Whitecaps FC Academy ( sponsor name Whitecaps FC BMO Academy) is the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

of the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club

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, ...

, based in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. It fields a men's and women's team in the

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a Semi-professional sports, semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British Colu ...

Men's

The men's academy is officially named the Vancouver Whitecaps FC MLS Academy. It is a full-time, fully funded, player development program. Originally known as the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency programs, they changed their name in 2018 to the Whitecaps FC Academy. They have affiliations with youth soccer clubs across Canada, forming part of the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy.

Seasons

Women's

The women's academy is officially named the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Academy. In 2015, the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

partnered with the BC Soccer Association and the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

to launch its regional EXCEL program which will be run as part of the Whitecaps FC Academy. In 2021, it was announced that the program would join the semi-professional

as a founding franchise for the 2022 season. Their home games will take place at Ken Woods Field at the National Soccer Development Centre. They played their debut match on May 22, defeating the

Victoria Highlanders Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian association football, soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 2008. The team had played in the American USL League Two from 2009 to 2019 (except 2015) and in League ...

5-1. During the 2022 regular season, the Whitecaps managed to finish second in the regular season standings and qualified for the Championship final, despite many of their university age players having to depart the team before the end of the season, leaving them with a roster composed of 14-17 year old players. In the Championship Final, the Whitecaps Girls defeated

Varsity FC Varsity may refer to: Institutions * University, an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in various academic disciplines * Varsity College (South Africa), a school Places * Varsity, Calgary, A ...

to win the inaugural women's League1 British Columbia title. In May 2023, the team participated in the

2023 Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup The 2023 Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup was the 83rd edition of the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup, an association football tournament organized by FIFA for clubs featuring players under the age of 21. It was held on 17 May and on Ascension Thursday, 18 M ...

, winning the title. In the 2023 L1BC season, they won the league double, capturing the regular season title and the playoff championship, advancing to the

Women's Inter-Provincial Championship The Women's Inter-Provincial Championship is an annual soccer tournament organized by League1 Canada. Established in 2022, it is contested by the champions of each of the League1 Canada member leagues. The winner is considered to be the national c ...

, which they also won to become the overall

League1 Canada League1 Canada (L1C; ) is a national pro–am Association football, soccer organization in Canada. It consists of four regional leagues; League1 Alberta, League1 British Columbia, League1 Ontario, and Ligue1 Québec with each league operating m ...

champions. In 2024, they once again won the League1 BC title to advance to the Inter-Provincial Championship again, winning the overall League1 Canada title for the second consecutive year.

Seasons

Professional players from the Whitecaps FC Academy

External links

Residency Program

Mountain WFC

Surrey WFC

Coastal WFC

Academy
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitecaps FC Academy Association football clubs established in 2007

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

League1 British Columbia clubs