It's the end of an era at Vancouver Football Club. Goalkeeper Callum Irving, captain of the team since he was their first ever signing before the 2023 season, announced his retirement on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Vancouver native hangs up his gloves after four years as the face of the Canadian Premier League's Lower Mainland side, ending a career that also saw him play for his country and win a CPL championship with Pacific FC.
"It felt like the right time for me to go out on my own terms — when I knew I could still play, I knew I was still healthy, I knew they still wanted me to play, and nobody was kicking me out," Irving told CPLsoccer.com this week.
"I never wanted to reach a point where the decision was made for me. So, being able to make that decision on my own terms, I felt like would leave me a lot more at peace with the decision."
Irving's decision was made slightly easier by an opportunity that popped up for the first chapter of his post-playing career — which he will announce in due course — but regardless, by the end of the 2026 campaign he felt the time was right.
When VFC launched in late 2022, Irving was one of the first players they called. He had spent the prior three years at Pacific, where he won a title in 2021, beat the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship, and had some memorable nights in the Concacaf League.
Although Victoria was close to home, Irving was drawn to the chance to fully represent his hometown and join VFC at the very beginning of something new.
"What intrigued me so much about coming back was just playing a real part in trying to build it alongside so many other great people," he said.
"Being there from day one was so challenging in so many ways, but also I think helped me grow in so many different ways, and I think that's what a lot of people tend to seek out; you tend to seek out things that challenge you and make you a bit uncomfortable, and I'm just fortunate that alongside that I was able to be around family at the same time."
In total, Irving played 189 games for Canadian Premier League clubs — 120 for Vancouver FC. He was nominated for the league's Golden Glove award as goalkeeper of the year three times, in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Irving now brings to a close an impressive career at the forefront of Canadian soccer. On top of his accomplishments with Pacific, he also captained VFC to the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship Final, and led them into a Concacaf Champions Cup tie earlier this year against Cruz Azul. Those nights, he said, are right up there with winning the title, because he could see the tangible growth they sparked for his club — both within the locker room and in the stands.
"It bodes really well for the future, because it feels like we're becoming more and more a part of the community, and the community is really trusting what we have to offer as a club," Irving said.
Having been at the Langley Events Centre for every match the last four years, Irving has watched the community grow up around the club, as well.
"It's crazy that four years have passed, but the amount of kids I saw when they were tiny, tiny kids, just starting out on their football journey, to now four years later they're making high-performance teams in the Lower Mainland," he said. "Meeting their parents, even coaching some of them at different points, and just seeing them year after year continue to show up to watch VFC, and know that it's a part of their journey as they chase their own dreams, I think it's pretty amazing. I think every community needs something like this. You need to be able to see yourself in the future on the field playing professionally, if you want to do it yourself. It's really hard to be that initial trailblazer like we've seen with some of these Canadians in the past."
Irving's professional career began in a time when there was no Canadian Premier League, and players often had to look further afield for opportunities. After a promising youth career with the Vancouver Whitecaps academy, he wasn't expecting to play four years of college soccer at the University of Kentucky. He excelled at the NCAA level, though, and bided his time before entering the Major League Soccer SuperDraft — where he wasn't selected.
Instead, Irving signed in 2016 with USL expansion side Rio Grande Valley Toros — an affiliate of MLS's Houston Dynamo — where he finally broke into the professional game. After that came three excellent years at the Ottawa Fury, before that club ceased operations in late 2019. That's when Irving returned to his home province, joining Pacific for the 2020 CPL season played in a bubble in Prince Edward Island.
At the end of it all, Irving is looking back with pride at a long career spent mostly in Canada. He played all over the continent, won trophies, and helped launch a new club in his hometown. Irving was also able to represent his country, making his debut for Canada in 2017 against Bermuda. Few players ever have the honour of wearing their national team's shirt at the senior level, and even fewer get to do it alongside some of their closest friends from academy days — which Irving did with fellow Whitecaps Residency alumni Ben Fisk and Ben McKendry.
Some of Irving's most rewarding moments as a professional athlete happened off the pitch, though.
During his time with VFC, Irving became closely involved with his boyhood soccer club, Marpole SC, and took a particular interest in their Adaptive Soccer program.
Marpole's Adaptive Soccer youth program offers access to the sport for kids of all abilities, who may have faced barriers to participation due to physical or cognitive disabilities. Irving explained that for him, and many of his teammates who have come along over the years, working with the kids at Marpole has been some of the most impactful community work they've done as players.
"Why do you play? You love football, you love playing it, and being able to share that with everybody I think is super important," Irving said.
"Not always has there been an area for kids with different challenges to be able to actually play football. Whether you might be in a chair and it might be a little bit difficult on a grass pitch to be able to do something, especially if you're one out of 18, it can be hard for a coach to adapt a whole session just so the kid can be a part of things. I think creating an environment where we meet the kid where they are, and are able to provide an environment that works for them, it's super rewarding."
He added: "I think it's great for the parents too, because they're able to sit back and watch their kid participate in a team sport and grow in so many different ways, and are kind of able to take a back seat, whereas a lot of these parents really have to be front and centre at all times for their kids, in order for their kids to be seen and cared for."
Irving said that he'll still keep close tabs on the Marpole program in his retirement, and he's hoping that Vancouver FC will maintain its relationship with the club.
Whatever does come next for Irving, he's looking forward to watching VFC as much as they can. It's difficult for him to say goodbye, after so many years as one of the few constant figures around the club. Still, he's looking forward to cheering them on from wherever he finds himself next.
"I always view myself as a person that's, 'Well, I don't know about everyone else but I'm gonna be here next year, I'm gonna be fighting, I'm gonna be trying to make playoffs,' so it's tough not to be that guy anymore and to not be side-by-side with everybody trying to make this better," he said.
"But I have a lot of faith in the people that have been there and the people that are committed to the future of VFC. I'm feeling very excited to become a VFC fan now."
