By: Kaja Antic, Sports Writer
Editor’s note: some quotes have been edited for clarity.
The Vancouver Albion is an emerging youth-led supporters’ group for the Major League Soccer (MLS) Vancouver Whitecaps. Albion is the first youth-centric supporter group for the team, originating in 2020 when some friends created a team in the FIFA 20 video game so they could play together during the early days of lockdown. The FIFA name randomizer had given the group the name “Vancouver Albion” and it stuck, something Albion president Tobyn Rootman says resembles their light-hearted nature compared to more senior groups.
“We realized that Albion meant a group or club in the United Kingdom, which obviously doesn’t make any sense, but it kind of connects to how our group is now,” Rootman explained in an interview with The Peak. “We’re a lot less formal than the other supporter groups.”
The original FIFA group began hosting Whitecaps watch parties as COVID-19 restrictions slowly lifted and the team wasn’t back to playing in BC Place with a crowd. “We’d go in my backyard and we’d watch games. It was a pretty fun way to still support the club and spend time together when it was really difficult to.”
The teenagers gathered to watch the MLS is Back tournament, which took place in a quarantined Walt Disney World complex in the summer of 2020. After the Whitecaps left the tournament, there were games played without spectators at BC Place against Canadian teams. The Whitecaps would play their remaining home games against American opponents at Portland’s Providence Park.
Kicking off the 2021 season, their home stadium was Real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium until the MLS allowed the three Canadian clubs to return to their home stadiums. The Whitecaps played their long-awaited first match back in BC Place with spectators on August 21, 2021, resulting in a 2–1 win against LAFC — and the first official game attendance in Albion history.
Since then, the group has grown from a young group of friends in 2021 to a recurring group of 200 in BC Place’s general admission section. Rootman noted this rapid growth is largely due to their relaxed recruitment process for new members. “The vast majority of our new members have been recruited just through casual conversation, and a lot of it outside of Whitecaps games.”
Before the first COVID-19 lockdown, Rootman was part of a now-defunct adult supporters’ group. “I was always met with, ‘You’re 12 years old, why are you trying to join a supporter group?’ All I wanted to do was become a supporter because it looked like so much fun.”
With the Albion, younger fans now have a community for supporters with similar experiences and interests. This new group is also not meant to denounce the grown-up groups that came before them, as the age differences don’t create any bad blood between supporter groups. Rootman recounted a recent game where the Vancouver Southsiders support group allowed the Albion members to use the megaphone and try out some of their new chants.
“We’re all chasing the same goal. We all want the team to succeed and we all want to build a better atmosphere at BC Place.”
The Albion has shifted in recent years from strictly a youth group to a youth-led group open to all. Elected positions such as president or council have the decision-making power for the group, and those in charge have to be under 21 at the time they are elected. Older members are still welcome to join and attend games, but the group’s official representatives will still be symbolic of the youth-driven origins.
“We don’t want to put any restrictions on becoming a member of our group because, ultimately, a big part of our group is inclusivity and making everyone feel welcome.”
Albion members gather both at the front of BC Place’s general admission section and through Instagram. “That’s kind of where we built our base,” Rootman told The Peak. “I think it’s something special about our group. You don’t see many groups of this size in anything being run solely off of Instagram. But it’s worked so far and definitely keeps the social aspect of our group outside of games alive.”
The Whitecaps begin their 2024 season at home in BC Place with the Vancouver Albion planning on further expansions to their rapidly growing team. With many big names coming to Vancouver this year — including Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF — the Albion look to be there, cheering from kick-off until the final whistle.
