Canada Lands 4th Alliance Franchise
AAF Expands Further in Canada
April 20, 2022
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Francesco Aquilini and Canucks Sports & Entertainment LLC announced that the Vancouver Sea Lions would be joining the AAF for the 2023 season as an expansion team. Canucks Sports & Entertainment are the majority owners of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks, the NLL (LaCrosse) Vancouver Warriors, OWL (esports) Vancouver Titans and former owners of the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies.
Aquilini introduced the crowd to their newest Head Coach, Bill O'Brien. O'Brien was the Head Coach at Penn State University in 2012 & 2013 before becoming the Head Coach for the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020. He spent the 2021 season as the Offensive Coordinator for the University of Alabama.
Joining O'Brien in Vancouver will be former BC Lions Head Coach Rick Campbell as the Defensive Coordinator. Campbell served as the Head Coach of the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks from 2014 to 2019 and the DC for the Calgary Stampeders in 2012 & 2013 before that. Former Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress will be joining the staff as the Offensive Coordinator.
Former Chicago Bears' General Manager Phil Emery will serve as the GM and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Sea Lions.
The Sea Lions will be playing their home games at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver Sea Lions will be the first professional football team playing in British Columbia since the BC Lions played their last CFL game in 2019. The Estate of David Braley folded the team earlier this year after the CFL failed to play a game in 2020 and 2021.
The Sea Lions plan to spend the next few months negotiating with former BC Lions players and assistant coaches to join the team.