Dreamed of owning part of a professional soccer team? TSS Rovers of Vancouver gives you the opportunity

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Ask a North American sports fan if they know FC Köln, which the team’s locals pronounce “EF-tsay koeln,” and chances are they’ll raise a curious eyebrow and shrug.

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Die Geißböcke (The Billy Goats) in Cologne, Germany, is the fourth largest club in the Bundesliga with 100,000 members and the first team to win the league title in the 1960s.

But mention the Green Bay Packers, and there’s instant recognition, even for non-athletic fans. Curly Lambeau. Vincent Lombardy. Aaron Rogers. Brett Favre. A football team owned by a town whose total population barely exceeds the members of Köln.

And, like Köln and all other Bundesliga clubs, it is a team owned by the people.

This battle of helping people understand this common European connection is what Colin Elmes and Will Cromack face as they attempt to transition TSS Rovers into unprecedented territory: “Being the first Canadian soccer club to partner directly with their fans, giving them a voice in the development of the club, the players and the culture.”

On Tuesday, the organization will make public its offer to buy shares in a trust that will help manage the men’s and women’s teams that will play in the newly formed semi-professional League1 BC. Due to the legalities involved, the process is not as simple as putting a credit card into a GoFundMe campaign, but instead is run through the Canadian Equity crowdfunding platform. FrontFundr .

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“It was remarkable that people understood it more from an NFL standpoint,” said Cromack, the Rovers’ coach/general manager/co-founder.

“We’re like, ‘Listen, Alphonso Davies, you know, that guy that everyone in the country knows? Play for a club where 50 per cent ownership is owned by the fans. And it’s like, ‘What, are you kidding me?’ ”

Until 1998, historically, German clubs were run by their member associations when the 50+1 rule was introduced, allowing private or corporate investors, up to a maximum of 49 per cent. To begin with, Rovers are aiming for 38 per cent, with their sights set on 49 per cent, as indicated by the BC Soccer board.

Victoria Highlanders, who will also play in League1 BC this year, experimented with him in 2014, but the club was quickly dissolved and did not include co-ownership when it resumed a season later.

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It could be argued that the Canadian Premier League’s Valor FC is community run, as it is run by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, one of three publicly owned Canadian Football League teams, the other being the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton. Elks.

This was always the goal when Elmes, who founded the Richmond-based TSS Academy in 1997, and Cromack decided to form a professional team in 2017 to fill a void in Canadian soccer. All of the players were under the age of 24 and all were Canadian, either by birth or immigration status. They set up “The Spirit of the Rovers” community investment cooperative, but it remained a nebulous idea until a local lawyer and board member, Mike Stephens, got involved and, in the downtime caused by the pandemic, helped them out. to find your way. ahead.

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“We were all sitting in a room, patting each other on the back and then waiting for something to happen,” Elmes said, laughing.

“Basically, he rolled up his sleeves and said, ‘I’ve got this, guys,’” Cromack said of Stephens’ assist.

They have already raised around 20 per cent of their goal after reaching out to their supporters internally, with members of the Swanguardians and other fans quickly jumping on board. Cromack compared it to having a house party; there are the 20 people you invited and the other 200 who just showed up.

“I mean, they’re just… ecstatic,” Cromack said of his early investors.

“These guys are just foaming at the mouth, waiting for the 18th so they can shout from the rooftops that they own it. It has been very, very positive. I would almost say that some of them, beyond their wildest dreams, could actually believe that it happened.”

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The men’s Rovers have played in the Premier Development League and USL Two since their inception, and after missing the last two seasons due to travel and health restrictions caused by the pandemic, they will take part in the newly formed League1 BC. The seven-team league includes the Vancouver Whitecaps U-23 club and is intended to be a bridge between Canadian amateurs and professionals, such as the Canadian Premier League.

The Rovers, whose alumni include MLS players Patrick Metcalfe and Joel Waterman, drew immediate support from some sports fans disenchanted by their experience with professional teams. Fans, supporters, volunteers, everyone turned out in droves.

“The truth is that people literally want something they care about,” Cromack said. In fact, they will give hours, dollars, time, because it feels real and they want to be a part of it. And it is theirs.

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“I really don’t like the idea that the Canucks think I’m worth $19.22 because when I show up to a game, I bought so many hot dogs and two beers, I happened to be number 7,422 and I matched that amount of money.”

“A lot of these people feel like they’re just an ATM when it comes to American sports,” Elmes added.

Share owners will be able to vote on matters surrounding the direction of the club; for example, the purchase of land for a clubhouse, or whether the team must pay for a bubble tournament, but not “who starts on the left wing this Wednesday,” Cromack said with a smile. The idea is to be a collaborative community that helps build the game in Canada.

“We have a general idea of ​​what we want to see improve in the culture of Canadian soccer and we are going to fill it. Rovers League One is an example, for men and women, of showing people what is possible,” said Cromack. “And every step of the way we are going to invite what we believe to be the best version of football in the world to be our guide, our North Star.

“It is the first of its kind in Canada. It has never actually been done like this. You get a vote. You are an owner. And owning a football team is great.”

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