The breadth of sa国际传媒 will be highlighted Monday when Pacific FC visits Halifax to play the HFX Wanderers at 10 a.m. PT in the Canadian Premier League. It is the third-longest distance between domestic premiership soccer clubs in the world at 4,476 kilometres by air.
鈥淔rom Pacific to Atlantic, it鈥檚 a nice splash,鈥� said Pa-Modou Kah, head coach of Island-based Pacific FC.
鈥淚t shows the commitment of all the [Canadian Premier League] club owners to make this a truly coast-to-coast league and that鈥檚 a beautiful thing.鈥�
The longest distance between premiership clubs in league play, according to the CPL, is the 5,259 kilometre air distance in the A-League between Perth Glory FC of Western Australia and the Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand. The second longest is the 4,723-kilometre flight between Jayapura in Papua to Medan in the Indonesia Liga 1. Major League Soccer rounds out the top five with the 4,208 kilometres between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Orlando City and the 4,170 kilometres between the New England Revolution in Boston and Los Angeles FC.
By comparison, the longest distance in the English Premiership in 2019-20 was a mere 568 kilometres between Newcastle and Bournemouth. No wonder English fans can travel so easily to support their clubs on the road.
The tyranny of distance in sa国际传媒 guarantees there won鈥檛 be many Pacific FC fans on the far-off other coast, where HFX supporters are rated among the best and most passionate in the CPL.
The Wanderers have shown flashes on the pitch, as well, in their three seasons of existence.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason Halifax was league runner-up last year and in the playoff hunt this season [fifth place at 7-7-8],鈥� said Kah.
The PFC bench boss pointed to HFX mentor Stephen Hart, the former head coach of sa国际传媒 and Trinidad and Tobago.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been like an uncle and done a lot for Canadian football,鈥� said Kah.
Pacific FC sits atop the CPL table at 11-5-6, two points ahead of Cavalry FC of Calgary and Forge FC of Hamilton. Forge has two games in hand.
PFC is coming off a 2-1 loss to FC Edmonton and the players don鈥檛 need any more motivation that that, said Kah.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need to hear speeches from me.鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey know we鈥檙e looking for a bounce-back game and have got to be ready for this one.鈥�
Meanwhile, Kah said midfield standout Marco Bustos, who has been out since Aug. 16, is 鈥渞eady to go, it鈥檚 up to us when we put him in.鈥�
That is a big boost for PFC.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a new signing for us,鈥� Kah said of Bustos鈥� imminent return after the lengthy absence.
Monday鈥檚 game concludes PFC鈥檚 five-game road swing. It included four league games and the Canadian Championship quarter-final win in Calgary, which leads to a semifinal date against Toronto FC of Major League Soccer at BMO Field on Nov. 3.
PFC hosts Valour FC of Winnipeg next Saturday at Starlight Stadium.
