The Voyageurs
| The Voyageurs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Established | 1996 |
| Type | Supporters' group |
| Team | Canada |
| Colors | |
| Website | [1] |
The Voyageurs is an unofficial Canadian soccer supporters group founded in 1996, notable for their support of Canada's national teams, awarding of the annual Voyageurs Cup for men's soccer at the MLS and former USL-1 levels and influence in the Canadian soccer media.
The group's first appearance at a match came at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, on August 30, 1996, displaying two banners at Canada's match with Panama to kick off the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Partly created to help foster a pro-Canadian sentiment at home games traditionally dominated by away supporters, the Voyageurs developed an online presence through the work of early members like Edmonton's Reza Khalili and gained its name through a suggestion by Vancouver, British Columbia soccer fan Martin Rose. The name "The Voyageurs" was chosen partly for being bilingual and for reflecting the difficult task ahead for supporters of Canadian soccer attempting to promote the game.
One of the group's first cohesive actions was to organize a petition to attempt to convince Owen Hargreaves to play internationally for Canada. Born in Calgary to a Welsh mother and an English father, and also eligible as a British citizen born outside the United Kingdom to play for Northern Ireland or Scotland, Hargreaves had yet to play in a competitive international match and thus be bound to any of the five countries, despite turning out in a series of friendlies for Wales in 1998. He eventually chose England and went on to star at the 2006 World Cup. Early members of the Voyageurs also devoted resources to an annual Christmas card mailing to Canadian players abroad from 1998 on, a task that involved a relatively small number of players in Europe compared to the present day.
...
Wikipedia