9 April 2025
Latest News
Nanaimo United: Building blocks to a big future
From rebrands, to professional signings, and gameday volunteers, Daragh Fitzgerald outlines some important things going on in Nanaimo.
In February, it was announced that there would be a new look to Nanaimo’s League1 BC club with Harbourside rebranding to Nanaimo United.
Harbourside reached the Men’s Division Playoffs in the 2024 League1 BC season and finished sixth in the Women’s Division, and are coming into this campaign with a new lease of life.
Nanaimo United were first formed in 1903 – a history and connection to the community that club Technical Director Daragh Fitzgerald believes will support their future development.
“Our aspirations for this year are to continue the steady progress that we have been making in League1 BC,” said Fitzgerald.
“Our men’s team had a fantastic campaign last year and our women’s team led the way in our first season, so we know we can compete. The mentality of our players and staff going into each game will be to win.
“The biggest piece of news for us was the rebranding of Harbourside to Nanaimo United FC which brings our League1BC program ‘home’. The connection to the rest of the club is already being felt and we look forward to building that in the 2025 season – we want all of our players to know that they have the chance to play semi-professional soccer within Nanaimo United.”
The pathway has already expanded beyond Nanaimo, with players such as Jazmine Wilkinson signing professional deals in the offseason.
“We are very proud to see our former women’s midfielder Jazmine joining the Northern Super League with Ottawa Rapid. On the men’s side we have some outstanding talent joining the ranks.
“The amount of progress the club has made over the past five or six years is hard to put into words. From adding our National Youth License, BCSPL program and now two League1BC semi-professional teams, it’s something that we could only dream about in Nanaimo up until recently but now it is a reality.
“There is a huge amount of work that goes into preparing the stadium for gameday and we couldn’t do it without our gameday staff and volunteers.
“And now, a kid who walks into our club at three years old and pulls on the Nanaimo United jersey for the first time has the opportunity to become a semi-professional player without ever leaving NUFC.
“That makes supporting the club worthwhile, because of the opportunities it provides for the young people in our city.”