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HFX Wanderers FC

http://hfxwanderersfc.canpl.ca/

http://cpl-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/...ll-320x320.jpg

Halifax officially has a team in the professional top tier Canadian Premier League (soccer). It's great to be part of a coast to coast national pro league in it's inaugural season.

I like the name wanderers and I think the football team's crest looks good.

Can't wait to see the 7,000 seat stadium packed downtown on the Wanderers Grounds.

Congratulations Halifax on your soccer team. I like the name as well. Maybe in a few years you'll have a football team too. :)

Stephen Hart announced as coach of new Halifax Wanderers FC

https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2018...derers-fc.html

Open trials are being held on Sep. 20 and 21 for HFX Wanderers FC.

Here's an interview of one of the four Trinidad players signed with HFX.

• Video Link

Season ticket sales are on track for 5,000 by the opening match which would be fantastic for this league and size of the stadium.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D18v6-fWoAExbrX.jpg

Quote:

HFX Wanderers: Fewer than 500 season memberships remain

2019-03-16
by JONATHAN BRIGGINS, CONTRIBUTOR

HALIFAX — This city was known, first and foremost, as a junior hockey city. Then, a basketball town — but only for a few weekends.

With the arrival of the HFX Wanderers, though, Halifax is set to become a soccer city.

There’s a sports-sized hole here during summers. Cruise ships dock as tourists dot the waterfront, taking in all that comes with being a port city nestled on the Atlantic Ocean. Apart from one-off events, there’s not much to satisfy that competitive craving.

Until now.

HFX Wanderers revealed Saturday less than 500 memberships remain ahead of the Canadian Premier League’s inaugural season, meaning the club will at least approach capacity at all or most of its home games at historic Wanderes Grounds this season. The club will get the chance to captivate a community that, again, is eager to embrace something else.

A love for soccer has bubbled under the surface for some time now. During the 2018 World Cup, for instance, it was foolish to show up at a bar right at kick-off if you wanted a seat. Argyle street — located a few blocks away from the new home of the Wanderers — was packed for an outdoor viewing of the World Cup final.

Less than a year later, HFX Wanderes are front and centre.

Players were introduced to Halifax on March 9 during a semifinal basketball game at the U SPORTS Final 8 men’s basketball tournament. With local team Dalhousie University in the final, it was a packed house, with around 6,000 fans at the Scotiabank Centre on hand to get a glimpse of the newest soccer squad decked in fresh white Wanderers-branded polo tees.

Sure, it was a little strange to see soccer players on the hardwood instead of the pitch, but you could see the excitement on the faces of players and fans alike, both of who are looking ahead to the club’s inaugural home match at Wanderers Grounds.

The stadium as used for a couple of events last summer, including a Canada-United States men’s rugby international test match and the HFX Derby between the Saint Mary’s Huskies and Dalhousie Tigers men’s and women’s university teams.

This reporter was part of the broadcast crew for the rugby game and it was incredible to see hoards of people descending on the Grounds — and lingering around afterwards in jovial conditions despite a Canada loss — in a scene that didn’t seem possible a year ago.

It’s the perfect spot — close to restaurants and bars. The scenic Halifax harbour is a short walk away. The Public Gardens are close enough that, in theory, a powerful clearance by a Wanderers defender could land next to a swan wading in the pond at the historic park.

And, in an effort to make the experience even more family-friendly, Soccer Nova Scotia — the governing body for the sport in the province — has an agreement in place that will see all provincial games scheduled to end before HFX Wanderers kick off. It’s a mutually beneficial initiative to help grow the game in the province and gives the next generation of soccer players a chance to watch their new heroes.

The team has already been embraced by the city, even before the snow has thawed. Members of the Privateers 1882 supporters group and other fans made the trek out to the airport to greet the players as they arrived in Halifax ahead of training camp this month. The supporters group already has songs prepared to serenade the players as they take to the field, and surely new songs will be sung as new heroes emerge.

When veteran goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams arrived from Trinidad and Tobago ahead of training camp, he had his heart set on seeing one thing: his home venue.

He said he wanted “to make sure when we go down there we make it home and we defend it with pride and passion.”

The fans are excited, the players are excited, the city is ready for a professional soccer team and the Wanderers Grounds are a fertile environment for something special to happen this season in a city that’s eager to make HFX Wanderers a spectacle.

https://canpl.ca/article/hfx-wandere...erships-remain

Some training camp photos from hfxwanderers twitter:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D06lWm3WkAAIzg5.jpg
https://twitter.com/HfxWanderersFC/s...00771321348097

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1FaIrtWsAEm7ib.jpg
https://twitter.com/HfxWanderersFC/s...62499579588609

The Halifax Volkswagens?

I understand the sponsorship thing, but why isn't there prominent "Wanderers" text on the shirts, only that tiny badge by the left shoulder. Looks like the norm based on the other team shirts, but a little surprising that there isn't stronger team identity on them. For somebody (like me) who isn't familiar with the league I'd be hard pressed to know who is our team and the identity of their opponents... :shrug:

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark (Post 8530742)

This is pretty common kit design around the world. Badge on the chest is all that's needed for the team. HFX's crest is pretty unique so it won't be difficult to differentiate it from others, the colours obviously notwithstanding.

Home opener May 4th is virtually sold out with fewer than 100 seats left that I can see on ticketmaster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by q12 (Post 8530825)

Home opener May 4th is virtually sold out with fewer than 100 seats left that I can see on ticketmaster.

Good to see! I've got my tickets for the home opener. So far things are pointing towards a success here in Halifax. Not sure how things are going in other cities though. Hopefully this league can stick around and develop soccer across Canada. Looking forward to having a summer team in the city!

:cheers:

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka (Post 8530791)

Thanks for the explanation. Obviously I don't watch much soccer and didn't realize that their team designations are typically much more subtle than in other sports.

Otherwise, they are nice looking uniforms. :tup:

HFX @ Pacific seems like it has the potential to be very visually confusing... the kits are almost identical.

I imagine that when Pacific comes to Halifax they will just wear there home kits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by englishmanabroad (Post 8533253)

I imagine that when Pacific comes to Halifax they will just wear there home kits.

They can easily just change kits for that one (?) match they play in Victoria.

Quote:

Wanderers approaching sell-outs as Halifax’s ‘reputation’ entices fans
2019-04-09
by ARMEN BEDAKIAN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic — HFX Wanderers FC executive Derek Martin is starting to see something special take hold in Halifax. In true Haligonian spirit, the city has embraced soccer – Canadian soccer – not for what it is, but for what it will soon be.

See, there’s a reason Halifax is the almost-unanimous away trip of choice among CPL players, coaches and staff. It’s the same reason that the team’s flag has become a symbol for a movement that has brought a professional sports team to the city for the first time, and the reason why the club’s newly-unveiled kits have already proved massively popular, and, as Martin revealed, the reason why ticket sales are through the roof.

“Halifax has a reputation –,” Martin begins, pausing for a moment before coyly adding: ” – It’s a party town.”

Oh?

“There are great bars and restaurants, lots of students out and about on the weekends. And all of that is within a five-minute walk of our grounds,” he continued.

Indeed, Wanderers Grounds is located right in the heart of downtown Halifax, and the party’s just getting started as supporters begin organizing and rallying ahead of the team’s inaugural season. That central location is why Martin expects the HFX gameday experience to resonate further out than the confines of his team’s rafters.

“Halifax will live up to its reputation,” Martin told CanPL.ca. “We expect to see the entire city lit up and engaged during game days.

“That’s the secret sauce to making this work; it’s not just about 6,000 fans at the venue – when the entire city can feel when an event is happening, and knows that a game is on because of the noise and the energy, that’s when you really capture the hearts of the people.”

While Martin expects the entirety of Halifax to enjoy the Wanderers’ experience, the city isn’t exactly shying away from watching matches in-person, either.

Martin revealed the club is “going to get pretty close to sell outs” across the season, with less than 500 single tickets remaining for the club’s first home match against Forge FC on May 4.

There are also fewer than 500 season tickets up for grabs, too, and less than 1,000 single-match tickets remaining for matches throughout the rest of the season.

It means the Wanderers – who are currently in the Dominican Republic for pre-season training – head into their first season knowing that a strong base of some 5,000 fans will be in attendance week-in, week-out.

Martin also revealed the club will be holding onto a reserve of tickets for each tilt in anticipation of welcoming new fans who join their movement as the momentum builds throughout 2019.

As for that first game? Martin affirmed the expectation is that Wanderers Grounds will be “completely sold out.”

So, for those adventurous supporters looking to take in an away trip to Halifax and see the rest of this beautiful country, the advice here is to start booking early. Because, as Martin explains, Halifax isn’t holding back the love for HFX Wanderers FC.

“There’s really not a week that goes by where I’m out driving around or at an event or out with my kids on the weekend and we don’t run into somebody who’s wearing a t-shirt or a hat or a scarf,” Martin said, adding that he and his son have made a hobby of pointing out all the bumper stickers they spot of the club logo.

“When you see that stuff you envision in your own mind start to be adopted by the people, it’s a pretty rewarding feeling. It’s been an amazing thing to watch happen.”

https://canpl.ca/article/wanderers-a...n-entices-fans