Vancouver also competes against longtime Pacific Northwest rivals Seattle and Portland in the Cascadia Cup, a fan-created trophy awarded based on MLS regular season results.

An ownership group in Vancouver were granted the seventeenth Major League Soccer franchise on March 18, 2009, by MLS commissioner Don Garber.

[13] The Whitecaps began playing in the 2011 MLS season with their first match on March 19, 2011, against rival Canadians Toronto FC, which they won 4–2.

[17] On March 3, 2012, the Whitecaps won their first minor, pre-season cup at the 2012 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic defeating Toronto FC 1–0 thanks to a goal by Camilo Sanvezzo.

The Whitecaps finished the regular season with 11 wins, 3 losses, and 10 ties positioning the club, fifth in the Western Conference and 11th on the league overall table.

[19] In their off-season, the Whitecaps were in the midst of controversy with one of their then players, Camilo, who had played for the team since their inaugural campaign, after the Brazilian went on to join Liga MX club Querétaro.

[20] The scandal was resolved with the Liga MX club paying a transfer fee from Vancouver to acquire the Brazilian forward.

During the year of 2017, there were major improvement for the Whitecaps, as they made the CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals for the first time, but were eliminated by Tigres UANL.

However, despite recording their first-ever playoff win against the San Jose Earthquakes in the knockout round, they were eliminated by Seattle Sounders FC in the conference semi-final.

2019 saw a new-look squad for the Whitecaps, as key players like Alphonso Davies, Kendall Waston, Kei Kamara, and Cristian Techera had all departed following the 2018 season.

Despite losses to the San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders FC, a 2–0 win against the Chicago Fire was enough for the team to qualify to the round of 16.

From September 19, 2020 until the end of the season, the Whitecaps would play the rest of their home matches at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.

The season did not start off well initially, with head coach Marc Dos Santos being relieved of his duties on August 27, 2021 as a result of his team sitting below the playoff line after 20 games, as well as once again getting eliminated by Pacific FC in the 2021 Canadian Championship.

However, under interim head coach Vanni Sartini, the team would go unbeaten in 12 of their last 14 games to finish the season, making the playoffs for the first time in four years.

[23] The name alludes to the geographic features surrounding the city: snow-capped mountains to the north and the Pacific Ocean's white-capped waves to the west.

The third kit is predominantly "arbutus brown", with sky blue accents, which reflects the unique land full of deep roots and the high-reaching arms of the temperate rainforests of British Columbia.

[44] Near the end of the 2020 and at the beginning of the 2021 seasons, the club was forced to play their home matches in the United States due to the Canadian government's response to limit cross-border travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[46] Images of the Southsiders are featured prominently in Whitecaps' marketing campaigns and the group's board was invited to the invite-only launch of the kits and logo to be used in MLS.

[citation needed] The three biggest supporter groups are the Vancouver Southhsiders, Curva Collective and the Rain City Brigade.

Founded after the 2011 season, Curva Collective focuses on visual displays and was previously located in the southwest "curve" in sections 203 and 204 at BC Place.

[56] South Sisters provide a positive meeting space for Vancouver Whitecaps supporters who identify as female, LGBTQ2+, or allies.

[57] Couch Ultras, named for their origins as a home-based group, organizes tifo displays at BC Place for the Whitecaps and Canadian national teams.

[64] In the A-League and USL First Division Portland and Vancouver clashed in crucial, and often physical matches during the late 2000s, with the clubs facing each other in memorable playoff duels in 2007, 2009, and 2010.

[69] Regional matches were called by Craig MacEwen, who does play-by-play, and former Vancouver 86ers goalkeeper Paul Dolan, who provides colour commentary.

[79] Until the end of the 2016 season, matches broadcast on radio had play-by-play duties shared between Schaad and Scott Rintoul, and by former Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder David Norman, who provides colour commentary.

[85][86][87] Mallett, a former chief operating officer (COO) of Yahoo!, was raised in Victoria, British Columbia, and played for several collegiate soccer teams.

[85] He later purchased minority stakes in the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball and English soccer club Derby County F.C.

Whitecaps FC 2 is the club's reserve team that began playing in the newly established MLS Next Pro league in 2022.

The club was co-developed with the league itself, in an effort to retain female players from the Whitecaps' academy team, and provide equity between the organization's men's and women's programs.

[103][104] A parallel investigation into Canada Soccer's actions found that the allegations of Birarda's behaviour with the under-20 team were "mishandled" by CSA.