The Victoria Vistas were a professional soccer team based in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. The Vistas joined the CSL for the 1989 season and folded after the 1990 season. Victoria All-star teams had been competitive with league champion

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

teams in pre-season contests during previous years.

History

The Vistas joined the Canadian Soccer League as an expansion team for the 1989 season, forming a natural rivalry with the

. The Vistas were coached by Brian Hughes (until August 1) and former Canadian national team captain Bruce Wilson, with

Buzz Parsons Les "Buzz" Parsons (born 16 December 1950) is a Canadian former soccer player who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. During his career in North America with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Parsons was affectionately kno ...

serving as general manager. The Vistas struggled in their inaugural season, winning only 4 of their 26 matches, finishing last in their division. Despite their poor results, during a match preview versus Winnipeg Fury, July 20, 1989, the Vistas were noted as averaging about 2,000 spectators per game. Victoria Vistas played an exhibition game against the Seattle Storm August 3, 1989, at Memorial Stadium as part of the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer All ...

's exhibition schedule, losing by a score of 3–0. On May 5, 1990, the Vistas played an away exhibition friendly against the Seattle Storm, losing by a score of 3–0. On Wednesday August 1, 1990, the Victoria Vistas defeated the Storm 1-0 via a 35th minute Allan Evans penalty kick, with the win giving them the inaugural non-league Stena Lines Cup title. Stena Lines had been the team's kit sponsor for the 1989 and 1990 seasons. Their second season in the CSL was more successful, finishing second in their division during the 1990 season and qualifying for the playoffs. They defeated the

Winnipeg Fury The Winnipeg Fury were a professional soccer team in Winnipeg, Canada. The team was part of the Canadian Soccer League from 1987 to 1992. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of the CSL. In 1993, they played in the Canadia ...

in penalty kicks in the quarter-final, before falling to eventual champions

in the semi-finals. The team folded following the 1990 season. The team's folding in 1990 was the end of professional soccer in the city, until 2019 when

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 2 ...

joined the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...

. Pacific FC honoured the Vistas at a match during their inaugural season, with several of the Vistas players on hand for the ceremony.

Seasons

Notable players

References

{{Soccer in Victoria Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) teams Defunct soccer clubs in Canada Vistas Soccer clubs in British Columbia 1989 establishments in British Columbia 1990 disestablishments in British Columbia Association football clubs established in 1989 Association football clubs disestablished in 1990