In The News
Indigenous Soccer Player From Van Isle Signed to Semi-Pro Soccer Team
April 19, 2023 – Nanaimo, BC
Hope and Health helps to bring access to sports for Indigenous youth, all the while building mini-pitches and camps in local communities.
Earlier this year, the non-profit organization acquired the former UBC soccer club, known as Varsity FC, and converted it to Nautsa’mawt FC — the first Indigenous-owned, semi-pro soccer team in North America.
Local Vancouver Island Indigenous soccer player Thompson Nelson is one of many Indigenous players across the country embracing this new path to professional sport.
Indigenous Soccer Player From Van Isle Signed to Semi-Pro Soccer Team
April 13, 2023 – Nanaimo, BC
Thompson Nelson, a member from the Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w First Nation, has signed to Nautsa’mawt Football Club which is now owned by Hope and Health.
Hope and Health is a non for profit that’s designed to bring access to sport for development and social impact opportunities to Indigenous youth. Nautsa’mawt Football Club’s acquisition by Hope and Health is creating a new avenue to professional sports that has previously been unavailable for Indigenous soccer players like Nelson.
Nautsa'mawt Football Club Gets Ready for First Season
February 28, 2023 – Vancouver, BC
The new Nautsa’mawt Football Club is getting ready for its first season. The owner tells Kier Junos it’s a stepping stone for Indigenous youth to play high-level soccer.
Nautsa'mawt FC: Re-badged League1 team aims for hope, opportunities and history
February 28, 2023 – Vancouver, BC
Hope and Health has a long history of helping vulnerable Indigenous B.C. youth developmentally and socially through soccer camps and events.
Cool, calm and outwardly collected, Bill Yoachim was a blender of excitement and emotion inside.
He, and the non-profit group he co-founded, were about to set food in uncharted territory: running a semi-pro soccer team.
Hope and Health, which he started in 2011 with Ed Georgica and his wife, Deana Gill-Georgica, and now Pacific FC coach James Merriman, has a long history of helping vulnerable Indigenous B.C. youth developmentally and socially through soccer camps and events.
Now, at the start of January, they were taking it to the next level – taking over from UBC’s Varsity FC, which plays in the newly formed League1 B.C.
In ‘One Heart, One Mind’, League1 BC Introduces Nautsa’mawt FC
February 7, 2023 – Vancouver, BC
League1 BC announces rebranding of Varsity FC to Nautsa’mawt FC ahead of 2023 season.
On January 18th, League1 BC announced the transfer of Ownership of “Varsity FC” with Hope and Health For Life Society becoming the new owners of the League1 BC club’s license.
In the spirit of reconciliation, the league is proud to acknowledge the transformation of the club’s brand identity and name to become Nautsa’mawt FC. Inspired by the Hulq’u’mi’num term, Nautsa’mawt, meaning “One Heart, One Mind”, the name embodies a collective journey forward to create and nurture a pathway through sport for Indigenous athletes, coaches, and staff to achieve their greatest potential and dreams.