Youth soccer clubs merge

ALAN CAMPBELL acampbell@richmond-news com

An historical vote took place last week which will transform the youth soccer landscape in Richmond. At their respective AGMs, both Richmond FC and Richmond United voted to merge into one youth soccer organization

A merger committee was formed between the two clubs earlier this year to begin the process of combining the long-established organizations

The move was understood to be supported by key stakeholders, such as Canada Soccer, BC Soccer and the City of Richmond

For decades Richmond FC was the recognized community soccer club for boys, while Richmond United catered more for girls soccer

However, in recent years, both clubs have ventured into providing soccer platforms for both sexes, leading to what some believed was an inevitable merger

The merger mirrors that of the youth hockey community in 2017 in Richmond, where two competing clubs, Seafair and Richmond Minor agreed to set aside differences and become one for the betterment of the players