Soccer is a global sport.
It has the power to bring entire communities together, no matter how different each person may be.
For new Vancouver Whitecaps FC Diversity, Inclusion and Community Director Jennifer Scott, harnessing the passion for the sport to connect people from different backgrounds is one of the many ways she hopes to create a diverse and inclusive community.
"It's part of people's DNA," said Scott. "Soccer is who they are, it's what they do, it's what they live and breath. For me the idea is helping to create platforms that really allow different communities, different representations to fully engage in the experience, and making sure that we're creating an environment where there's room for everyone."
Scott joined Whitecaps FC earlier this month as the latest addition to the club’s leadership team. She previously worked with Sport Burnaby as their Director for seven years and sat on volunteer committees for a variety of community groups including Via Sport, Sports Tourism Canada and KidSport.
"I worked collaboratively with lots of different stakeholders to bring sports into Burnaby and I always did it with a lense of meeting a triple bottom line - we needed to see a social benefit, a sport benefit, and an economic benefit," explained Scott. "I see that quite similar to the Whitecaps, it has to be all things, it all has to be strategically built together and moving in one direction as a team."
In addition, Scott has also worked with Team BC as their Chef de Mission during the Canada Summer Games, an experience she says helped prepare her for her new role with the 'Caps.
"For [Team BC] to be successful, we needed to have a very well-trained, diverse, and inclusive team environment from our mission staff," said Scott. "I really hope to bring that approach to the Whitecaps of how we as a team operate and then how we can be of service to our community."
Now taking her experience to the 'Caps, Scott will play a critical role in building and implementing the club’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.
She will also be a key point of connecting with teams across the organization to educate, advise, guide, and champion behaviours that support diversity and inclusion, as well as manage all of the club's community initiatives.
When she got the call from the 'Caps, Scott knew it was an opportunity she couldn't turn down.
"Any opportunity to work with the Whitecaps is really interesting. As an organization, they have a special place and history in the community in Vancouver," said Scott. "I knew our missions and our values were very aligned, what really intrigued me was to see how diversity, inclusion and community were partnered together and so to have that ability to really implement our values through the community side was really the part that jumped out at me."
Scott knows the upcoming season will be an unusual one considering COVID-19 restrictions, but she hopes she can help bring a diverse and inclusive atmosphere across the community to make everyone feel part of the 'Caps family.
"We want you to find a home in the Whitecaps," said Scott. "It's our single mission to ensure that people have space and representation in the Whitecaps, a place full of celebration and joy and a sense of community."
