York United FC

York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC)[1][2] is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium.

"York United" redirects here. For the United Methodist congregation in Medina County, Ohio, see York United Methodist Church.

York United FC
Full nameYork United Football Club
Nickname(s)The Nine Stripes
FoundedMay 5, 2018 (2018-05-05) as York 9 Football Club
StadiumYork Lions Stadium
Toronto, Ontario
Capacity8,000
OwnerGreenpark Group
ChairmanMike Baldassarra
PresidentAngus McNab
CoachJimmy Brennan
LeagueCanadian Premier League
2020Canadian Premier League, 5th
WebsiteClub website

History
Diyaeddine Abzi with York9, during their final home game of the inaugural CPL season

In December 2017, former Canadian international Jimmy Brennan stepped down as executive director of Aurora FC and announced his intentions to take a role within the Canadian Premier League.[3] In March 2018, it was revealed that Brennan had been named executive vice-president of York Sports & Entertainment back in January.[4] The following day, it was revealed that the company's president Preben Ganzhorn also named himself as president of an unknown entity called York9 FC, believed to be a Canadian Premier League franchise.[5]

On May 5, 2018, York Region was one of four groups accepted by the Canadian Soccer Association for professional club membership.[6] Greenpark Group, headed by Carlo Baldassarra, was revealed as the owner of York9, with his son Mike as the chairman.[1][7][8] Both Brennan and Ganzhorn were pictured at the Annual Meeting of the Members when the group was announced.[9]

York9 FC was officially unveiled on May 10, 2018, as the first team to join the Canadian Premier League.[10] As well as confirming their place in the league for the 2019 launch season, the club also revealed their crest, colours and branding.[11] The club adopted the name York9 FC to represent the nine municipalities that make up York Region – Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and Whitchurch-Stouffville.[12] On July 27, 2018, York9 announced executive vice president of soccer operations Jimmy Brennan as the club's first head coach.[13]

In August, York9 fielded a York Region Soccer Association Selects team to compete in the U17 International Soccer Cup held at York Lions Stadium. The team beat Juventus F.C. before losing to Toronto FC in the final.[14]

The team has been called "Y9" and "The Nine Stripes" by the media and the league.[15][16][17] York9's inaugural match was a 905 Derby away to Forge FC on April 27, 2019;[18] the match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Ryan Telfer scoring the first goal in Canadian Premier League history.[19]

To determine the Canadian Soccer Association's representative in the CONCACAF Champions League, York9 played in the 2019 Canadian Championship competing for the Voyageurs Cup. The team lost the quarterfinal to Montreal Impact after a 2–2 draw at home and a 1–0 loss at Montreal.[20]

York9 was expected to begin their second season in the Canadian Premier League in April 2020 but the season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] During the postponement, the club sold young midfielder Emilio Estevez to Dutch Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag, the first CPL player to be sold to a European top flight.[22]

On December 11, 2020, the club was rebranded to York United FC, adopting a new crest and color scheme along with the name change. While the original club name exclusively targeted York Region, the new branding also attempts to be representative of the City of Toronto.[23]

Stadium

York plays its home matches at York Lions Stadium located in York University's Keele Campus in North York, Toronto.[24] Initially, the club had planned to use Alumni Field, on the same campus, while York Lions Stadium was being renovated for use at the end of the season.[25] Before the start of the 2021 season, the stadium will be renovated with a larger, artificial turf pitch and the removal of the athletic track which surrounded the playing surface.[26]

In 2018, the club announced plans to build a modular, wooden, 15,000-seat stadium within the next three years.[27] As of December 2020, financing and location of the new stadium is yet to be determined.[28]

Crest and colours

The crest's shape is derived from that of The Queen's York Rangers, an army regiment based in Toronto and York Region, with a blue element on top symbolizing Lake Ontario. The shield features a YU monogram and nine vertical stripes, a nod to the club's nickname "The Nine Stripes". A crown at the top features a trillium and a maple leaf, representing Ontario and Toronto respectively.[29]

The club's colours are dark green, dark blue, white, and gold, taken from the coat of arms of York, a predecessor to the City of Toronto. Unlike the majority of clubs in the CPL, York typically uses home kits that are primarily white.[30]

Former crest and colours
The inaugural "York9 FC" logo used during the club's first two seasons

The club used its original branding while it was known as York9 FC, between 2018 and 2020. The main feature of the crest's design was nine beams at the top of the crest, one for each municipality in York Region. The upward angle of the bars is a nod to the region's motto "Ontario's Rising Star". A white trillium at the base of the crest recognized Ontario, having been the province's floral emblem since 1937.[31]

The official club colours were light green, grey, and black (branded by the club as "electric green", "charcoal grey", and "black on black"). These colours symbolized the region's nature (in tandem with the club's environmental focus) and Black Creek.[11][31]

Club culture

Supporters

A supporters group called Generation IX was present at the club's launch event.[32][33] Prior to the team's second season in 2020, two new supporters groups formed: A student supporters group based out of York University called The Green Lions and a female-led supporters group called Dames of York.[34][35]

Rivalries
Main article: 905 Derby

York United has a rivalry with Forge FC, the only other Ontario-based team during the CPL's inaugural season. On January 29, 2019, the Canadian Premier League announced that the inaugural match of the league was going to be a 905 Derby on April 27, 2019 in Hamilton.[18] The match ended in a 1–1 draw.[19]

Players and staff

Roster
As of February 4, 2021[36][37]
No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos  Canada
4 Midfielder Jordan Wilson  Canada
6 Defender Roger Thompson  Canada
7 Forward Álvaro Rivero  Spain
8 Midfielder Sebastián Gutiérrez  Colombia
9 Forward Lisandro Cabrera  Argentina
10 Midfielder Mateo Hernández  Argentina
14 Midfielder Ijah Halley  Canada
16 Midfielder Max Ferrari  Canada
17 Forward Julian Ulbricht  Germany
20 Defender Diyaeddine Abzi  Canada
28 Midfielder Cédric Toussaint  Canada
29 Goalkeeper Nathan Ingham  Canada
36 Defender Felix N'sa  Canada
42 Defender Ryan Lindsay  Canada
44 Midfielder Isaiah Johnston  Canada
66 Defender Chrisnovic N'sa  Canada
80 Forward Lowell Wright  Canada
99 Midfielder William Wallace  Brazil
— Midfielder Noah Verhoeven  Canada

Out on loan
No. Position Player Nation
11 Forward Nicholas Hamilton (at Dundee)  Jamaica
21 Midfielder Michael Petrasso (at Barnet)  Canada
— Defender Dominick Zator (at Vasalunds IF)  Canada

Staff

As of April 21, 2020[38]

Executive
Owner Mike Baldassarra
President, CEO and GM Angus McNab
Coaching staff
Head coach and technical director Jimmy Brennan
First assistant coach Paul Stalteri
Assistant coach, goalkeeping coach Camilo Benzi
Operations staff
Equipment manager Alex Bizzarri

Head coaches
As of September 6, 2020
Coach Nation Tenure Record
G W D L Win %
Jimmy Brennan  Canada July 27, 2018 – present 41 13 13 15 31.71

Statistics include regular season and Canadian Championship matches.

Club captains
Years Name Nation
2019–2020 Manny Aparicio  Canada

Records

Year-by-year
Season League Playoffs CC Continental / Other Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
Div League Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Pos. Name Goals
2019[39] 1 CPL [lower-alpha 1] 28 9 7 12 39 37 +2 34 1.21 3rd DNQ R3 Ineligible 2,668 Rodrigo Gattas[40][41] 9
2020[42] CPL [lower-alpha 2] 7 2 4 1 8 7 +1 10 1.43 5th DNQ DNQ N/A Joseph Di Chiara 3

1. Average attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league season, league playoffs, Canadian Championship, CONCACAF League, and other competitive continental matches.

  1. Split season format was used with 10 games in spring season and 18 games in fall season
  2. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the season was held exclusively in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, without fans formatted as a two stage round-robin season with a single match final[43]

All-time top scorers
As of September 6, 2020
# Name Nation Career at club Goals Scored
CPL Cup Int'l Total
1 Rodrigo Gattas  Chile 2019 9 2 0 11
2 Ryan Telfer  Trinidad and Tobago 2019– 8 2 0 10
3 Simon Adjei  Sweden 2019 7 1 0 8
4 Joseph Di Chiara  Canada 2019–2020 5 0 0 5
5 Manny Aparicio  Canada 2019–2020 4 0 0 4
6 Wataru Murofushi  Japan 2019– 3 0 0 3
Kyle Porter  Canada 2019– 3 0 0 3

Note: Bold indicates active player

All-time top assists
As of September 6, 2020
# Position Name Nation Career at club Games Played
CPL Cup Int'l Total
1 Midfielder Kyle Porter  Canada 2019– 5 2 0 7
2 Defender Diyaeddine Abzi  Canada 2019– 4 0 0 4
Defender Morey Doner  Canada 2019–2020 4 0 0 4
4 Midfielder Manny Aparicio  Canada 2019–2020 2 0 0 2
Midfielder Ryan Telfer  Trinidad and Tobago 2019– 1 1 0 2
Forward Simon Adjei  Sweden 2019 2 0 0 2
Defender Steven Furlano  Canada 2019 2 0 0 2

Note: Bold indicates active player

All-time most appearances
As of September 6, 2020
# Name Nation Career at club Games Played
CPL Cup Int'l Total
1 Luca Gasparotto  Canada 2019–2020 35 6 0 41
2 Ryan Telfer  Trinidad and Tobago 2019– 33 6 0 39
3 Nathan Ingham  Canada 2019– 32 6 0 38
4 Manny Aparicio  Canada 2019–2020 31 6 0 37
Kyle Porter  Canada 2019– 31 6 0 37
6 Morey Doner  Canada 2019–2020 32 4 0 36
Wataru Murofushi  Japan 2019– 30 6 0 36
8 Diyaeddine Abzi  Canada 2019– 29 6 0 35
9 Joseph Di Chiara  Canada 2019–2020 30 4 0 34
Rodrigo Gattas  Chile 2019 28 6 0 34

Note: Bold indicates active player

Single-season records

As of September 6, 2020

Record Name Statistic Season
Goals (all competitions) Rodrigo Gattas 11 2019
Goals (league matches) Rodrigo Gattas 9 2019
Assists (all competitions) Kyle Porter 6 2019
Assists (league matches) Kyle Porter
Diyaeddine Abzi
Morey Doner		 4 2019
Clean sheets (all competitions) Nathan Ingham 8 2019
Clean sheets (league matches) Nathan Ingham 6 2019

Note: Bold indicates active player

Awards

Canadian Premier League Awards
Year Name Award Status
2019[44] Nathan Ingham Golden Glove Nominated
Diyaeddine Abzi Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year Nominated
Jimmy Brennan Coach of the Year Nominated

York United FC Fan Voted Awards
Year Name Award
2019[45] Morey Doner Fan Voted Player of the Year

Canadian Premier League Fan Awards
Year Name Award
2019[46] Morey Doner Team of the Year

References
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  2. BEDAKIAN, ARMEN. "Kyle Porter yearns to 'be remembered' with historic York9 FC signing". York9 FC.
  3. Cudmore, John (December 30, 2017). "Former TFC captain Jimmy Brennan steps down as Aurora FC executive director". YorkRegion.com. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  4. Brennan, Jim. "Jim Brennan on LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  5. "The CanPL Hub on Twitter". Twitter. March 4, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
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  20. "York9 FC and AS Blainville battle to a scoreless draw". canadasoccer.com. May 16, 2019.
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  37. @yorkutdfc (December 18, 2020). "The squad so far. From now until Christmas, you can get player customization added to your jersey order FOR FREE!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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