Q1: Season 9 Preview

The FC Winnipeg Royal Lions finished last season on a hot streak by winning twelve of their last thirteen games. Players, staff, and fans all hope that the team can ride that wave of momentum in order to start as strong as they finished in the last season. If the team is able to play well throughout the entire season, the FCW Lions' first Canadian championship in the club's seventh year may be within reach.

The signing process was not as hectic as the previous year when the Royal Lions struggled to field a team of eighteen, however big dollars were spent on some big name free agents. In order to make salary space, midfielder Pemton Florent had to be transferred out. The 29 year old Canadian scored 22 goals in 71 games for the FCW Lions over two years and was transferred to USA's ATX Austin Zuzeca Soccer Club for $875,000.

"I understand why I had to be moved," stated Pemton Florent. "They felt they were getting all-star players and needed to make room for their massive contracts. The two and a half years I've spent at this club has been stressful. Management really has changed the team drastically from what it looked like when I came in. Hopefully for them they can continue to eat these large salaries, and start to form a consistent and successful roster for the long term. I look forward to playing in the states".

The FC Winnipeg Royal Lions made a massive disturbance in the free agent market by acquiring two big name players, 25 year old forward Loic Eglisfeld, and 27 year old defender Loïc Cabese. Between the two players, the team shelled out close to $4-million dollars, the effect on the team's bank account will remain to be seen.

"I really wanted to ship in the star players these fans deserve to see," stated the owner of the team. "We had quite a bit of excess cash from lack of salary, and player transfers and used it to acquire two all-star caliber players. We actually still have a fair bit of cash left. We're going to expand the MTS Centre immediately in order to maximize revenue. One can expect to see the capacity to be at least 30,000 for the first home game."

Here is an entire list of free agent signings by the FCW Lions this off-season:

27 year old - Loïc Cabese (Canada) D - $1.76m p/y (+$300,000) 2-year
28 year old - Abidal Agnew (Canada) M - $601,000 p/y 1-year
27 year old - Curtis Gelbart (Canada) F - $101,573 p/y 1-year
30 year old - Parnell Klein (Canada) M - $112,000 p/y 1-year
25 year old - Loic Eglisfeld (Canada) F - $2.12m p/y 1-year

*Signing bonus amounts are in brackets

Goalkeeper Boudewijn Martha was the first who made comment on the signings by saying "It is nice to see the team go out and get some big names. Some of those salaries are crazy, but the inflation in the market nowadays is crazy too. Hopefully those whopping contracts are worth it. I already talked to Cabese over the phone, talking about his defensive style. If he is as good as they say, he should be able to make my job easier by locking down the other team's key forwards."

Brahim Dumets was a bit stand-offish about the large amounts of money being spent. "I have been here five years. Never have I seen a club, I don't know how to say it politely, appearing more desperate for fire power". When reached for further comment he added "What I said stands. I mean, I love playing on successful teams and all, but it is a management tactic. We'll see. I guess that's why I'm not in management".

Season 9 has a lot of promise for the FC Winnipeg Royal Lions, and an exciting atmosphere has been created through the anticipation of getting to see the free agent acquisitions. The arena expansion has also created a buzz among the town where soccer has never been so exciting. Thousands of fans are expected to flood the MTS Centre with the arrivals of Loïc Cabese and Loic Eglisfeld next week. Autograph signings, jersey sales, and special giveaways will be taking place at the day long FCW Lions Season 9 Prep Event.

"It's a nice change of pace. Last season was hectic, management kind of forgot about the fans," stated 35 year old captain Trevion Collins. "It is nice to see an electric atmosphere. I think they are sparked by the signings, the stadium, and of course our hot finish last season". When asked to comment on the large salary signings he stated "It's sport. When sport progresses and top athletes become rare, that stuff happens. Babe Ruth was once signed for about $3000. Price inflates. And over the past seven years we have seen just that".

For the second straight season, the FC Winnipeg Royal Lions will play their season opener @ lets go. The match takes place on 4/9. We expect to see you out at the home opener versus Vancouver Blast FC on 4/10! Few tickets remain!