Moving Whitecaps from Vancouver would be ‘a crime’: FIFA vice president

We are a year away from global soccer fans descending on Vancouver for the FIFA World Cup.

A vice president of soccer’s global governing body says moving the Vancouver Whitecaps would be “a crime” and negatively impact the city’s reputation after it hosts games at next year’s World Cup.

FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani spoke at a Vancouver Board of Trade event Tuesday, telling the crowd that relocating the Major League Soccer club would suggest to the world that the city simply wanted to host a party and isn’t actually serious about the sport.

“You don’t want to come out of the World Cup and your professional football club is playing in Sacramento,” said Montagliani, who is also the president of CONCACAF, soccer’s governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

“That would be a bruise on the city.”

The Whitecaps announced in December that the current ownership group — Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett and former NBA star Steve Nash — had put the team up for sale.

Speculation has since been rife that an out-of-town buyer will purchase the club and move it out of Vancouver.

In April, the Whitecaps revealed that they are in talks with the City of Vancouver about building a new, soccer-specific stadium in the city. Club chief executive officer Axel Schuster said at the time that those plans are intrinsically tied to the sale of the team.

“We are only working on one plan, one goal, and this is to keep the club in Vancouver and to find a very good setup for the future for this club in Vancouver,” he said. ”And part of all of this is to look in every possible option that might be needed to do this successfully.”

Keeping the Whitecaps in Vancouver is key to continuing the city’s love and support for soccer, Montagliani said on Tuesday.

“It is going to be a party — trust me. But it can’t just be about a party,” he said. “It’s got to be about the youth. It’s got to be about the game itself. And it’s got to be about the continuation of the game.”

He noted that Canada had to create its own league, the Canadian Premier League, in order to be eligible to bid for the 2026 World Cup. Losing one of the country’s biggest teams would be a step backward, he said.

“To lose an MLS club on the back of the World Cup would be a capital crime, in my opinion,” he said.

Montagliani is in his hometown of Vancouver to mark the one-year countdown to the tournament’s kick off on June 11, 2026, when the first games will be played in Mexico City and Guadalajara. The final is set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Vancouver and Toronto are among 16 host cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Vancouver will host seven matches across the tournament, starting on June 13, 2026, including five in the opening round, one in the round of 32 and one in the round of 16.

Organizers in B.C. said in April 2024 that it will cost between $483 million and $581 million for Vancouver to host the tournament. That number includes costs to the city, the province and upgrades to B.C. Place.

Renovations are currently underway at the 54,500-seat stadium, including new and upgraded suites, more and larger elevators, gender-neutral bathrooms, improved Wi-Fi and a new central video board. A natural grass pitch will also be installed.

The B.C. government has said it expects the World Cup will generate enough revenue to result in a net cost of between $100 million and $145 million.

Vancouver and Canada as a whole have a unique chance to create something special with the World Cup, Montagliani said.

“For me, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for Canada,” he said. “Maybe this has done us a favour, in terms of what’s going on (with U.S.-Canada relations), in terms of our Canadiana. I really think it’s an opportunity for us to take a global game and make it ours.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published June 10, 2025.