Sports
Vancouver Rise FC Announce Anja Heiner-Møller as First Head Coach
Vancouver Rise FC announced on Thursday that Anja Heiner-Møller has been named the first head coach in club history.
“We are thrilled to welcome Anja to lead our team,” said Stephanie Labbé, Vancouver Rise FC sporting director. “Anja is an emerging coach in the world game who knows how to get the best out of her players, loves our city, and is passionate about the growth of our club, league, and sport.”
A UEFA Pro licensed coach, Heiner-Møller joins Vancouver Rise FC after most recently serving as head coach of the U-19 national team for her native Denmark since 2022. Previously, she spent time as assistant coach for the U-16 national team, head coach of Danish women’s league side Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold, head coach for the FC Nordsjælland U-18 women’s team, and head coach for the Brøndby IF U-18 women’s team.
“I am overly excited to take on this role as head coach of Vancouver Rise FC,” said Heiner-Møller. “This is not just any city, team, or club to me. Vancouver is the place where girls and women’s soccer blew me away from the very first time I got to know it. The Northern Super League will give a platform for this fantastic game to grow and to be even bigger and better. This opportunity to coach Vancouver Rise FC means a lot to me, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Heiner-Møller returns to Vancouver after spending three years working as an academy coach with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and North Shore Girls Soccer Club from 2018 to 2020.
During her playing career, the former midfielder represented Denmark from U-16 to the senior level and played 44 national team games, including the 2001 UEFA Women’s EURO tournament. At the club level, she played in more than 250 matches for Danish clubs Brøndby IF, Odense Boldklub, and Hillerød G&I, including playing in the UEFA Champions League.
Additional members of the Rise FC coaching staff will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Sports
Toronto Tempo Reveal 2026 Inaugural Season Schedule With Coast-to-Coast Home Games
The Toronto Tempo have officially released their 2026 inaugural season schedule, setting the stage for the franchise’s first year in the WNBA. The season tips off at home on Friday, May 8, with a matchup against the Washington Mystics at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Tempo will play a full 44-game regular season, split evenly between home and road games. Fans across Canada will get a chance to see the team in action, with 22 home games spread across four venues. Toronto will host the majority of those games, with 15 dates at Coca-Cola Coliseum and three games at Scotiabank Arena. The team will take its home court on the road as well, playing two games at Montreal’s Bell Centre and two at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Each opponent will face the Tempo at least three times during the season. The home schedule leans fan-friendly, with 14 weekend games and eight weekday matchups. A nine-game homestand from June 25 to July 20 marks the longest stretch at home. League-wide action pauses for the WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago on July 24 and 25, followed by a longer break from August 31 to September 14 for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
General manager Monica Wright Rogers called the schedule release a major step for the franchise. She said the inaugural season will reflect the energy and competitive edge Toronto fans have been waiting for, and that the team looks forward to creating memorable moments across the league.
Founding partners CIBC and Sephora Canada will present the Tempo’s four home games outside Toronto. Montreal will host games in July against the Dallas Wings and New York Liberty. Vancouver will welcome the team in August for matchups with the Portland Fire and Las Vegas Aces.
Several marquee games headline the home slate. Three matchups at Scotiabank Arena feature the Phoenix Mercury on June 27, the Minnesota Lynx on July 30, and the Indiana Fever on August 18. Expansion rival Portland Fire visits Toronto on May 23, then meets the Tempo again at Rogers Arena on August 21. The Golden State Valkyries, the league’s first expansion team, arrive at Coca-Cola Coliseum on July 8. Defending champions Las Vegas Aces face the Tempo twice, once in Toronto on July 20 and again in Vancouver on August 23.
The 2026 season will mark the Tempo’s first appearance in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase. The team will play six Cup games against Eastern Conference opponents, split evenly between home and road, from June 3 to 16. Each game counts toward the regular-season standings.
Momentum around the franchise continues to build. On December 11, 2025, the Tempo announced that inaugural season ticket memberships had sold out. Fans looking for single-game tickets can sign up for updates through the team’s website. Ticket alerts are available for both the Vancouver and Montreal games, giving fans nationwide a chance to be part of the Tempo’s first season on the floor.
For more information on the Toronto Tempo’s inaugural season, please visit tempo.wnba.com.
Sports
The Harlem Globetrotters Bring Their 100 Year Tour to Vancouver
The Harlem Globetrotters are hitting a huge milestone and Vancouver is on the route. The legendary basketball crew will stop at Pacific Coliseum on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 as part of their 100 Year Tour, a global run marking a full century of jaw-dropping hoops and crowd-first fun.
This tour tips its cap to the past and keeps its foot on the gas. Early icons like Curly Neal, Meadowlark Lemon, Wilt Chamberlain, and Goose Tatum set the tone decades ago. The current roster carries that same spirit with stars like Hammer, Torch, Bulldog, Cheese, Jet, Wham, Thunder, and TNT bringing the noise. Expect monster dunks, slick trick shots, and nonstop interaction from warm-up to the final buzzer.
The Globetrotters will face their longtime rivals, the Washington Generals, in a game that mixes real athletic skill with comedy and chaos. It’s basketball, sure. It’s entertainment first.
To mark the centennial, the team is rolling out fresh touches. That includes limited-edition 100-year jerseys designed by fashion legend Jeff Hamilton, the debut of the Golden Basketball by Spalding®, upgraded Magic Pass pre-game access, and a commemorative souvenir ticket for fans who want proof they were there.
The current squad features elite male and female athletes who hold more than 60 Guinness World Records. Eighteen of those came in the past year alone. That stat says plenty.
The North American leg of the tour runs through spring 2026 before heading overseas. Vancouver gets one night. One chance. History, jokes, dunks, and chaos included.
Event details:
Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Tickets on sale now: https://ticketleader.evenue.net/events/HGT
Bring the kids, bring your inner kid. The Globetrotters still know how to put on a show.