Valour FC has signed striker Stephen Hoyle of the New Zealand Premiership’s Canterbury United to a multi-year contract.
The 26-year-old native of Barnsley, England is in his third season with the Christchurch-based Dragons and will be coming to Winnipeg when his current team’s season ends sometime in March. Hoyle is the second player to be signed by Valour for their upcoming inaugural season in the Canadian Premier League.
Hoyle has scored 31 goals in 54 career games with Canterbury United since joining the team in 2016-17 and was honoured with the Mainland Striker of the Year and Player of the Year awards at the end of the 2017-18 campaign. He has had previous experience in Canada with the now-defunct Toronto Lynx of the Premier Development League and also played for Napier City of New Zealand’s Central Premier League.
“Stephen is a player that we were made aware of through scouting connections and contacts overseas, and we reached out to him early on in the process,” said Head Coach & General Manager Rob Gale in a Valour FC news release “He’s a proven goal scorer with a great work ethic to lead the line and has a natural instinct around goal. He turned down other opportunities to come to Winnipeg, and we’re looking forward to his arrival.”
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to represent Valour FC next season,” said Hoyle in a team news release. “Rob is a coach I really want to work with in a league where we can make history straight away – in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It’s a win-win for me.”
LISTEN: Raw Stephen Hoyle Phone Interview via New Zealand
Valour FC will begin play in April and is expected to have an announcement on their 2019 schedule sometime in February.
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