Vancouver Whitecaps owners put Major League Soccer club up for sale

Vancouver Whitecaps fans cheer during the second half of a first-round MLS Cup playoffs soccer match against Los Angeles FC, in Vancouver, on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

The owners of the Vancouver Whitecaps are putting the Major League Soccer team up for sale.

The ownership group — Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett and Steve Nash — announced the news in a statement Friday, saying the decision follows "reflection on what is required to ensure its continued growth and success."

"The current ownership has built a solid foundation for Whitecaps FC – it is the right time for an owner with the platform, resources and ambition to enhance the club’s ability to compete at the highest levels of MLS and steward the club in realizing its significant potential," the statement said.

No asking price has been publicly released. Goldman Sachs has been brought in to advise on sale and transition options.

MLS expansion club San Diego FC -- set to begin play next season -- reportedly paid a US$500 million expansion fee to join the league.

Toronto paid a $10 million expansion fee when it became part of the league in 2007. Vancouver reportedly paid $40 million to join four years later.

“The Vancouver Whitecaps would not be where they are today without the vision and commitment of this exceptional ownership group," MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a release. "The Whitecaps are a terrific club in a world-class city. On behalf of everyone at Major League Soccer, I want to thank them for their tremendous contributions and look forward to working with them to identify new ownership for the club.”

The Whitecaps finished the 2024 season with a 13-13-8 record and beat their regional rival Portland Timbers in wild-card playoff game before being eliminated by Los Angeles FC in a three-game first-round matchup.

Vancouver fired head coach Vanni Sartini from his role last month.

Originally a North American Soccer League team, the Whitecaps played their first game back in 1974.

Kerfoot, a Vancouver entrepreneur, bought the club in 2002 and the rest of the current ownership group joined in 2008 with the intention of making the 'Caps a MLS team.

Vancouver played its first game in the new league in March 2011.

The club has experienced a series of highs and lows since. While the 'Caps have won the Canadian Championship title three years in a row, the club has struggled in the post-season, repeatedly falling in the first round.

The Whitecaps weathered a scandal in 2019 when allegations emerged that a former coach of the women's team had assaulted multiple players. Bob Birarda was handed a two-year sentence in November 2022 after he pled guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching involving four teens.

Some prominent Canadians have come up through the 'Caps academy system during the current ownership group's tenure.

Left-back Alphonso Davies joined the residency program as a team and stunned in MLS play before the Whitecaps transferred him to German powerhouse Bayern Munich in 2018.

“Our group have been committed to transforming our local soccer club into a significant contributor to our community," Kerfoot said in a release "It is gratifying to see how meaningful the Whitecaps have become to so many, and to have been able to contribute to the growth of a vibrant and thriving soccer community in Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, British Columbia, and beyond.

"The passionate MLS supporters, academy development teams and players, the thousands of kids who attend camps, and the groups we support in nurturing the game in so many places have all proven out our belief in Vancouver as a first-class soccer market. The future of the Vancouver Whitecaps is bright."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2024.