Vancouver Whitecaps FC are mourning the passing of William Azzi, an influential builder and legend in the local soccer community.
Azzi, who passed on October 14 at the age of 86, worked tirelessly and ran the Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL) for more than 20 years. Read more in his BC Soccer Hall of Fame bio here.
Along with his brother Gianni, Willie was a founder of Columbus FC, a soccer club for Italian immigrants, in the 1950s. From the 1960s to the 1990s, he coached boys and girls soccer teams at the schools where he taught. In the 1970s, he was the leading figure in the expansion of the Cape Horn Soccer Club from a small neighbourhood club to the dominant organization in youth soccer in Westminster District, the area spanning from New Westminster and Port Moody to Maple Ridge. In 1984, he helped found and became a driving force behind Metro Ford Soccer Club, which for years was the most successful youth soccer club in Canada. Along the way, he coached many championship-winning teams for both Cape Horn and Metro Ford. For twenty years, he was president of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League, which he saved from collapse after the embezzlement of the league’s funds by its former president.
For his contributions to the development of soccer in British Columbia, William Azzi received numerous honours. He twice received the President’s Award from Sport BC. BC Soccer honoured him with life membership, the Award of Merit, and the A.C. Sandford Award. In 2020, the Vancouver Metro Soccer League named its premier division trophy “The William Azzi Cup.” He was inducted into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the British Columbia Soccer Hall of Fame in 2023. Read more in his obituary here.
Whitecaps FC offer our condolences to the Azzi family and friends as we remember his incredible legacy to build the sport in our community.
