York9 FC
York 9 Football Club, commonly known as York9 FC or simply York9, is a Canadian professional soccer club based in York Region, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium in Toronto.
History
In December 2017, former Canadian international Jimmy Brennan stepped down as executive director of Aurora FC and announced his intentions to take a role within the Canadian Premier League. In March 2018, it was revealed that Brennan had been named executive vice-president of York Sports & Entertainment back in January. The following day, it was revealed that the company's president Preben Ganzhorn also named himself as president of an unknown entity called York9 FC, believed to be a Canadian Premier League franchise.On May 5, 2018, York Region was one of four groups accepted by the Canadian Soccer Association for professional club membership. Greenpark Group, headed by Carlo Baldassarra, was revealed as the owner of York9, with his son Mike as the chairman. Both Brennan and Ganzhorn were pictured at the Annual Meeting of the Members when the group was announced.
York9 FC was officially unveiled on May 10, 2018, as the first team to join the Canadian Premier League. As well as confirming their place in the league for the 2019 launch season, the club also revealed their crest, colours and branding. The club adopted the name York9 FC to represent the nine municipalities that make up York Region – Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and Whitchurch-Stouffville. On July 27, 2018, York9 announced executive vice president of soccer operations Jimmy Brennan as the club's first head coach.
In August, York9 fielded a York Region Soccer Association Selects team to compete in the U17 International Soccer Cup held at York Lions Stadium. The team beat Juventus F.C. before losing to Toronto FC in the final.
The team has been called "Y9" and “The Nine Stripes” by the media and the league. York9's inaugural match was a 905 Derby away to Forge FC on April 27, 2019; the match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Ryan Telfer scoring the first goal in Canadian Premier League history.
To determine the Canadian Soccer Association's representative in the CONCACAF Champions League, York9 played in the 2019 Canadian Championship competing for the Voyageurs Cup. The team lost the quarterfinal to Montreal Impact after a 2–2 draw at home and a 1–0 loss at Montreal.
York9 was expected to begin their second season in the Canadian Premier League in April 2020, but the season was delayed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. During the postponement, the club sold young midfielder Emilio Estevez to Dutch Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag, the first CPL player to be sold to a European top flight.
Stadium
York9 played the entirety of its inaugural season at York Lions Stadium located in York University's Keele Campus in North York. Initially, the club had planned to use Alumni Field, on the same campus, while York Lions Stadium was being renovated for use at the end of the season.The club plans to build a modular, wooden, 15,000 seat stadium within the next three years. The financing and location of the new stadium is yet to be determined.
Crest and colours
The main feature of the crest's design is nine beams at the top of the crest, one for each municipality in York Region, a nod to the region's motto "Ontario's Rising Star". A white trillium at the base of the crest recognizes Ontario, having been the province's floral emblem since 1937.The official club colours are green, grey, and black. These colours symbolize the region's nature and Black Creek.
Club culture
Supporters
A supporters group called Generation IX was present at the club's launch event. Prior to the team's second season in 2020, two new supporters groups formed: A student supporters group based out of York University called The Green Lions and a female-led supporters group called Dames of York.Rivalries
York9 has a rivalry with Forge FC, the only other Ontario-based team during the CPL's inaugural season. On January 29, 2019, the Canadian Premier League announced that the inaugural match of the league was going to be a 905 Derby on April 27, 2019 in Hamilton. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.Players and staff
Roster
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
Staff
As of April 21, 2020Head coaches
Statistics include regular season and Canadian Championship matches.Club captains
| Years | Name | Nation |
| 2019–present | Manny Aparicio |
Records
Year-by-year
Note: Only league goals counted for top scorera: Split season format was used with 10 games in spring season and 18 games in fall season
b: Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the season was held exclusively in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, without fans formatted as a double round robin season with a single match final
All-time top scorers
As of November 2, 2019Note: Bold indicates active player
All-time most appearances
As of November 2, 2019Note: Bold indicates active player
Single-season records
As of November 2, 2019| Record | Name | Statistic | Season |
| Goals | Rodrigo Gattas | 11 | 2019 |
| Goals | Rodrigo Gattas | 9 | 2019 |
| Assists | Kyle Porter | 6 | 2019 |
| Assists | Kyle Porter Diyaeddine Abzi Morey Doner | 4 | 2019 |
| Clean sheets | Nathan Ingham | 8 | 2019 |
| Clean sheets | Nathan Ingham | 6 | 2019 |
Note: Bold indicates active player