'I miss cheering': Valour FC fans relish chance to rejoin the crowd

Hundreds of people cheered in the stands at IG Field as Valour FC played Manitoba's first sporting match in front of a paying audience since March 2020.

The Winnipeg soccer team's game against York United Wednesday night marked the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that members of the general public have been permitted to watch a professional sporting event in person.

"We didn't realize how important sports was, to not just our family but to a lot of families the entertainment of it, the camaraderie, just being out with friends," said Anokhi Sachdev.

The Canadian Premier League is playing the first games of its season, which started in June, exclusively at IG Field in Winnipeg. The league is allowing double-vaccinated Manitobans into the stadium, as long as it's been two weeks since their second COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Valour FC had won all three of their games so far this season, without fans in the stands. The game Wednesday night ended with a loss, 2-1.

WATCH|Fans react to the return of live sports:

'Cheering, I miss cheering': Fans react to the return of live sports

3 years ago

Duration 1:57

Valour FC fans return to the stands for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions paused live sporting events.

Sachdev and her husband are season-ticket holders, and while they were thrilled to see their team play live for the first time in more than a year, they also appreciated the chance to get out of the house and be around other people.

"I can't wait to go and actually be around people, watch live sports again and hopefully see a Winnipeg win," she said.

Other fans at the game also relished the chance to be part of a crowd.

"It's been almost two years since I've been in a stadium," said Andrew Croft.

"Just kind of being in a crowd again and the energy and that when you go to a live event. So that's what I'm really looking forward to as well."

For Stella Kankam and Debbie Yeboah, the game had a personal significance. Midfielder Raphael Ohin is Kankam's nephew and Yeboah's cousin.

"So we're super excited to support him, but also it's great to be out," said Yeboah. "This is my first real outing, other than going to work, since COVID started."

"I miss cheering," said Kankam, who called herself a sports fanatic.

"Even watching soccer at home I yell, I scream," she said.

In June, the Winnipeg Jets invited fully vaccinated health care workers to watch their playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens, but the Valour FC game on Wednesday was the first time a sporting event was open to anyone who wanted to go.