Vancouver FC Releases Roster Update, More Choices To Come

Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC just endured a contentious season, with Afshin Ghotbi being let go midseason after infamously quipping that his side was the ‘Best Last-Place Team’ in league history. While interim boss Martin Nash improved the metrics, Vancouver still finished dead last when the season came to its end.

See Also: Has Martin Nash Done Enough To Land The Vancouver FC Gig?

The Langley-based side has confirmed an end-of-season roster update that does not explicitly confirm any departures, though it confirms the end of five loans, pending club option choices on six players, and lists seven players approaching contract expiry, though it remains in discussion with some of them.

The confirmed Vancouver FC roster for 2026 CPL Season has nine players on guaranteed contracts:

Goalkeepers: Callum Irving, Felipe Jaramillo

Defender: Matteo Campagna

Midfielders: Emrick Fotsing, Michel da Silva, Vasco Fry

Forwards: Terran Campbell, Thierno Bah, Kevin Podgorni

The side holds club options on six players and has until December 31 to make a decision on whether it will activate them. Those are defenders Kunle Dada-Luke and club original Tyler Crawford, midfielders Aabdoulaye Ouattara, Juan Batista, star veteran Nicolas Mezquida, and forward Jose Navarro.

Mezquida produced eight goals and two assists in 23 appearances across all competitions this year, with the 33-year-old seeming an absolute shoe-in to renew. Kunle Dada-Luke made 29 appearances overall, though it remains to be seen if the feisty full-back will return as a core piece for another season.

The club has confirmed that the contracts of goalkeeper Jakob Frank, defenders David Norman Jr and Paris Gee, midfielders Dominich Joseph and Thomas Powell, and forwards Joey Buchanan and Zachary Verhoven are set to expire at the end of the calendar year.

However, the club does not that discussions are continuing with several pending free agents.

While the club had permanently signed on-loan striker Alejandro Diaz midseason, they had loaned him to rival side Pacific with an option to make the transfer permanent. The Tridents took up that offer, signing Diaz to a two-year deal. The full terms of the transfer were not disclosed.

With the return of all but one defender up in the air, it looks like Martin Nash – who sources tell us will remain with the side – is kickstarting a large defensive restructuring. That being said, it would be easy to envision veteran defenders David Norman Jr and Paris Gee being re-signed.

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The loans of five athletes will also conclude. Defenders Allan Enyou and Pathe Ndiaye from Leganes B, Aidan O’Conner from NYRB II, Hugo Mbongue from Toronto FC, and Jay Herdman from Cavalry are also set to return to their parent clubs at the end of the loan period on December 31, 2025.

With Mbongue’s option not being picked up by Toronto FC, the striker will also enter free agency upon the expiry of his loan.

The Eagles have also retained the U SPORTS rights for midfielder Mehdi Essoussi and attacker Henri Godbout, suggesting the young duo are likely to return to the side next season.

Vancouver FC becomes the second Canadian Premier League side to release an end-of-season roster update, with SixFive Sports and Entertainment’s other club, Pacific FC, revealing their own yesterday.

Header Image Photo Credit: Vancouver FC