December 13, 2024...Darby rebranding to Whitby for the 2025 season (from League1 Ontario website)
13 December 2024
Darby rebranding to Whitby for the 2025 season
Whitby Football Club intend to improve their player pathway with a rebrand of their League1 program and the addition of two new coaches.
It was recently announced that Darby FC, who competed in the League1 Ontario Championship Division in 2024, will take to the field as Whitby FC in the 2025 season.
Darby joined League1 Ontario with a women’s team in 2016, before expanding to men’s competition two years later.
Whitby followed up this announcement by revealing that Rich Hirst, who is the women’s head coach at Centennial College, has become the lead coach of the club’s League1 Women’s program and will take charge of Whitby’s Women’s Championship team in 2025.
Ramin Mohammadi is another successful coach at university level with Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, recently winning their first Ontario University Athletics title. He coached Darby B in the 2024 League2 Division and is stepping up to become the new head coach of Whitby’s Men’s Championship team.
“It is crucially important that the club can provide consistency across its pathways in the male and female programs,” said Kent Green, Whitby’s Director, Executive Projects.
“Our players, from when they first join Whitby FC at the age of five or six, will be able to see the ultimate pathway because there will be consistent messaging and branding from our League1 program all the way down to our grassroots program.
“It is also a great, progressive move to have such experienced coaches leading our men’s and women’s programs. They have both worked across a multitude of positions in their careers and we feel it is integral to have that stewardship at the helm.
“We are working towards both our Championship teams challenging for their respective division crowns, and we are excited to get started.”
Published On: 13 December 2024
League1 Ontario staff
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