Road to the Canadian Soccer Championship starts at Swangard Stadium
Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium will host a first round match of what’s known as soccer’s “Battle of the North.” It is the top-level of men’s domestic soccer competition with clubs from across the country.
Richmond’s TSS Rovers FC host Winnipeg’s Valour FC at Swangard Stadium on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. – the first Canadian Championship match to be held in the stadium since 2010.
TSS Rovers won the 2022 championship of the newly-formed League 1 BC, earning the invitation to play in the 2023 Canadian Soccer Championship.
“We were super excited to get the invitation,” says Colin Elmes, TSS Rovers co-owner and sporting director.
Although listed as a Richmond team, TSS Rovers plays its League 1 BC home games at Swangard, so it’s really the team’s home. “We all grew up here and we played at Swangard and have watched matches at Swangard,” says Elmes. “It’s an iconic stadium for soccer.”
In addition, the TSS Rovers (men and women) train at the Burnaby Lake soccer fields. “The base of operations for us is basically in Burnaby, even though our office and youth programs are in Richmond,” adds Elmes.
So, for the first-round Canadian Championship match on April 19, it is essentially a hometown, Lower Mainland-based team taking on visitors from Winnipeg.
The winner goes onto a quarter final match in May. “It’s 90 minutes on a grass field, you never know what’s going to happen,” says Elmes. “It will be a great event.”
The TSS Rovers regular League 1 BC season opens April 29 at Swangard with back-to-back women’s and men’s matches.
Match details and ticket information
TSS Rovers FC vs Valour FC (Winnipeg)
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Kick off – 7:30 p.m.
Swangard Stadium
Game tickets available at: TSS Rovers League 1 | Tickets (tssfc.ca) Game price: $35 for adults, $25 for 12 and under.
To donate a ticket: Help A Child Attend a Rovers Game | Richmond, BC (charitableimpact.com)
About the TSS Rovers
The TSS Rovers men’s team was first formed in 2017 after TSS purchased the rights to a PDL team from the Washington Crossfire. The PDL (Premier Development League) was the primary league for the Rovers until the inception of League 1 BC in 2021. This new Pro-Am soccer league in BC now allows TSS Rovers to play locally as it continues to help Canadian players evolve in the game. The League has eight clubs with TSS Rovers operating out of Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. On the women’s side, TSS formed a team in 2018 to play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL), the largest women’s league in the world. But now with the start of League 1 BC, the women also play in this new league.
About the Canadian Championship
Canada Soccer’s Canadian Championship, also known as the Battle of the North, is the nation’s highest men’s domestic competition featuring clubs from coast to coast across the country, notably professional teams in Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League as well as league winners in League1 BC, League1 Ontario and Québec’s Premier League (Première ligue de soccer du Québec). Winners of the 2023 Canadian Championship lift the Voyageurs Cup and qualify to the annual international competition, Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Winners of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.
Photo courtesy of TSS Rovers