Episode 612 - The AFTN Soccer Show (Chasing The Dragon - Red Bulls v Whitecaps, Wrexham AFC head to Vancouver, Katie Collar interview)

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, Canadian Championship, and League1 BC chat. The football keeps coming and so do the podcasts!

The Whitecaps continued their road warriors form at the weekend with a hard-fought draw at New York Red Bulls, in a match that saw Brian White set a MLS scoring record for the 'Caps. We chat about the main talking points coming out of that one and round-up the weekend's action in the MLS West.

The Whitecaps announced last week that they'll be playing a glamour Hollywood friendly against Wrexham this summer. We chat about the various layers to the match, including it being put on by a third party, the high ticket prices, the exposure the 'Caps will get from it, the backlash from some fans, and CEO Axel Schuster tells us how it all came about and why the Whitecaps are part of it all. Is it worth it? Is football an entertainment product and should be priced accordingly? We chat about all of that and also hear from Vanni Sartini on the game.

The 2024 League1 BC season got up and running on Sunday, with the Whitecaps defending both the men's and the women's titles. Our feature interview this episode is with Whitecaps Girls Elite head coach Katie Collar. We chat with Katie about the successes of the team these past two years, the season ahead, building for the launch of the Project 8 team next year, and the exciting announcement that the Whitecaps will be Canada's representatives in the inaugural CONCACAF Women's Champions Cup. Plus Axel Schuster explains what that will mean for the acceleration of the 'Caps new professional women's team.

All of that plus we hear from TSS Rovers head coach Brendan Teeling ahead of his side's Canadian Championship clash with Pacific this week and feature the final song from our Album of the Month from Diesel Park West.

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Recovery Family Law, family law lawyers in Surrey, working with clients to get excellent results. They support AFTN, go and support them for all your family legal needs.

Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode:

02.15: Intro - tabletop games, CPL, Provincial Cup
12.15: Red Bulls v Whitecaps match analysis
35.35: MLS West round-up
56.50: Wrexham AFC travelling roadshow coming to Vancouver
114.22: Katie Collar interview and L1BC chat
151.25: This Week in Whitecapsland 1974
165.00: Brendan Teeling on TSS v Pacific
170.10: Wavelength - Declan Swans - Always Sunny In Wrexham