2023 Valour FC season

Valour FC
2023 season
PresidentWade Miller
Head coachPhillip Dos Santos
StadiumIG Field
Canadian Premier League8th
Canadian ChampionshipPreliminary round
Highest home attendance4,036
Lowest home attendance2,665
Average home league attendance3,220
← 2022
2024 →

The 2023 Valour FC season was the fifth season in the history of Valour FC. They played in the Canadian Premier League, which it co-founded and played in since the inception of both the club and the league. The club entered the Canadian Championship in the preliminary round.

Background

In Valour's preceding four seasons, it never reached the play-offs, for which the top-four qualified in those seasons. The club ended in sixth place in the first two seasons and fifth place in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, missing the play-offs by one and nine points, respectively. The club's entry in the domestic cup competition, led to a single win over its previous four seasons. It was the club's second full season with Phillip Dos Santos as head coach, since he took over midway through the 2021 campaign.

Current squad

As of August 17, 2023.

No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Previous club
Goalkeepers
1 Darlington Murasiranwa Zimbabwe GK (2001-02-07)February 7, 2001 (aged 22) Canada FC London
99 Rayane Yesli Algeria GK (1999-10-12)October 12, 1999 (aged 24) Canada Blainville
Defenders
2 Andy Baquero Cuba RB / RW (1994-08-17)August 17, 1994 (aged 29) Dominican Republic Delfines del Este
3 Jordan Haynes Canada LB / LW (1996-01-17)January 17, 1996 (aged 27) Canada Pacific FC
4 Guillaume Pianelli France CB (1998-05-01)May 1, 1998 (aged 25) Canada UQTR Patriotes
5 Abdou Samake Mali CB (1996-10-07)October 7, 1996 (aged 27) Canada Pacific FC
18 Klaidi Cela Canada CB (1999-07-16)July 16, 1999 (aged 24) Canada Vaughan Azzurri
19 Eskander Mzoughi Canada RB (2003-02-06)February 6, 2003 (aged 20) Belgium Oud-Heverlee Leuven U23
22 Matteo de Brienne Canada LB (2002-05-22)May 22, 2002 (aged 21) Canada Carleton University
35 Andrew Jean-Baptiste Haiti CB (1992-06-16)June 16, 1992 (aged 31) Sweden Umeå FC
Matthew Chandler Canada CB (2000-02-07)February 7, 2000 (aged 23) United States Wisconsin Badgers
Midfielders
6 Dante Campbell Canada DM / CB (1999-05-22)May 22, 1999 (aged 24) United States LA Galaxy II
7 Kian Williams England AM / CF (2000-01-07)January 7, 2000 (aged 23) Iceland Keflavík
8 Diego Gutiérrez Canada RM / RB (1997-02-18)February 18, 1997 (aged 26) Chile Barnechea
10 Kevin Rendón Colombia AM (1993-01-08)January 8, 1993 (aged 30) Colombia Deportivo Pasto
20 Juan Pablo Sanchez United States / Canada MF (2003-04-18)April 18, 2003 (aged 20) Portugal Salgueiros
21 Marcello Polisi Canada CM / DM (1997-01-24)January 24, 1997 (aged 26) Canada HFX Wanderers
27 Raphael Ohin Ghana CM (1995-05-25)May 25, 1995 (aged 28) Canada WSA Winnipeg
Forwards
9 Walter Ponce Chile CF (1998-03-04)March 4, 1998 (aged 25) Chile Barnechea
11 Jared Ulloa Peru RW / LW (2002-06-08)June 8, 2002 (aged 21) Peru Sporting Cristal
12 Ahinga Selemani United States FW (1996-03-15)March 15, 1996 (aged 27) United States One Knoxville SC
23 Anthony Novak Canada ST (1994-03-27)March 27, 1994 (aged 29) Canada Cavalry FC
24 Pacifique Niyongabire Burundi LW / RW (2000-03-15)March 15, 2000 (aged 23) Australia Perth Glory
32 Jaime Siaj Jordan ST (1995-12-16)December 16, 1995 (aged 28) Republic of Ireland Finn Harps

Transfers

In

Transferred in

No. Pos. Player From club Fee/notes Date Source
3 DF Canada Jordan Haynes Canada Pacific FC Free December 5, 2022 [1]
5 DF Mali Abdou Samake Canada Pacific FC Free December 12, 2022 [2]
24 FW Burundi Pacifique Niyongabire Australia Perth Glory Free December 19, 2022 [3]
7 MF England Kian Williams Iceland Keflavík Free December 21, 2022 [4]
21 MF Canada Marcello Polisi Canada HFX Wanderers Free January 4, 2023 [5]
DF Canada Eskander Mzoughi Belgium Oud-Heverlee Leuven Free January 18, 2023 [6]
MF United States Juan Pablo Sanchez Portugal Salgueiros Free January 18, 2023 [6]
32 FW Jordan Jaime Siaj Republic of Ireland Finn Harps Free January 25, 2023 [7]
11 MF Peru Jared Ulloa Peru Sporting Cristal Free February 2, 2023 [8]
6 MF Canada Dante Campbell United States LA Galaxy II Free February 10, 2023 [9]
1 GK Canada Jordan Tisseur Canada FC Laval Signed to a development contract February 20, 2023 [10]
4 DF France Guillaume Pianelli Canada UQTR Patriotes Selected 5th overall in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft March 6, 2023 [11]
23 FW Canada Anthony Novak Canada Cavalry FC Free March 9, 2023 [12]
DF Canada Matthew Chandler United States Wisconsin Badgers Free April 6, 2023 [13]
DF Canada Klaidi Cela Canada Vaughan Azzurri Free April 27, 2023 [14]
12 FW United States Ahinga Selemani United States One Knoxville SC Free July 22, 2023 [15]
GK Zimbabwe Darlington Murasiranwa Canada FC London Free August 17, 2023 [16]

Draft picks

Valour 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 5 DF Guillaume Pianelli  France UQTR
2 12 DF Samuel LaPlante  Canada UQTR

Out

Transferred out

No. Pos. Player To club Fee/notes Date Source
17 MF Canada Brett Levis United States FC Tulsa Contract expired November 15, 2022 [17]
4 DF Lebanon Tony Mikhael Contract expired November 15, 2022
12 DF United States Jonathan Esparza Contract expired November 15, 2022
1 GK Canada Jonathan Sirois Canada CF Montréal End of loan November 30, 2022
24 FW Canada Sean Rea Canada CF Montréal End of loan November 30, 2022
13 FW Turks and Caicos Islands Billy Forbes United States Detroit City End of loan November 30, 2022
14 DF Canada Stefan Cebara Contract expired December 13, 2022 [18]
11 MF Canada Alessandro Riggi Contract expired December 13, 2022 [18]
77 MF Trinidad and Tobago Federico Peña Sweden Umeå FC Contract expired December 13, 2022 [18]
7 FW New Zealand Moses Dyer United States FC Tulsa Contract expired December 22, 2022 [19]
3 DF Canada Rocco Romeo Canada Vancouver FC Contract expired January 16, 2023 [20]
16 FW Northern Ireland Daryl Fordyce Retired January 20, 2023 [21]
5 DF Algeria Nassim Mekideche United States Sporting Kansas City II Contract expired January 23, 2023 [22]
70 MF Canada Matthew Catavolo Canada Toronto FC II Undisclosed fee March 21, 2023 [23]

Pre-season and friendlies

Friendlies

Valour played three friendlies in as part of their preseason preparations.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

March 18, 2023 (2023-03-18) Vancouver FC 2–2 Valour FC Langley, British Columbia
Hundal
Romeo		 Siaj
Mat.Polisi 		Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Stadium
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren
March 22, 2023 (2023-03-22) Pacific FC 2–0 Valour FC Langford, British Columbia
Stadium: Starlight Stadium
Referee: Alain Ruch
April 3, 2023 (2023-04-03) Cavalry FC 0–2 Valour FC Calgary, Alberta
Report Niyongabire Stadium: Macron Performance Centre
Referee: Yusri Rudolf

Competitions

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Canadian Premier League regular season April 16, 2023 October 6, 2023 — 8th 28 6 8 14 25 38 −13 021.43
Canadian Championship April 19, 2023 April 19, 2023 Preliminary round Preliminary round 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 000.00
Total 29 6 8 15 26 41 −15 020.69

Last updated: December 29, 2023
Source: Competitions

Canadian Premier League regular season

Main article: 2023 Canadian Premier League season § Regular season

League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Playoff qualification
1 Cavalry (S) 28 16 7 5 46 27 +19 55 First semifinal
2 Forge (C) 28 11 9 8 39 32 +7 42[a]
3 HFX Wanderers 28 11 9 8 39 32 +7 42[a] Quarterfinal
4 Pacific 28 11 7 10 42 35 +7 40 Play-in round
5 York United 28 11 5 12 35 44 −9 38
6 Atlético Ottawa 28 10 6 12 38 34 +4 36
7 Vancouver 28 8 5 15 28 50 −22 29
8 Valour 28 6 8 14 25 38 −13 26
Source: CanPL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total wins; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goal differential; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Home goal differential; 8) Home goals scored; 9) Total minutes played by U-21 players; 10) Coin toss (2 teams tied) or drawing of lots (3+ teams tied).[24]
(C) Champion (qualified to Champions Cup); (S) CPL Shield winner (qualified to Champions Cup)
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Tie resolved by away goal differential; Forge: +4, Wanderers: −2

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

April 16, 2023 (2023-04-16) 1 York United 0–2 Valour FC Toronto
 Report
Stadium: York Lions Stadium
Attendance: 1,607
April 22, 2023 (2023-04-22) 2 Valour FC 1-1 Atlético Ottawa Winnipeg
 Report
Stadium: IG Field
Attendance: 3374
April 30, 2023 (2023-04-30) 3 Cavalry FC 1-1 Valour FC Foothills County
Stadium: ATCO Field
May 6, 2023 (2023-05-06) 4 Valour FC 0-0 HFX Wanderers Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
May 13, 2023 (2023-05-13) 5 Forge FC 3-2 Valour FC Hamilton
Stadium: Tim Hortons Field
May 20, 2023 (2023-05-20) 6 Valour FC 1-1 Pacific FC Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
May 28, 2023 (2023-05-28) 7 Vancouver FC 0-0 Valour FC Langley
Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Stadium
June 4, 2023 (2023-06-04) 8 Valour FC 1-1 York United Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
June 10, 2023 (2023-06-10) 9 HFX Wanderers 2-0 Valour FC Halifax
Stadium: Wanderers Grounds
June 16, 2023 (2023-06-16) 10 Valour FC 2-0 Forge FC Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
June 21, 2023 (2023-06-21) 11 Pacific FC 1-0 Valour FC Langford
Stadium: Starlight Stadium
June 25, 2023 (2023-06-25) 12 Valour FC 1-0 Vancouver FC Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01) 13 Valour FC 0-2 Cavalry FC Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
July 9, 2023 (2023-07-09) 14 Atlético Ottawa 2-0 Valour FC Ottawa
Stadium: TD Place Stadium
July 15, 2023 (2023-07-15) 15 Forge FC 1-1 Valour FC Hamilton
Stadium: Tim Hortons Field
July 23, 2023 (2023-07-23) 16 Valour FC 1-2 York United Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
July 29, 2023 (2023-07-29) 17 Valour FC 0-3 Pacific FC Winnipeg
Report
Stadium: IG Field
Attendance: 2,977
August 6, 2023 (2023-08-06) 18 Vancouver FC 0-0 Valour FC Langley
Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Stadium
August 11, 2023 (2023-08-11) 19 Valour FC 3-2 Cavalry FC Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18) 20 Valour FC 1–3 Atlético Ottawa Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
August 26, 2023 (2023-08-26) 21 HFX Wanderers 3–0 Valour FC Halifax
Stadium: Wanderers Grounds
September 2, 2023 (2023-09-02) 22 Pacific FC 2–1 Valour FC Langford
Stadium: Starlight Stadium
September 8, 2023 (2023-09-08) 23 York United 1–3 Valour FC Toronto
Stadium: York Lions Stadium
September 17, 2023 (2023-09-17) 24 Valour FC 2–3 Forge FC Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
September 20, 2023 (2023-09-20) 25 Valour FC 0–1 Vancouver FC Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field
September 24, 2023 (2023-09-24) 26 Atlético Ottawa 0–1 Valour FC Ottawa
Stadium: TD Place Stadium
September 29, 2023 (2023-09-29) 27 Cavalry FC 2–1 Valour FC Foothills County
Stadium: ATCO Field
October 6, 2023 (2023-10-06) 28 Valour FC v HFX Wanderers Winnipeg
Stadium: IG Field

Canadian Championship

Main article: 2023 Canadian Championship

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

April 19, 2023 (2023-04-19) First round TSS FC Rovers 3–1 Valour FC Burnaby, British Columbia
 Report
Stadium: Swangard Stadium

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Valour FC signs Canadian defender Jordan Haynes". Valour FC. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  2. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian defender Abdou Samake". Valour FC. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Valour FC sign Burundian forward Pacifique Niyongabire". Valour FC. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "Valour FC sign English forward Kian Williams". Canadian Premier League. December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  5. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian midfielder Marcello Polisi". Valour FC. January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Valour FC sign midfielder Juan Pablo Sanchez and defender Eskander Mzoughi". Valour FC. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "Valour Adds Jordanian Striker Jaime Siaj". Canadian Premier League. January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian-Peruvian forward Jared Ulloa". valourfc.canpl.ca. Valour FC. February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  9. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian midfielder Dante Campbell". Valour FC. February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "Valour FC sign goalkeeper Jordan Tisseur to a USPORTS contract". Canadian Premier League. February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  11. ^ "Valour FC sign defender Guillaume Pianelli to U SPORTS contract". Canadian Premier League. March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  12. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian forward Anthony Novak to a contract". Valour FC. March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian defender Matthew Chandler". Canadian Premier League. April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  14. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian defender Klaidi Cela". Valour FC. April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian forward Ahinga Selemani". Canadian Premier League. July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  16. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian goalkeeper Darlington Murasiranwa". Valour FC. August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  17. ^ "FC Tulsa Inks 2022 Canadian Premier League Team of the Year Defender Brett Levis to Multi-Year Deal". FC Tulsa. November 15, 2022.
  18. ^ a b c Valour FC [@ValourFootball] (December 13, 2022). "Thank you for your commitment to the crest. We're wishing Federico Peña, Stefan Cebara and Alessandro Riggi the best of luck in their future endeavours" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "FC Tulsa Inks Coveted Canadian Premier League Striker Moses Dyer to Multi-Year Deal". FC Tulsa. December 22, 2022.
  20. ^ "Vancouver FC signs Canadian defender Rocco Romeo". Canadian Premier League. January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  21. ^ ""It was 20 years of emotions from all the mental and physical work I've put in and realizing, 'That's it.'"". Valour FC. January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  22. ^ "Sporting KC II signs Algerian Canadian defender Nassim Mekideche". Sporting KC. January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  23. ^ "Toronto FC II sign Matthew Catavolo and Jesus Batiz". Sporting KC. March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  24. ^ "2023 CPL Competition Guidelines". Canadian Premier League. March 17, 2023. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.