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Richmond FC kicks off new era with Roevde as executive director.

By Don Fennell

Published 10:31 PST, Wed March 4, 2020

Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021

It’s back to the future for Marius Roevde.

Drawing on his extensive soccer roots, Roevde is eager to take on the challenge of leading Richmond FC in a new direction.

“I want to give back to (the grassroots) where it all began,” says the former Championship and Premier leagues keeper, who has been hired as the inaugural executive director of the local youth soccer association, which now oversees both boys and girls programming.

“I was the classic grassroots player,” Roevde continues. “I had very limited talent and I suddenly grew a lot. It made me look like Bambi—all legs and a very short torso. Everyone was faster and had better touch on the ball than me.”

But, arguably, those traits proved to be a blessing in disguise.

“I ended up going in goal because I felt most comfortable there,” Roevde explains. “I liked playing in goal with the older kids in the street and at school.”

While teammates sang his praises, he still wasn’t sure about his future as a soccer player. However, at the age of 15 he was lucky enough to participate in a few training sessions with Rosenborg, a professional team in his native Norway. It gave him a taste of what being a pro player was like.

After high school, Roevde joined the military, where he remained for four years. 

“(Being in) the military made me believe more in myself, and learn self discipline,” he says.

Within six months of leaving the forces, he was playing in the Premier League in Norway. He went on to play in Scotland and Wales before returning home to conclude a 12-year playing career.

Off the field, Roevde was a sales director for BMW and worked in crisis management and web solutions with a tech company. He returned to soccer as the director of goalkeepers for Trinidad and Tobago, later becoming the deputy technical director for Even Pellerud, a fellow Norweigan and coach of Canada’s women’s national team from 1999 to 2008. Pellerud was also recently brought into the Richmond FC fold to lead its girls’ program.

“(Pellerud) became my mentor and has been (someone I looked up to) since I was 12 years old,” Roevde says. “He is the smartest soccer mind and executive I’ve ever met. He has coached—in double figures—World Cups and Olympics, and took Canada from losing badly to competing with everyone.” 

Roevde continued to add to his soccer resume by spending six seasons (2011 to 2016) coaching in Major League Soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He also spent a year in Europe and wrote a report on soccer development and why some programs are better than others.

After working with Richmond FC and its goalkeepers, Roevde’s appointment as executive director brings him full circle. In the eyes of Richmond FC chair Rein Weber and his colleagues, Roevde is the perfect fit for the post.

“As with everything we do, we look to what the leaders are doing and what lessons we can learn,” says Weber. “We’ve talked to business leaders, consultants and other clubs. Our board is very enthusiastic, with backgrounds in many areas (from marketing to law to project management), so we approached things like we would a startup. Marius came to us with his own high-level plan of what he believes the club should look like, based on what he’s seen and participated in overseas. 

“Our kids have occasionally traveled to Europe on tour over the years, and they always come back with amazing stories (such as how professional the environment is, how great the facilities are, and how different the coaching is). Marius outlined a detailed plan to get to that place in 10 years, and we happened to be looking for someone who had that vision,” says Weber.

When Roevde set up a goalkeeper academy at Richmond FC 18 months ago, the board wondered if he was over-qualified, asking if the under-12 keepers really needed a Team Canada coach.

“That changed very quickly once he got on the field,” says Weber. “Kids from outside our city started signing up for his program, and our own kids started improving surprisingly fast. Teams that once had no goalies to speak of suddenly had four or five kids signing up. When we asked the kids to rate how they were enjoying the program, (Roevde’s) scores were uniformly through the roof—because he takes the time to understand each individual, and keeps it fun.” 

Says Roevde: “I am delighted about RFC’s future. We are going to make kids love soccer in Richmond, so they can excel as humans and become great citizens with a healthy mind and body. We will be the safe, preferred place for parents to drop off their children. And we will show that we deserve that trust and make the most out of it.”

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