Last week, I attended my first Pacific FC game at Westhills Stadium and was blown away at how the new team has built up its loyal fan base so quickly. Seeing close to 5,000 people fill the stands, creating a sea of purple shirts, hats and scarves surrounding the field made me wonder, how did they do it? If I wasn’t familiar with the community, I would have assumed the team had been around for years.
I work in communications and marketing, and am certain someone will do a case study on Pacific FC and its communications and branding success.
The team’s co-owner and president, Josh Simpson, said research with focus groups helped guide the branding, the choosing of team colours and the team name.
Simpson’s explanation of building the team also adds a human element and heart.
Simpson grew up in Langford, playing for the Juan de Fuca Soccer Association and eventually on the Metro team which is a level for high-performance players in B.C. He attended Spencer Middle School and the old Belmont Secondary School, where Langford Thrifty Foods is located.
“I have roots here,” Simpson said.
The first media interview Simpson had was when he was just 14 years of age, with the Times Colonist’s Cleve Dheensaw.
“I went to Europe when I was 14 to play,” Simpson said. “I stayed six months and almost never came back.”
In Europe, Simpson played for a team based in the Czech Republic and travelled to other countries, including Holland and Scotland.
“Being away can be a tough experience for young players. I watched some get into trouble being far away from family and making money for the first time,” Simpson said.
Simpson travelled to Europe alone and stayed with a billet family. His mother signed him up for home schooling, sending him his schoolwork. Eventually, his family had him move back to Canada to be with them.
“I want to make a pathway for local players,” Simpson said. “My journey of having to leave the Island and try my trade in Europe, won’t have to be their story. We want young players on the Island to know we want to work with them and develop them as players.”
When my daughter was playing soccer, the association would send emails to all the families and organize bus trips to take the kids and parents to Vancouver to watch Whitecaps games. At that time, it made sense to bus the families to Vancouver so the kids could experience a professional soccer game.
Lots of local kids dream of growing up and playing for the Whitecaps. Now, they have a team in their city that can make the goal of playing professionally seem more attainable.
I can see how kids having role models they can watch regularly will aid in the desire to be the best soccer players they can be. Watching elite players display excellence on the field is going to wear off on the kids.
I coached my daughter’s Timbits soccer team a few years ago and it was exceptionally hard to get five-year-old kids to pass to each other and work as a team. Watching the pro soccer players work collectively would have been a fantastic way for the kids to learn from example.
Our city has a huge PacificFC fan base and Simpson said he knew the support would be here. “I knew this was a soccer Island. We have the best weather in Canada,” said Simpson. “Soccer is undeniably the biggest sport in the world.”
The next Pacific FC game is Monday at 3 p.m. at Westhills Stadium. The first 2,500 fans will receive a free Canadian flag.
Charla Huber is the director of communications and Indigenous relations for M’akola Housing Society and M’akola Development Services.
