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Lower Mainland soccer swaps, re-signings ahead of at-home match

Vancouver FC shuffles up team ahead of Sunday game against Hamilton
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Head coach Afshin Ghotbi, elated after a win earlier this season, announced a few changes to the team roster this week, ahead of game Sunday at Willoughby Stadium.

A player swap and resigning of two young up-and-comers were trumpeted this week, ahead of Vancouver Football Club’s second home game in as many weeks.

With only four regular-season home games left on their calendar, the Langley-based Eagles are gearing up for a victory against Hamilton Sunday afternoon.

And they’re hoping some of their returning players, as well as a new face on the pitch are able to contribute to such a triumph.

Coming off a 1-0 win over Vancouver Island’s Pacific FC last Sunday, the Eagles extend its winning streak against their B.C. rivals and helped secure fifth spot in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) standings.

Forge FC will be a tough opponent, as they just reached the top of the CPL standings, but VFC will be looking to take all three points on Sunday, said head coach Afshin Ghotbi.

On Thursday, Ghotbi announced the team will be retaining two U SPORTS players for 2025, that being 22-year-old striker Sebastian Dzikowski, who hails from Calgary, and Coquitlam midfielder Thomas Powell, 23, who is continuing his studies at Trinity Western University.

“We have been very pleased with the performances of both of our U SPORTS players this year,” said Ghotbi.

Then, the next day, the head coach announced a player swap with the very team they beat at Willoughby Stadium last Sunday.

VFC has acquired 22-year-old Vancouver forward Ayman Sellouf on loan from Pacific FC for the rest of the season.

In exchange, New Zealand-born attacker Moses Dyer, 27, will spend the rest of the 2024 season playing for Pacific.

“We are thrilled to add Ayman to our selection,” said Ghotbi.

“He will add another dimension to our attack with his ability to break lines and create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.”

Sellouf, a native of the Netherlands, is in his second season in the CPL.

He signed his first professional contract in 2019 with NEC Nijmegen. He represented FC Utrecht and Jong FC Utrecht in the Dutch football league system before coming to Canada.

Sellouf will be eligible to play for VFC this weekend.

Sunday’s game between Vancouver and Forge will kick off at Willoughby Stadium at 4 p.m.

Gates open at 3 p.m. for a Women & Girls in Sport themed match. It includes a meet-and-greet session, where spectators can spend time with empowered women in the sports industry, including Olympians Shallon Olsen and Drew Mechielsen, sports reporter Emmy Curtis, as well as other local athletes.

Mechielsen, for example, is a Langley athlete who’s made a name for herself on the global BMX arena.



Roxanne Hooper

About the Author: Roxanne Hooper

I began in the news industry at age 15, but honestly, I knew I wanted to be a community journalist even before that.
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