Vancouver Whitecaps FC

The Vancouver Whitecaps were once champions (in 1979) of the flashy but ultimately doomed NASL (North American Soccer League) of the 1970s and early 80s, drawing over 60,000 to BC Place Stadium (then a marvel of modern architecture) for games. After the NASL folded, many assumed that top flight soccer was gone from Vancouver for good, though the team muddled along through the years in lower divisions of North American soccer. Everything changed in 2011 when the Vancouver Whitecaps joined the MLS, moving back into a renovated BC Place Stadium with a new retractable cable roof. The Whitecaps struggled through their first few seasons, finishing dead last in 2011 and failing to get past the First Round of the MLS Playoffs until a pair of Quarterfinals appearances in 2015 and 2017 (the team’s best postseason performance to date). The Whitecaps did, however, bring home their first trophy in modern times in 2015, winning the Canadian Championship with a 4-2 aggregate win over Montréal. This qualified the Whitecaps for the 2016 CONCACAF Champions League, in which they made a surprise run to the Semifinals, where they were knocked out at last by Mexico’s UANL. The ensuing years have brought two more Canadian Championships (2022, 2023) but little else, with the team making the Playoffs just twice since 2017. Many consider the Vancouver Whitecaps’ most significant contribution to Canadian soccer to be international superstar Alphonso Davies, by far Canada’s best ever soccer player. Davies emerged out of the Whitecaps academy in 2016, making his full MLS debut at just 16 years old and Canada National Soccer Team debut the next year at 17 years old. At 23, Davies has now played for Canada 44 times and led the team to just their second ever FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022, where he scored the country’s first ever World Cup goal. Davies currently plays for Bayern Munich, with rumors swirling of a move to Real Madrid. While Vancouver Whitecaps fans can only dream of another player of Davies’s quality coming through their academy, hopes are riding high that the likes of Sam Adekugbe, Tristan Blackmon, and Andrés Cubas, along with Yohei Takaoka in goal could lead them back into contention in 2024.

How can I get cheap tickets to Vancouver Whitecaps games?

The Vancouver Whitecaps are extremely popular in their multicultural soccer-loving city, drawing big crowds to home games at BC Place Stadium. While this creates a fantastic game day atmosphere, games often sell out quickly, making tickets difficult to come by, particularly for playoff games, cup games, key conference deciders, and rivalry matchups (see below). To score the cheapest tickets to Vancouver Whitecaps games, search the TicketX listings on this page and use our trusty TicketX seating chart to compare prices and locations. Tickets can be purchased from TicketX with just one click for the lowest commission fees! 

Will Vancouver Whitecaps play against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in the 2024 regular season? 

Yes, the Vancouver Whitecaps will play against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF on the following dates in 2024:

• May 25 - Inter Miami CF at Vancouver Whitecaps (BC Place Stadium) 

For your best chance at landing the cheapest tickets to sold out Inter Miami CF games featuring Lionel Messi*, search TicketX listings on this page and use our trusty TicketX seating chart to compare seats and prices. Tickets can be purchased from TicketX with a single click for the lowest commission fees! 

**As with any sport, there is never a guarantee that an athlete will be available to play in a certain game. Injuries and other issues can rule Messi out of action, just as they can with any other athlete.

Vancouver Whitecaps Soccer Rivalries

While one might expect the Vancouver Whitecaps’ biggest rivals to be their fellow Canadians, CF Montréal and Toronto FC, most Whitecaps fans actually look south across the border when it comes to soccer rivalries, being located far closer to Portland and Seattle than Toronto or Montréal. Based on this geography, the Whitecaps contest the annual (informal) Cascadia Cup against the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers each season. Matches between the three teams are known for being very intense as many away supporters travel to each others’ cities to cheer on their teams. 

Are Vancouver Whitecaps soccer games exciting?

Vancouver Whitecaps games are a lot of fun, bringing together the city’s diverse communities under the big roof (sometimes open, on rare non-rainy days!) of BC Place Stadium to support the team. The Whitecaps have many supporters groups, including the Vancouver Southsiders, Curva Collective, and the Rain City Brigade. The Southsiders actually hail back from long before the MLS, evolving from a group of dudes who used to stand in the beer garden behind the goal at Swangard and heckle opposing keepers (okay, maybe they haven’t evolved that much). Whether at home or in Portland or Seattle away (intense rivalries!), you need to go see a Whitecaps game right away!