VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC confirmed the club's roster ahead of their Major League Soccer regular season opener on Sunday at Portland Timbers. Kickoff from Providence Park against their Cascadia Cup rivals is set for 1 p.m. PT - watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and TSN.
Next week, the ‘Caps, with new head coach Jesper Sørensen at the helm, will play their first two home matches of the year.
- The only way to secure a seat to every MLS regular season home match at BC Place is by becoming a Whitecaps FC season member. For more information visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
Following a 2-1 road defeat on Thursday, Vancouver return to BC Place to host the second leg of Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup against Saprissa on Thursday, February 27 at BC Place at 7 p.m. PT. Whitecaps FC will then host their MLS home opener, presented by TELUS, against defending MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy on Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m. PT.
- Single match tickets, premium, flex pass, and group tickets are available at whitecapsfc.com/tickets
ROSTER COMPLIANCE
Vancouver, who are roster and budget compliant following the February 21 deadline, currently have 27 players on their active roster including 17 Senior Roster Slots and 10 Supplemental Roster Slots. There are 11 internationals on the roster, as the club holds nine International Roster Slots plus the three designated International Player Slots for Canadian clubs.
The club’s two Designated Players are two of the best in their position across the entire league in 2024 MLS All-Star and club captain Ryan Gauld, as well as defensive midfielder Andrés Cubas. In addition, Vancouver has two U22 Initiative players in fullback Édier Ocampo and midfielder Pedro Vite, as well as five players who were acquired or signed with the use of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) in goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka, centre backs Tristan Blackmon and Mathías Laborda, fullback Sam Adekugbe and forward Emmanuel Sabbi.
To start the season, Whitecaps FC have elected for the U22 Initiative Player Model. The club can use up to four U22 Initiative Roster Slots and invest an additional $2 million in General Allocation Money (GAM). A summary of the two MLS Roster Construction Models are available below.
“We opted for the U22 Initiative Player Model as it gives us more flexibility,” said Axel Schuster, Whitecaps FC sporting director. “We are still looking to add at least two players to our group and we will use the money that was previously allocated for the third Designated Player into this model.”
ROSTER COMPOSITION
To kick off the year, there are 22 returning players and five new players.
The new additions are all 30 years old and under including experienced MLS free agent in keeper Adrían Zendejas, MLS SuperDraft Generation adidas fullback Tate Johnson, Canadian international winger Jayden Nelson, US international forward Sabbi and experienced striker Daniel Ríos.
A total of 13 players are entering at least their third MLS season in Vancouver.
Centre back Ranko Veselinović joined the club prior to the start of the 2020 season and is the longest serving first team member as he is now in his sixth MLS season with the club.
The longest tenure at the club belongs to the three British Columbian graduates of the MLS BMO Academy. Goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer, the second longest serving member with the first team, originally joined the club’s Okanagan Academy in the fall of 2013, moved to Vancouver to join the full-time academy in August 2018, and signed his first MLS contract in August 2020. Fellow keeper in Max Anchor first joined the academy in August 2017 and signed a MLS pre-contract in May 2022. Midfielder Jeevan Badwal first joined the academy in August 2019 and signed a first team contract last September.
The roster has an average age of 25 years and 210 days. The youngest players are the two teenagers in Badwal, who turns 19 in March, and Johnson at 19. Forward Damir Kreilach is the eldest statesman at 35, followed by 30-year olds Adekugbe and Ríos.
Vancouver continues to field an international squad, with players from six continents. In total, there are 16 different birth countries including Canada (8), United States of America (4), England (2), Argentina, Australia, Cameron, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Japan, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, Serbia, and Uruguay.
At the international level, the ‘Caps have 10 players who have represented their country’s senior national team in recent years including Adekugbe, Ahmed and Nelson with Canada, Sabbi and White with the United States, Cubas with Paraguay, Gauld with Scotland, Belal Halbouni with Syria, Veselinović with Serbia, and Vite with Ecuador.
HOW THE TEAM WAS BUILT
Seven players arrived via transfer from Europe in Adekugbe, Cubas, Gauld, Halbouni, Nelson, Sabbi, and Veselinović, while Giuseppe Bovalina was acquired from a club in Australia, Takaoka was acquired from a club in Japan, and Vite was acquired from a club in Ecuador. Laborda, Bjørn Inge Utvik and Zendejas also arrived in Vancouver after most recently playing outside of North America. Adekugbe, Whitecaps FC BMO Academy product, Nelson, Toronto FC Academy product, and Zendejas all arrived in Vancouver with previous MLS experience.
The ’Caps acquired four players from intra-league trades in Sebastian Berhalter from Columbus Crew, Blackmon from Charlotte FC after being selected in the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft from LAFC, Ralph Priso from Colorado Rapids and White famously from New York Res Bulls. Kreilach and Ríos, on loan from Chivas de Guadalajara, both joined with significant MLS experience under their belts.
Three players joined the club via the MLS SuperDraft in midfielder J.C. Ngando in 2023, Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau in 2024, and Johnson in 2025.
There are four products of the Whitecaps FC BMO MLS Academy in Anchor, Badwal and Boehmer, as well as Adekugbe, who returned to the club in August 2023 following seven years in Europe. In addition, Ahmed, Badwal, and Fleuriau Chateau first signed with Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2) in MLS NEXT Pro before earning a first team contract.
POSITIONS
There are four goalkeepers on the roster Anchor, Boehmer, Takaoka, and Zendejas.
The backline features five centre backs in Blackmon, Halbouni, Laborda, Utvik and Veselinovic, as well as four fullbacks in Adekugbe, Bovalina, Johnson and Ocampo. Laborda is also an option at fullback.
The six central midfielders are Badwal, Berhalter, Cubas, Ngando, Priso and Vite.
There are eight attacking midfielders, wingers and strikers leading the line up front. Gauld and White, who have scored 44 and 55 goals respectively for the Blue & White across all competitions, are now just one goal shy of a combined 100 goals with both players arriving in Vancouver in the summer of 2021. The attack also includes Ahmed, Fleuriau Chateau, Kreilach, as well as new additions in Nelson, Ríos, and Sabbi.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC ROSTER
Goalkeepers (4): Max Anchor, Isaac Boehmer, Yohei Takaoka, Adrían Zendejas
Defenders (9): Sam Adekugbe, Tristan Blackmon, Giuseppe Bovalina, Belal Halbouni, Tate Johnson, Mathías Laborda, Édier Ocampo, Bjørn Inge Utvik, Ranko Veselinović
Midfielders (6): Jeevan Badwal, Sebastian Berhalter, Andrés Cubas, J.C. Ngando, Ralph Priso, Pedro Vite
Attacking Midfielders/Forwards (8): Ali Ahmed, Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau, Ryan Gauld, Damir Kreilach, Jayden Nelson, Daniel Ríos, Emmanuel Sabbi, Brian White
ELIGIBILITY FOR U22 INITIATIVE SLOT:
- Age: A player must be twenty-two years old or younger in the first year he is eligible to play in an MLS game (e.g., not eligible for 2025 if he turns 23 in 2025). A player who signs at age 22 or younger may continue to occupy a U22 Initiative Slot through the year in which he turns 25, provided that for non-Homegrown players, such player is on his initial contract. A Homegrown player may continue to occupy a U22 Initiative Slot through the year in which he turns 25, provided he must be on his first or second contract and the applicable contract must have been signed at age 22 or younger.
- Contract: A player is eligible to occupy a U22 Initiative Slot if signing his first contract with MLS, provided that player meets age and compensation requirements, as either a Homegrown player, or, as an international or domestic player playing outside of MLS. A player will be eligible to occupy a U22 Initiative Slot during his second contract provided that he meets the age and compensation requirements and signed his first contract with MLS as either a Homegrown or SuperDraft player.
- Compensation: A player’s salary may not exceed the Maximum Salary Budget Charge in any given year, including option years. A Homegrown or SuperDraft player on his second contract may earn up to $200,000 above the Maximum Salary Budget Charge in any given year, including option years.
- In addition, clubs may pay, without limit, additional amounts in the form of acquisition fees (i.e. transfer or loan fees).
MLS ROSTER CONSTRUCTION MODELS
All clubs are required to declare a roster construction model by the Roster Compliance Date at the beginning of the season (Friday, February 21). However, clubs will conditionally have the opportunity to update their roster construction model at midseason – between July 1 and the close of the Secondary Transfer Window on August 21.
This will allow clubs more flexibility to acquire Designated Players and U22 Initiative Players in the Secondary Transfer Window, while also providing another opportunity to invest additional GAM.
Designated Player Model
Clubs can use:
- Up to three Designated Player roster slots
- Up to three U22 Initiative roster slots
U22 Initiative Player Model
Clubs can use:
- Up to two Designated Player roster slots
- Up to four U22 Initiative roster slots
- Up to an additional $2 million in GAM
The increased GAM can be used to "buy down" a player's Salary Budget Charge, sign players new to MLS, re-sign an existing MLS player, offset acquisition costs and more.
Conditions for updating roster construction models at midseason:
- Updates must be made between July 1 and the close of the Secondary Transfer Window on August 21.
- U22 Initiative Player Model to Designated Player Model – The club must have used $1 million or less of the additional GAM and have no more than three U22 Initiative Players on their roster as of their updated declaration.
- Designated Player Model to U22 Initiative Player Model – The club may only invest up to $1 million of additional GAM during the remainder of the season and must have no more than two Designated Players on their roster as of their updated declaration.