Ottawa Rapid FC host open practice ahead of inaugural season

Fans were invited to see the Ottawa Rapid FC on Monday, ahead of its historic first game next weekend. CTV’s Josh Marano reports.

It’s an exciting time to be an Ottawa sports fan as the city’s newest professional sports franchise is set to kick off its first season.

The team is preparing for their inaugural home opener at TD Place on Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m. against AFC Toronto.

“We’re going to make sure that we have a great atmosphere, we’re going to make sure that there’s a lot going on on the field,” said Ottawa Rapid FC CEO Thomas Gilbert.

“I’ve seen a lot of analysis of the various teams, personally, I think we’re the team to beat. I think that we’re going to be right up there at the end of the year.”

Ottawa Rapid FC is a founding member of the Northern Super League (NSL), Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league.

The NSL’s opening weekend saw matches at B.C. Place in Vancouver and BMO Field in Toronto, which drew 14,018 and 14,518 fans, respectively.

Ottawa-born midfielder Miranda Smith says she’s encouraged that so many fans are coming out to the games.

“It’s even more encouraging just to see the young girls come out and girls and boys and families come out, it’s just a little bit of insight for what hopefully the weekend will look like and then I think for them, it’s also really special,” she said.

Co-captain Olivia Scott agrees she’s hoping to inspire the next generation of girls who want to participate in the sport.

“I wish as a little girl I had this league for girls to look up to from my town. Wherever you’re from, you can look up to that group of girls. It’s just an amazing thing that I wish I had. It’s inspiring to be that for that future generation is great,” she said.

“We’re so eager to get started,”

The Rapid FC is holding an open practice Monday for fans to come and see the team before the big match, get autographs and interact with the players.

The team will play 25 matches this season, with 10 Saturday games and five Sunday games. Thirteen matches will be played at home at TD Place.

Tickets are available now at rapidfc.ca/tickets.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond