Vancouver Whitecaps FC
A former coach for the Whitecaps women’s team and Team Canada has now been charged with several sexual offences against four separate individuals.
The charges against Bob Birarda come after an investigation began following allegations first raised publicly by former Whitecaps women’s player Ciara McCormack in a blog post that alleges misconduct and inappropriate behaviour by the former coach.
“In 2005-2008, if you were female and wanted to play for Canada, you essentially had to play for the Vancouver Whitecaps,” McCormack explained in the blog. “This gave the coaches and the organization an unhealthy amount of power.”
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Posted: Dec 10, 2020 10:25 AM PT | Last Updated: December 11, 2020
Bob Birarda, pictured in a 2007 interview with CBC News, is the former coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps women s team and Team Canada Under-20 women s team. He is facing multiple sex charges related to four alleged victims.(CBC News)
Former Vancouver Whitecaps and Team Canada women s soccer coach Bob Birarda has been charged with several sex offences against four individuals, according to the B.C. Prosecution Service.
The charges include six counts of sexual exploitation, two counts of sexual assault and one count of child luring.
The offences are alleged to have occurred over a 20-year span between Jan. 1, 1988 and March 25, 2008, at or near North Vancouver, Burnaby and West Vancouver.