Vancouver Whitecaps name Canadian Stephanie Labbe GM of women’s soccer

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A “full circle” has brought Stephanie Labbé back to where it all ended, where it all might begin, and to a club at the center of a maelstrom of abuse allegations around women’s soccer in Canada.

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The former Canadian national team goalkeeper was hired as the new general manager of women’s soccer by the Vancouver Whitecaps on Thursday, and she vowed to use her platform and voice to both promote and protect women’s soccer in Canada in an emotionally charged presser.

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“One thing that I’ve learned in my career is the power of your voice; the power of not using your voice and the power of using it,” Labbé said, who paused to hold back tears at times.

“I’m very, very confident to use my voice in a way to support those who don’t feel safe to use (theirs) or don’t have the platform.

“… I want to show that I’m going to be a voice to continue to advocate for athletes to have safe spaces to speak about these issues. Abuse has no place in our sport — in any sport — in Canada, and having this job, this platform, I want to tell any victim, anybody who has ever faced abuse or been in a challenging situation like that, I am here for you . I’m going to be a voice that is going to stand up for you to continue to fight for you.

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“And I promise to do my absolute best to take this club in a completely new direction, to stand up, to have the hard conversations, to enforce transparency and honesty moving forward.”

The 35-year-old icon of Canadian soccer — known as the Minister of Defense — ended her playing career at BC Place Stadium in April when Canada faced Nigeria in the two-game “Celebration Series.”

Whitecaps president and CEO Axel Schuster had made overtures to Labbé about joining the club before, but it was only after she had officially hung up her gloves that the talks turned serious.

Labbé will be in charge of the Whitecaps women’s program, working closely with Emma Humphries, director of women’s soccer development, and the elite REX program run by head coach Katie Collar.

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Former MLSE executive Breagha Carr-Harris was hired by Canada Soccer in May to be the Head of Women’s Professional Soccer, a position Labbé hopes to help boost.

Instead of trying to get a team into the already-existing National Women’s Soccer League south of the border, Labbé thinks Canada should have one of its own.

“My biggest focus and ambition is to help coordinate and bring a professional league to Canada for women. I truly believe that is the best step forward for this country,” she said, saying any new league would be world-class, not second-class.

“I truly believe with the players that we have, the amount of players that we have playing overseas right now, to bring them all back. We have some of the best players in the world. Canadian women are some of the best players in the world.

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“To create a domestic league and provide opportunities for them, to have the choice to stay home will not only give them that opportunity, it’ll give opportunities for all of the youth growing up to aspire to a dream to play in that league. “

The Whitecaps have been a big part of the national team picture and soccer in this country, with owner Greg Kerfoot footing the bill in many different areas over the years. But on Wednesday, journalist Martin MacMahon reported that Kerfoot’s Loyalty Foundation, which had begun to provide significant financial support to Canada Soccer — including for the Under-17 women’s national team leading up to the U-17 Women’s World Cup in India — has been stripped of its charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency.

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“I cannot comment,” said Schuster. “I think Greg Kerfoot has put out a statement, and this is a thing between him and CRA and not a thing of the Whitecaps.”

There have been no criminal charges, and Kerfoot is said to have repaid any outstanding taxes to the CRA, said a source with knowledge of the situation.

Kerfoot’s statement to MacMahon on Thursday on the audit, which centered on the years 2016 to 2019, was due to record-keeping mismanagement after the foundation’s accountant retired, when the foundation did not comply with disbursement quota obligations and/or fully collect interest payments on loans.

“The Loyalty Foundation is now in the process of transitioning the professional management of its assets to better align with CRA guidance and the Income Tax Act (Canada),” the statement reads.

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With the history of the Whitecaps, between Bob Birarda’s conviction on sexual assault charges and the team’s role in it — reports found the organization made crucial mistakes, but were cleared of any wrongdoing — plus the allegations against former women’s coach Hubert Busby Jr., Labbé was asked how she reconciled with joining the organization.

“For me, I think the transparency and the openness that they’ve had through the investigations, to provide all documents and everything that they’ve needed to do, the hirings and the steps that they’ve taken to bring in Samantha Jean , specifically (as director of sports safety and education), I think that’s a huge step for this club moving forward,” said Labbé. “And I think you know their confidence to bring it to someone like me, who they know I will challenge things and I will stand up for the victims and I will make sure that this club is doing right by what has happened (in the past ), but also moving forward.”

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