When was your club founded and what league do you play in?
Cook Street United FC was founded in the Summer of 2020, an admittedly unconventional time to start a new club. The team is in its first season and currently competes in the fourth tier of the Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL), a Canadian organization celebrating its 125th year in operation this year. The Peacocks, as we're known, are currently unbeaten and sit comfortably top of division 4.

What has been the biggest success or most important game Cook Street United has played in?
There hasn't been a rich heritage of success for the club yet, so Cook Street is still building its legacy. The most important game so far has been in the tie-up against Bays United, a well-funded 80-year-old club with over 1000 players spread across its various teams. Its reserve team were crowned champions of the VISL division 4 in the 19/20 season, though due to the consequences of COVID did not get promoted into division 3 as expected. We're a new club, so felt like we had plenty to prove when we took on Bays United in our fifth-ever league game, with both clubs undefeated and joint top of the league at the time. Thankfully, the game was a dominant 3-0 win for the Peacocks, despite a red card meaning a third of the game was played with 10 men. That was the moment we realized that we might be onto something special.

What inspired the name and the badge for your club?
Nestled in the heart of Victoria, BC, is the stunning Beacon Hill Park. Having hosted visits from the likes of the Queen and Winston Churchill in the past, it is a pretty illustrious place to play soccer. Cook Street (the road) runs alongside the park, and the team's home ground Heywood Field is situated right by it. A few dozen peacocks famously roam the gardens, so the bird was a perfect icon to influence the design and character of the club. Many of the teams in Victoria are located just outside the town center, so part of the appeal was to serve the overlooked district of Cook Street Village - an alternative and vibrant community between downtown Victoria and the beautiful island coastline.

Even though at your levels it's mostly for fun, how serious do your players take the team and do you have any fans? Do you have any players who have moved on to teams in higher leagues?
The club was originally conceived as a project to create a place where the joy of off-field camaraderie could be combined with on-field competitive excellence. The manager, president and vice president all originally come from the UK, and other senior members come from Ireland, Italy and from across Canada - meaning there is a very international feel to the team. The idea has always been to balance the best of both European and North American soccer, embracing the parts we like most about each. That means a serious approach to the game - two training sessions a week and an organized weekend internal game even when there isn't a scheduled competitive one, as well as a robust and considered focus on both fitness and tactics. It also means plenty of focus on fun, such as the weekly 'd*ck of the day' award and the subsequent humiliating team jacket they must wear, birthday beers, charitable initiatives, fantasy football competitions and regular drinking sessions - albeit in a reduced manner to meet COVID guidelines.

Populating the roster over the Summer was a challenge at first, with early signings coming from other VISL clubs from across division 2, 3 and 4. Once word of mouth about this exciting new club with its refreshing approach to the game started spreading, it became a case of rejecting more players than were accepted. At its core, while playing skill is important, the most integral aspect to recruitment was how good a cultural fit each addition to the squad would be.

Spectators have not been allowed this season, but the volume of online support has been staggering, as a growing number of the local community have really got behind what we're trying to achieve. Once fans are allowed back at games, I believe we could get 100+ people to our next important match.

Cook Street United takes on Bays United (photo by Kelly Wallace Photography, provided by the club)

Some teams do custom kits and scarves, do you or have you given it any thought?
Another surprise has been how much demand we've experienced when it comes to merchandise. We never expected strangers to ask about purchasing our shirt, and some of the swag we've ordered for players, like stickers and beer glasses, have received a tremendously positive reaction on social media. We're still so new so there's lots to do, but a club shop is pretty high on the priority list.

2021 hopes to be a better year - what are your goals for the season? What does a good year look like for the team?
It would be wonderful to have an invincible first season and get promoted into division 3. So far, the club has drawn one game and won all the rest, six points ahead in first place at the midway point in the season. Our measures of success are more than just what happens on the field though and our values run deeper than trophies. Big successes this season have been the $1200+ raised for victims of domestic abuse, seeing words of affection pour in online from across the country, or witnessing almost the entire squad show up for Zoom social events in place of training every Thursday while sport in BC is temporarily paused. Building a successful soccer team of course requires the ability to play the beautiful game and win matches, though to create something truly great it's about all the other stuff that happens around it too. I can't wait to see what happens next year.

Follow Cook Street United HERE

Find out more about Cook Street United HERE