Sipho Sibiya Riopel (born 28 July 1971), also known as Siphos Sibya, is a retired soccer player who is an assistant coach with the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

women's team. Born in South Africa, he represented Canada at international level in futsal and beach soccer.

Player

Youth

In 1991, Sibiya, at the time known as Sipho Riopel, played a single season for

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It ...

Professional

In 1994, Sibiya began his professional career with the

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 Met ...

of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

. He played four seasons in Vancouver. In 1998, he played a single season with the Montreal Impact of the

USISL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. In December 1998, he tore his

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

playing indoor soccer. The injury kept him from playing outdoors in 1999. In 1996, Sibiya began playing winter indoor soccer with the expansion Edmonton Drillers of the National Professional Soccer League. Sibiya played all four plus seasons of the team's existence. The Drillers began the 2000–2001 season, but folded after nine games. On 4 December 2001, the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

selected Subiya in the first round of the dispersal draft. He played three seasons with the Wave. On August 38, 2003, the Wave traded Sibiya and future considerations to the Cleveland Force for

Giuliano Oliviero Giuliano Oliviero (born February 26, 1974) is a Canadian former soccer midfielder and currently the head coach of the Milwaukee Wave in the Major Arena Soccer League. Outdoor career Club He first began to play professional soccer with the Edmon ...

. The Force then traded Sibiya and D.J. Newsom to the

St. Louis Steamers St. Louis Steamers has been the name of two different indoor soccer franchises based in St. Louis, Missouri: *St. Louis Steamers (1979–88); American soccer team which played in the first Major Indoor Soccer League *St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006 ...

for Ato Leone. In June 2004, Sibiya was again part of a complicated three team trade. The Steamers traded Siphiya to the Milwaukee Wave for

Joe Reiniger Joe Reiniger (born December 7, 1970, in Collinsville, Illinois) is a professional soccer player and coach. He grew up in Caseyville. Reiniger has played forward for the St. Louis Ambush, Milwaukee Wave, and the St. Louis Steamers. He went to ...

. The Wave then traded Siphiya, Gary DePalma and future considerations to the Cleveland Force in exchange for Lee Edgerton. While this was taking place, Sibiya was playing for the

Edmonton Aviators The Edmonton Aviators were a soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The club was founded in 2003 as a member of the United Soccer League's A-League and folded after playing only one season in 2004. Midway through the season, with the clu ...

of the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. On 29 March 2005, the Force traded Sibiya and

Joel John Bailey Joel John Bailey (born February 17, 1980) is a Canadian Striker (association football), forward who last played for the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division. He played three seasons in Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008), Major Indo ...

to the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

for Neil Gilbert and Allen Eller. On 21 March 2007, Sibiya signed with the

Winnipeg Alliance Winnipeg Alliance FC were a professional indoor soccer team that played in the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League (CMISL) from 2007 through 2011. The team suspended operations in January 2012. History 2007 season The Winnipeg Alliance was one of ...

of the

Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League or CMISL was a professional indoor soccer league that began full league play in January 2008. The league's president was Mel Kowalchuk. As the league has become affiliated with the Professional Arena Socc ...

. In 2008, Sibiya became a player-coach for the

Saskatoon Accelerators Saskatoon Accelerators were a professional soccer team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan that played in the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League. The team played indoor soccer which is different from the official FIFA indoor game called futsal. Its h ...

of the

Professional Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

. In 2009, he became a player-coach with the Prince George Fury of the Professional Arena Soccer League.Prince George Fury
/ref>

National team

Sibiya played for the

Canada national beach soccer team The Canada national beach soccer team represents Canada in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. Players Current squad As of 13 February 2017 ...

which went to the quarterfinals of the

2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup The 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, governed by FIFA. Overall, this was the 12th edition of a List of world cups in beach soccer, world cup in beach soccer since the establishment of the ...

Coach

Sibiya has held numerous coaching positions, including assistant coach to the 2006

and head coach of the

and Prince George Fury. He is an assistant coach with the Vancouver Whitecaps women's team. From September 2009 to November 2011, he served as Technical Director for the Guildford Athletic Club in

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

References

External links

Sipho Sibiya on-air interview from 1997
(video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sibiya, Sipho Living people 1971 births Soccer players from Pretoria American Professional Soccer League players Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players Black Canadian men's soccer players Canadian beach soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian men's soccer players Cleveland Force (2002–2005 MISL) players Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) players Edmonton Aviators players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Milwaukee Wave players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Seattle Pacific Falcons men's soccer players South African emigrants to Canada South African expatriate sportspeople in Canada South African men's soccer players St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006) players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Winnipeg Alliance FC players Canadian soccer coaches Men's association football forwards Canadian men's futsal players Player-coaches Men's association football midfielders Canadian women's soccer coaches