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Vancouver FC

2023 season
President	Rob Friend
Coach	Afshin Ghotbi
Stadium	Willoughby Community Park Stadium
Canadian Premier League	7th
Canadian Championship	Preliminary round
Top goalscorer	Shaan Hundal Gabriel Bitar (6 each)
Highest home attendance	6,177 vs. Cavalry FC (May 7)
Lowest home attendance	2,099 vs. HFX Wanderers (September 23)
Average home league attendance	2,790
Biggest win	2–0 vs. Forge FC (Home, June 20, CPL)
Biggest defeat	0–5 vs. Atlético Ottawa (Home, May 13, CPL)
Home colours Away colours
2024 →

The 2023 Vancouver FC season was the first season in the history of Vancouver FC. In addition to the Canadian Premier League, the club competed in the Canadian Championship.

For their inaugural season, Vancouver FC appointed Afshin Ghotbi as the club's new head coach on November 2, 2022.

Current squad

As of September 5, 2023

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (Age)	Previous club
Goalkeepers
1	Callum Irving		GK	(1993-03-16)March 16, 1993 (aged 30)	Pacific FC
21	Jeremy Zielinski		GK	(1999-01-01)January 1, 1999 (aged 24)	Hawaii Pacific Sharks
Defenders
2	Kadin Chung		RB	(1998-09-05)September 5, 1998 (aged 25)	Toronto FC
3	Rocco Romeo		CB	(2000-03-25)March 25, 2000 (aged 23)	Valour FC
4	Ibrahim Bakare		CB	(2002-05-07)May 7, 2002 (aged 21)	Cheshunt F.C.
12	Tyler Crawford		LB	(2004-03-09)March 9, 2004 (aged 19)	Michigan State Spartans
20	Anthony White		CB	(2003-08-01)August 1, 2003 (aged 20)	Toronto Varsity Blues
25	James Cameron		RB	(2005-01-24)January 24, 2005 (aged 18)	Unity FC
Midfielders
6	Renan Garcia		CM	(1986-06-19)June 19, 1986 (aged 37)	Comercial
8	Nima Moazeni Zadeh		CM / AM	(1997-07-05)July 5, 1997 (aged 26)	Capilano Blues
11	Gabriel Bitar		AM / CF	(1998-08-23)August 23, 1998 (aged 25)	FC Edmonton
13	Vasco Fry		CM	(2000-07-30)July 30, 2000 (aged 23)	Whitecaps FC 2
14	Nicky Gyimah		RW	(2003-05-27)May 27, 2003 (aged 20)	Slough Town
16	Elliot Simmons		CM	(1998-02-05)February 5, 1998 (aged 25)	Cavalry FC
17	Min-jae Kwak		LW	(2000-08-25)August 25, 2000 (aged 23)	Syracuse Pulse
19	Mikaël Cantave		AM / CF	(1996-10-25)October 25, 1996 (aged 27)	Cavalry FC
24	Lennon Thompson		CM	(2005-01-01)January 1, 2005 (aged 18)	Unity FC
26	Taryck Tahid		AM / CF	(2007-04-20)April 20, 2007 (aged 16)	VanCity Pro FA
33	Ivan Mejia		CM	(2001-05-09)May 9, 2001 (aged 22)	TSS FC Rovers
Forwards
7	Nathaniel St. Louis		CF	(2000-12-05)December 5, 2000 (aged 23)	UAB Blazers
9	Alejandro Díaz		FW	(1996-01-27)January 27, 1996 (aged 27)	Sogndal
10	Shaan Hundal		CF	(1999-07-14)July 14, 1999 (aged 24)	Inter Miami CF II
15	Mouhamadou Kane		CF	(2003-10-12)October 12, 2003 (aged 20)	York United
18	Ameer Kinani		CF	(2001-04-20)April 20, 2001 (aged 22)	TMU Bold

Staff

Executive
President	Rob Friend
Coaching staff
Head coach	Afshin Ghotbi
Assistant coach	Arez Ardalani
Assistant coach	Niall Thompson
Goalkeeping coach	Mark Village
Equipment manager	Cortlin Tonn
Manager of football operations	Jeevin Kang

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Player	From club	Fee/notes	Date	Source
	GK	Callum Irving	Pacific FC	Free	December 14, 2022
	MF	Elliot Simmons	Cavalry FC	Free	December 21, 2022
	FW	Mouhamadou Kane	York United	Undisclosed	December 22, 2022
	DF	Kahlil John-Wentworth	Simcoe County Rovers	Free	January 12, 2023
	FW	Nathaniel St. Louis	UAB Blazers	Free	January 13, 2023
	DF	Rocco Romeo	Valour FC	Free	January 16, 2023
	MF	Gabriel Bitar	FC Edmonton	Free	January 18, 2023
	MF	Marcus Simmons	FC Edmonton	Free	January 25, 2023
	FW	Shaan Hundal	Inter Miami CF II	Free	January 31, 2023
	DF	Tyler Crawford	Michigan State Spartans	Free	February 2, 2023
	GK	Jeremy Zielinski	Hawaii Pacific Sharks	Free	February 23, 2023
	DF	Eugene Martínez	Cal Poly Pomona Broncos	Free	February 23, 2023
	MF	Nima Moazeni Zadeh	Capilano Blues	Free	February 23, 2023
	MF	Maël Henry	CF Montréal Academy	Free	February 28, 2023
	MF	Gael Sandoval	Guadalajara	Free	March 1, 2023
	DF	Kadin Chung	Toronto FC	Free	March 6, 2023
	FW	Nicky Gyimah	Slough Town	Free	March 8, 2023
	FW	Min-jae Kwak	Syracuse Pulse	Free	March 8, 2023
	DF	Ibrahim Bakare	Cheshunt F.C.	Free	March 10, 2023
	DF	Anthony White	Toronto Varsity Blues	Selected 1st overall in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft, signed a Standard Player Contract	March 22, 2023
	FW	Ameer Kinani	TMU Bold	Selected 2nd overall in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft, signed a CPL-U SPORTS contract	March 22, 2023
	FW	Emmanuel Robe	Romford F.C.	Free	April 14, 2023
	DF	James Cameron	Unity FC	Signed to a development contract, later converted to an Exceptional Young Talent contract	May 3, 2023
	MF	Lennon Thompson	Unity FC	Signed to a development contract	May 3, 2023
	FW	Kourosh Jamshidi	Unity FC	Signed to a development contract	May 3, 2023
	MF	Taryck Tahid	VanCity Pro FA	Free	May 6, 2023
	MF	Mikaël Cantave	Cavalry FC	Free	June 29, 2023
	MF	Renan Garcia	Comercial	Free	July 13, 2023
	MF	Ivan Mejia	TSS FC Rovers	Free	August 5, 2023

Loans in

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
	MF	Cristian Mares	Club Puebla	Season-long loan	February 28, 2023
	GK	Trevor Schneider	Altitude FC	Short-term relief player	July 7, 2023
	FW	Alejandro Díaz	Sogndal	One year loan	July 7, 2023
	MF	Vasco Fry	Whitecaps FC 2	Loaned until end of season	August 3, 2023

Draft picks

Vancouver FC selected the following players in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft. Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.

Round	Selection	Pos.	Player	Nationality	University
1	1	DF	Anthony White	Canada	Toronto
1	2	FW	Ameer Kinani	Iraq	TMU

Out

Transferred out

No.	Pos.	Player	To club	Fee/notes	Date	Source
	MF	Cristian Mares	Club Puebla	Loan terminated	April 14, 2023
19	MF	Maël Henry	Cavalry FC		June 29, 2023
13	FW	Emmanuel Robe		Contract terminated by mutual consent	June 29, 2023
10	MF	Gael Sandoval	UdeG	Contract terminated by mutual consent	July 13, 2023
5	DF	Eugene Martínez		Contract terminated by mutual consent	August 3, 2023
23	DF	Kahlil John-Wentworth		Contract terminated by mutual consent	August 3, 2023
22	MF	Marcus Simmons	Valletta F.C.		September 5, 2023

Competitions

Matches are listed in Langley local time: Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7)

Pre-season friendlies

March 1, 2023 (2023-03-01) Friendly	Whitecaps FC 2	1–3	Vancouver FC	Victoria, British Columbia
	Becher 59'	Report	Bitar Kane Kinani	Stadium: Centennial Stadium, University of Victoria
Note: The match was played in three 45 minute halves. The score at the end of the first two halves was Whitecaps 2 1-0 Vancouver FC

March 13, 2023 (2023-03-13) Friendly	Portland Timbers 2	2–2	Vancouver FC	Beaverton, Oregon
		Report	Kinani Gyimah
Note: The match was played in three 45 minute halves.

March 18, 2023 (2023-03-18) Friendly	Vancouver FC	2–2	Valour FC	Langley, British Columbia
	Hundal Romeo		Siaj Polisi	Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Stadium Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren

March 25, 2023 (2023-03-25) Friendly	FC Tigers Vancouver	0–1	Vancouver FC	Richmond, British Columbia
7:30 PM		Report	Sandoval 37' (pen.)	Stadium: Minoru Park Referee: Niko Jecanski

April 3, 2023 (2023-04-03) Friendly	Vancouver FC	2–0	TSS FC Rovers	Langley, British Columbia
12:00 PM	Hundal Henry	Report		Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Stadium Referee: Seyed-Mohammad Mohseni

April 8, 2023 (2023-04-08) Friendly	Altitude FC	1–1	Vancouver FC	North Vancouver, British Columbia
3:00 PM	Chavula 84'	Report	Hundal 47' (pen.)	Stadium: Fen Burdett Stadium Referee: Niko Jecanski

Overview

Last updated: October 6, 2023
Source: Competitions

Canadian Premier League

Table

1. ^ Tie resolved by away goal differential; Forge: +4, Wanderers: −2

Results by match

Matches

May 7 4 Home opener	Vancouver FC	1–1	Cavalry FC	Langley Township, British Columbia
4:00pm PT	Martínez  7' Romeo  29' Hundal 52'	Report	Cantave 46'	Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Attendance: 6,177 Referee: Alain Ruch
Note: Vancouver FC manager Afshin Ghotbi was cautioned in the 45+4th minute.

Canadian Championship

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of October 6, 2023

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		CPL		Canadian Championship
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	CAN	Callum Irving	28	0	27	0	1	0
21	GK	USA	Jeremy Zielinski	1	0	1	0	0	0
31	GK	CAN	Trevor Schneider	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	CAN	Kadin Chung	14	0	12+1	0	1	0
3	DF	CAN	Rocco Romeo	26	0	25	0	1	0
4	DF	ENG	Ibrahim Bakare	26	0	18+7	0	1	0
5	DF	BLZ	Eugene Martínez	12	0	11	0	1	0
12	DF	CAN	Tyler Crawford	23	0	14+9	0	0	0
20	DF	CAN	Anthony White	20	0	17+3	0	0	0
23	DF	CAN	Kahlil John-Wentworth	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	DF	CAN	James Cameron	19	1	17+2	1	0	0
Midfielders
6	MF	BRA	Renan Garcia	14	1	14	1	0	0
8	MF	IRN	Nima Moazeni Zadeh	14	0	9+4	0	1	0
10	MF	MEX	Gael Sandoval	13	1	9+3	1	1	0
11	MF	LBN	Gabriel Bitar	26	6	23+2	6	0+1	0
13	MF	PER	Vasco Fry	10	1	10	1	0	0
14	MF	GHA	Nicky Gyimah	12	0	2+9	0	0+1	0
16	MF	CAN	Elliot Simmons	26	0	24+1	0	1	0
17	MF	KOR	Min-jae Kwak	27	1	13+13	1	1	0
19	MF	CAN	Maël Henry	3	0	1+2	0	0	0
19	MF	HAI	Mikaël Cantave	16	4	13+3	4	0	0
22	MF	CAN	Marcus Simmons	5	0	2+3	0	0	0
24	MF	CAN	Lennon Thompson	3	0	0+3	0	0	0
26	MF	CAN	Taryck Tahid	20	3	6+14	3	0	0
33	MF	COL	Ivan Mejia	1	0	0+1	0	0	0
Forwards
7	FW	CAN	Nathaniel St. Louis	5	0	1+3	0	0+1	0
9	FW	MEX	Alejandro Díaz	14	2	14	2	0	0
10	FW	CAN	Shaan Hundal	29	6	20+8	6	1	0
13	FW	FRA	Emmanuel Robe	5	0	1+3	0	0+1	0
15	FW	CAN	Mouhamadou Kane	8	0	2+6	0	0	0
18	FW	IRQ	Ameer Kinani	21	1	2+18	1	1	0
	FW	CAN	Kourosh Jamshidi	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: Competitions

Goalscorers

As of October 6, 2023

Rank	No.	Pos	Nat	Name	CPL	Canadian Championship	Total
1	10	FW		Shaan Hundal	6	0	6
	11	MF		Gabriel Bitar	6	0	6
3	19	MF		Mikaël Cantave	4	0	4
4	26	FW		Taryck Tahid	3	0	3
5	9	FW		Alejandro Díaz	2	0	2
6	6	MF		Renan Garcia	1	0	1
	10	MF		Gael Sandoval	1	0	1
	13	MF		Vasco Fry	1	0	1
	17	MF		Min-jae Kwak	1	0	1
	18	FW		Ameer Kinani	1	0	1
	25	DF		James Cameron	1	0	1
Own Goals					1	0	1
Totals					28	0	28

Clean sheets

As of October 6, 2023

Rank	No.	Pos	Nat	Name	CPL	Canadian Championship	Total
1	1	GK		Callum Irving	5	0	5
Totals					5	0	5

Disciplinary record

As of October 6, 2023

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	CPL			Canadian Championship			Total
1	GK		Callum Irving	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2	DF		Kadin Chung	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
3	DF		Rocco Romeo	6	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	1
4	DF		Ibrahim Bakare	5	0	0	1	0	0	6	0	0
5	DF		Eugene Martínez	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1
6	MF		Renan Garcia	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
7	FW		Nathaniel St. Louis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF		Nima Moazeni Zadeh	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
9	FW		Alejandro Díaz	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	FW		Shaan Hundal	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
10	MF		Gael Sandoval	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
11	MF		Gabriel Bitar	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
12	DF		Tyler Crawford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	MF		Vasco Fry	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0
13	FW		Emmanuel Robe	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
14	MF		Nicky Gyimah	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
15	FW		Mouhamadou Kane	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF		Elliot Simmons	3	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0
17	MF		Min-jae Kwak	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
18	FW		Ameer Kinani	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1
19	MF		Maël Henry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF		Mikaël Cantave	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
20	DF		Anthony White	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
22	MF		Marcus Simmons	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
23	DF		Kahlil John-Wentworth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	MF		Lennon Thompson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
25	DF		James Cameron	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
26	MF		Taryck Tahid	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
31	GK		Jeremy Zielinski	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF		Ivan Mejia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW		Kourosh Jamshidi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals				59	0	3	2	0	0	61	0	3

Honours

Canadian Premier League Awards

The Canadian Premier League Awards took place on October 26 in Hamilton.

Monthly Awards

Team of the Week

The Gatorade Team of the Week was selected by the CPL's Kristian Jack and OneSoccer's Oliver Platt.

References

1. "'This market is ready for something different': Vancouver FC owner Rob Friend on the vision behind the CPL's newest club". Canadian Premier League. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
2. "Canadian Championship welcomes League1 BC as new entrant for 2023". Canada Soccer. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
3. "'It's a way of life': Vancouver FC coach Afshin Ghotbi reflects on passion, unifying power of soccer". Canadian Premier League. November 2, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
4. "Vancouver FC announces goalkeeper Callum Irving as first-ever signing". Canadian Premier League. December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
5. "Vancouver FC Adds Free Agent Elliot Simmons". Northern Tribune. December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
6. "Vancouver FC signs forward Mamadou Kane". Canadian Premier League. December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
7. "Vancouver FC Adds Rovers Left-Back John-Wentworth". Northern Tribune. January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
8. "Vancouver FC Signs Nathaniel St. Louis". Northern Tribune. January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
9. "Vancouver FC signs Canadian defender Rocco Romeo". Canadian Premier League. January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
10. "Vancouver FC add Canadian talent Gabriel Bitar". Canadian Premier League. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
11. "Vancouver FC sign fullback Marcus Simmons". Canadian Premier League. January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
12. "Shaan Hundal returns to CPL with Vancouver FC". Canadian Premier League. January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
13. "Vancouver FC Signs Left-Back Tyler Crawford To Pro Deal". Northern Tribune. February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
14. ^ "Vancouver FC signs trio out of open trials". Canadian Premier League. February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
15. "Vancouver FC Adds Mael Henry". Northern Tribune. February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
16. "Vancouver FC land marquee signing in Gael Sandoval". Canadian Premier League. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
17. "Kadin Chung returns to CPL with hometown Vancouver FC". Canadian Premier League. March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
18. ^ "Vancouver FC add international wingers Nicky Gyimah and Min-jae Kwak". Canadian Premier League. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
19. "Centre-back Ibrahim Bakare joins Vancouver FC". Canadian Premier League. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
20. ^ "Vancouver FC sign top two 2023 CPL-U SPORTS Draft picks". Canadian Premier League. March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
21. ^ "Vancouver FC add striker Emmanuel Robe". Canadian Premier League. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
22. ^ "Ghotbi Adds James Cameron, Others To Vancouver FC". Northern Tribune. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
23. "Vancouver FC signs another local star in James Cameron". Vancouver FC. July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
24. "Vancouver FC announce signing of youngest player in CPL history Taryck Tahid". Canadian Premier League. May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
25. ^ "Vancouver FC acquire Cantave from Cavalry FC; Henry transferred from VFC to Cavs". Canadian Premier League. June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
26. ^ "Vancouver FC brings on a guiding hand in Renan Garcia". Vancouver FC. July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
27. "Vancouver FC adds Ivan Mejia to their roster". Vancouver FC. August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
28. "Club Puebla Loans Mares To Vancouver FC". Northern Tribune. February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
29. "Diaz on loan to Vancouver FC". Sogndal Football. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
30. ^ "Vancouver FC adds midfielder Vasco Fry on loan". Canadian Premier League. August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
31. "2023 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Breakdown of all 16 selections". Canadian Premier League. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
32. "Vancouver FC select White, Kinani as club's first-ever CPL-U SPORTS Draft picks". Canadian Premier League. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
33. "From Vancouver To Valletta: Marcus Simmons Inks Deal In Malta". Northern Tribune. September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
34. "2023 CPL Competition Guidelines". Canadian Premier League. March 17, 2023. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
35. ^ Jacques, John (May 19, 2024). "2023 CPL Awards Round Up: Cavalry Dominates The Show". Northern Tribune. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
36. "Cameron, De Brienne, Poku nominated for Best Canadian U-21 Player Award". Canadian Premier League. October 17, 2023. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
37. Canadian Premier League (May 5, 2023). "After leading the league in saves during his first month with expansion side @vanfootballclub, @CallumIrving is the Canadian Premier League Goalkeeper of the Month for April 2023, presented by @AllstateCanada! 🧤" (Tweet). Retrieved May 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
38. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 1)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
39. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 2)". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
40. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 3)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
41. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 4)". Canadian Premier League. May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
42. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 6)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
43. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 7)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
44. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 8)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
45. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 11)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
46. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 13)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
47. "Gatorade Team of the Week 2023 (Week 17)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
48. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 19)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
49. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 20)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
50. "Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 22)". Canadian Premier League. 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2024-05-20.

External links

• Official site

v t e Vancouver FC
Langley, British Columbia The Club History Stadium Willoughby Community Park (2023–present) Rivalries Pacific FC Key personnel President Rob Friend Head coach Afshin Ghotbi
Seasons Canadian Premier League 2023 2024
Category

• Vancouver FC seasons
• 2023 Canadian Premier League by team
• Canadian soccer clubs 2023 season
• 2023 in sports in British Columbia