAF competition.
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