Pacific FC's Mark Village is hanging up his cleats. The Canadian goalkeeper announced his retirement on Friday while also revealing he will join Pa-Modou Kah's coaching staff as Pacific's goalkeeper coach for the 2020 CPL season. In his new role, Village will work closely with new Pacific signing Callum Irving, as well as returning goalkeeper Nolan Wirth. "We wanted to ensure Mark was part of this organization for the long term," Pacific FC CEO Rob Friend said. "When the opportunity arose for the head goalkeeper coach, he was our obvious first choice. His experience and leadership will help mentor our younger players as well as in the community with our Trident Development Program." Village, a 28-year-old native of Abbotsford, B.C., began his soccer career on the Lower Mainland before attending the University of Fraser Valley. He signed with Whitecaps FC 2 of the USL in 2015, and moved to FC Cincinnati in 2017. Village joined Pacific FC in 2019 making history in the club’s first ever game by keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 home win over HFX Wanderers FC. He went on to make 16 league appearances in 2020 "I’m very excited for the new role, new responsibilities and new challenges," Village said. "It's very evident that the ownership want to invest in the talented youth that are on the Island and grow something truly special. I will invest my time and energy into the youth programs just as many coaches did for me when I was young." Pacific kicks off its 2020 CPL season on April 11 when it hosts FC Edmonton at Westhills Stadium.

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