Brampton United
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| Full name | Brampton City United Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Lions, United | ||
| Founded | 2002 (as Metro Lions) | ||
| Stadium | Victoria Park Stadium Brampton, Ontario |
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| Stadium capacity |
2,000 | ||
| Chairman | Jose Leal, Mike Dimatteo | ||
| Manager | Juan Barreto | ||
| League | Canadian Soccer League | ||
| 2011 | Regular season: 4th Playoffs: Quarter-finals |
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| Website | Club home page | ||
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Brampton City United FC is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 2002. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, an unsanctioned league. The club plays out of Victoria Park Stadium in the community of Brampton, Ontario.
History
The team first entered the league as the Metro Lions in 2002, playing at Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough for three years. On March 30, 2005 it was announced the Metro lions were purchased by Oakville Soccer Club, and Oakville Premier Soccer Academy relocated to Oakville for the 2005 CPSL season, and the franchise was renamed to the Oakville Blue Devils.[1] Former Toronto Lynx head coach, and president of the Premier Soccer Academy Duncan Wilde was appointed manager. Wilde brought in the likes of former USL players which included Darren Baxter, Aaron Steele, Shawn Faria, Igor Prostan, and CSL veterans Phil Ionadi, Sa Brahima Traore, and Marko Bedenikovic. He was able to lead the Blue Devils in capturing their first Rogers Cup victory.
After the 2005 season Wilde resigned from his head coaching position, in order to manage to the Toronto Lynx again. During the 2006 season former team captain Phil Ionadi was appointed the new manager. He led them in clinching the National Conference, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, losing 2–1 to the Windsor Border Stars.
In 2007 because of the Club's administration was totally committed to the development of soccer, the Blue Devils relocated back to Scarborough and were renamed the Canadian Lions.
On March 13, 2008 the Lions were relocated to Brampton for the 2008 season, prompting another name change to Brampton Lions but still maintaining the team's name, logo, history and statistics. The Lions announced their coaching staff on March 30, signing Armando Costa as manager.[2] On April 10 the team held a press conference announcing their management team, hiring the likes of former Hitmen captain Phil Ionadi as the Director of Business Operations, and Costa as the Director of Soccer Operations and Manager.[3] On March 29, 2009 the Brampton Lions announced the affiliation with Dixie Soccer Club where Dixie SC will serve as the reserve side for the Lions while playing in the CSL Reserve Division.[4]
On January 16, 2011 Brampton announced another re-branding to Brampton City United FC.[5] The new crest bears a strong resemblance to the English Premier League's Manchester United, with a majestic lion in place of Manchester's traditional red devil.
In addition to the CSL club, Brampton United also sides a team in the Canadian Premier Futsal League. The newly formed CPFL also includes the Mississauga Eagles FC, local CSL rivals of the Lions. Home games are played at Mississauga's Hershey Centre with the debut season of the CPFL running from January to April with 12 regular season games and a playoff championship.[6] After a very successful first year, Brampton United defeated the Toronto Boca Juniors 6–3 at Seneca College to capture the 2012 CPFL Championship.[7]
Crest
As the Lions, the team maintained a similar logo for most of their history, aside from the 2005 and 2006 seasons when they were purchased by the Oakville Soccer Club and renamed the Oakville Blue Devils. The modified version of the Lions logo returned when the team was relocated to Scarborough, and once again when the team was moved to Brampton. For the 2011 season the club underwent a complete rebranding and received a new crest similar in style to Manchester United. The new crest pays homage to the club's history with a heraldic lion featured in the center.
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Mlions04.png
Metro Lions crest
(2002–04) -
Oakvillebluedevils.png
Oakville Blue Devils crest
(2005–06) -
Canadian Lions crest
(2007) -
Brampton Lions crest
(2008–2010)
Honours
Brampton United captured their first CSL Championship [known at the time as the Rogers Cup for sponsorship reasons] on October 10, 2005 in a 2–1 match against the Vaughan Shooters at Esther Shiner Stadium. The winning goal was scored during extra time in the 100' minute by Ryan Gamble. At the time, the club was still known as the Oakville Blue Devils.
- Rogers Cup: 1
- National Conference: 1
Year-by-year
| Year | Division | League | Regular Season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | First | CPSL | 2nd, Eastern | Semi Final |
| 2003 | First | CPSL | 5th, Eastern | Did not qualify |
| 2004 | First | CPSL | 2nd, Eastern | Quarter Final |
| 2005 | First | CPSL | 2nd, Western | Champions |
| 2006 | First | CSL | 1st, National | Quarter Final |
| 2007 | First | CSL | 4th, National | Quarter Final |
| 2008 | First | CSL | 3rd, National | Quarter Final |
| 2009 | First | CSL | 3rd, National | Quarter Final |
| 2010 | First | CSL | 10th | Did not qualify |
| 2011 | First | CSL | 4th | Quarter Final |
| 2012 | First | CSL | 11th | Did not qualify |
First team
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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References
- ↑ Oakville Blue Devils Enter CPSL
- ↑ BRAMPTON LIONS FC SIGN TOP COACH
- ↑ City welcomes the Lions
- ↑ March 2009 CSL Brampton Lions FC affiliate with Dixie Soccer Club
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ January 2012 Canadian Premier Futsal League Home
- ↑ Brampton City United wins CPFL Championship
External links
- Brampton City United Home Page
- Canadian Soccer League
- YouTube coverage of Brampton Lions press conference
