Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that defenders Mouloud Akloul and Blake Wagner have been waived.
Akloul, 28, made eight Major League Soccer appearances for 626 minutes of action with Whitecaps FC, as well as two starts in this year's Nutrilite Canadian Championship with Vancouver. A native of Lorient, France, Akloul first joined Whitecaps FC for the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League season.
Wagner, 23, started all nine of his MLS appearances with Whitecaps FC for 778 minutes of action, while also making two appearances in this year's Nutrilite Canadian Championship with Vancouver. Like Akloul, the product of Tampa, Florida, first joined Whitecaps FC for the 2010 USSF D-2 campaign after spending four years with MLS rivals FC Dallas.
Whitecaps FC return home on Saturday afternoon, July 30, for their first competitive MLS meeting versus LA Galaxy. The 'Caps and Galaxy previously played each other in two exhibition matches in 2007 and 2008. On November 7, 2007, a crowd of 48,172 fans filled BC Place to see the 'Caps draw 0-0 with Los Angeles, while on May 13, 2008, Vancouver defeated the Galaxy 2-1 in front of 37,104 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.
A Whitecaps FC MLS record of more than 25,000 tickets have already been sold for Saturday’s tilt against LA Galaxy on Bell Pitch at Empire Field. A limited number of tickets are still available at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centres, online at ticketmaster.ca, or Charge-by-Phone at 1.855.6.GO-CAPS.
METHODS OF RELEASING PLAYERS
Teams may waive players based on performance at any time during the MLS season. Players with guaranteed contracts will continue to have their salary budget charge applied to the team salary budget, subject to any settlement. Players on semi-guaranteed contracts can be waived prior to July 1 of any year and free up the corresponding budget space. If a player on a semi-guaranteed contract is waived after July 1, his salary budget charge will count against the team’s salary budget and the team waiving the player will not receive a replacement except under the normal player acquisition mechanisms. Any settlement amount will be charged to the team’s salary budget. Additional information on MLS rules are available at mlssoccer.com/2011-mls-roster-rules.
