To check out the rest of CanPL.ca’s season previews, click here. To read our full CPL5x5 breakdown of each club, click here.

For the second straight season, Valour FC finished fifth, just one spot outside of the CPL playoffs.

There were some genuinely bright stretches for the team in 2022, including beating eventual champion Forge FC three times. Ultimately, however, those sorts of performances didn’t come consistently enough for the Winnipeg side. Winning just two of the first 10 matches to start the season and then none of the final five doomed their season. So did dropped points, as the club dropped a stunning 22 points from winning positions in 2022.

The good news for Valour is that there are now five teams who make the playoffs under the league’s new format. The bad news is that this off-season saw them lose a number of the players who have been key to them getting their success the past few years. The big question this off-season will be whether the structure and culture that the club has built, as well as the new additions, will be enough to get them back into the top five, or even higher.

CPL 5×5: Key stats, storylines & quotes for Valour FC’s 2023 season

Story of 2022

• • 2022 CPL regular season record (W-D-L): 10-7-11 (37 pts, 5th place)
  • Goals scored: 36
  • Goals against: 34
  • Goal difference: +2
  • Top scorer: Moses Dyer (9)
  • Canadian Championship: Lost in the preliminary round (2-0 to Vancouver Whitecaps)

After missing the playoffs by a single point in 2021, that gap extended to nine points in 2022. A big part of that was the club’s mediocre record against the three other teams that missed the playoffs, just 4-4-4. In fact, they were the only team not to beat FC Edmonton last season, drawing three times before losing to the Eddies on the final day of the season.

At their best, they scored some brilliant goals and were capable of beating any club in the league, as they defeated all four of the teams who eventually made the playoffs at least once in 2022. Offensively they were inconsistent, tied with Cavalry and Ottawa for third most goals scored in the league with 36, but with six of those goals coming in a single match against Ottawa. They didn’t score more than a single goal in any of their last 10 matches of the season. Defensively, they especially struggled away from home where only Edmonton allowed more goals.

Arrivals and Departures

There were a number of high-profile departures for Valour in 2023. Among them, 2022 leading goalscorer Moses Dyer,;Canadian U-21 Player of the Year, and CPL single-season assist record-setter Sean Rea; 2021 Goalkeeper of the Year Jonathan Sirois; highly touted fullback Brett Levis; and co-captain Daryl Fordyce.

In their place, Valour have brought in an intriguing mix of players with CPL and European experience. Ex-Pacific FC pair Jordan Haynes and Abdou Samaké will bring some quality at the back, while the club will be relying on international signings Pacifique Niyongabire, Kian Williams and Jaime Siaj to provide an attacking spark.

Coach’s Profile

Phil Dos Santos enters his second full season as head coach of Valour FC, taking over the team late in 2021. Previous to his time in Winnipeg he started out as an assistant with the Ottawa Fury in 2015, helping coach the team to the 2015 NASL Soccer Bowl final. He also served on the staff of Fort Lauderdale Strikers, San Francisco Deltas, Indy Eleven, and multiple years with Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps. Valour is the 44-year-old’s first head coaching gig.

Dos Santos’ sides have always been incredibly hard-working and tactically disciplined, capable of giving other teams significant issues with their high press and quick counterattacking abilities.

Projected Starting XI

(4-4-2) Rayane Yesli; Jordan Haynes, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Abdou Samaké, Andy Baquero; Matteo De Brienne, Diego Gutiérrez, Raphael Ohin, Pacifique Niyongabire; Kian Williams, Jaime Siaj 

Valour’s starting XI will likely look remarkably different from the side Phil Dos Santos played last season. Experienced CPL defenders Jordan Haynes and Abdou Samaké will add quality to the backline. The return of Raphael Ohin will give Diego Gutiérrez a solid partner in the middle of the park. Up front, Valour has a few options, but internationals Kian Williams and Jaime Siaj will likely lead the attack to start the season. Burundi international Pacifique Niyongabire should also draw into the starting lineup.

Roster Notes

More Reading

• ‘The same Rhino, even more hungry’: Valour’s Ohin returns to the pitch aiming to build on 2021 impact
• ‘Winnipeg welcomed me in with open arms’: Former Valour captain Fordyce named assistant coach
• Black History Month Conversations: Episode 3 – Andrew Jean-Baptiste
• >‘There’s a lot of eyes on the league’: Valour signing Kian Williams excited about CPL opportunity