Vancouver FC today confirmed the signing of veteran goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos on a one-year contract, plus a club option for 2026, ahead of the club’s second season in the Canadian Premier League (CPL).

“I am very excited to be continuing my career in the CPL with Vancouver,” said Giantsopoulos. “I have built a competitive career in my native country and have worked alongside some of the best in the business. I’m ready to bring my skills to a young, exciting project in VFC and am looking forward to what this new opportunity holds.”

A CPL stalwart who has featured in each of the league’s five seasons to date, Giantsopoulos made 65 appearances between York United FC, where he spent the last three seasons, and Cavalry FC, where he played in 2019 and 2020.

During his time with the Nine Stripes, the native of Markham, Ont., notably helped York reach the CPL playoffs in 2021 and 2023, and backstopped the team through a memorable 2022 Canadian Championship run. He saved three penalties in two shootouts in the tournament to earn York a place in the semi-final. Giantsopoulos made 55 total appearances during his time with York and registered 13 clean sheets.

Prior to joining York, Giantsopoulos made six league appearances and four starts in the Canadian Championship over two seasons with Cavalry. 

Before getting a chance to play in his native country, Giantsopoulos represented various professional soccer clubs in Australia’s National Premier Leagues between 2016 to 2019, after signing his first pro deal with Devonport City in March 2016.

“We are thrilled to bring depth, quality and experience to VFC with Niko,” said Afshin Ghotbi, Head Coach, Vancouver FC. “In the time that I’ve worked with him, he has demonstrated that he’s a class act and a calming presence, and he continues to improve in every training session. We believe that with both Callum and Niko manning our goal, we now have one of the strongest goalkeeping pairs in Canadian football.”

Vancouver will kick off its second season in the CPL on Sunday, Apr. 14 at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET when the club hosts Valour FC at Willoughby Park at the Langley Events Centre. Tickets to the season opener, and to all of Vancouver’s home matches, can be purchased here.

Further Vancouver roster announcements will be made later this month.

Vancouver FC current roster as of Apr. 5, 2024:

Goalkeepers: Callum Irving, Niko Giantsopoulos

Defenders: Kadin Chung, Rocco Romeo, Tyler Crawford, Anthony White, James Cameron, Paris Gee, David Norman, Elage Bah

Midfielders: Elliot Simmons, Ben Fisk, Vasco Fry, Renan Garcia, Grady McDonnell, Kembo Kibato, Zach Verhoven

Forwards: Alejandro ‘Wero’ Díaz, Gabriel Bitar, Taryck ‘TJ’ Tahid, Mikaël Cantave, José Navarro, Moses Dyer