Rob is the Editor-in-Chief of Offside, the sports brand for ZoomerMedia.

One of the most famous athletes on the planet is making his MLS debut in Vancouver this weekend.
James Rodriguez is one of just 20 athletes in the world with <a href="https://lists.thebiglead.com/sports/20-athletes-with-the-most-instagram-followers/" target="_blank">over 50 million Instagram followers</a>. The Colombian soccer star is a former teammate of Thomas Müller with Bayern Munich and has also starred for Real Madrid.
Rodriguez signed with Minnesota United last month and has said that he&#8217;ll suit up with his new team for the first time on Sunday, <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/james-rodriguez-mls-debut-play-whitecaps" target="_blank">against the Vancouver Whitecaps</a>.
<div id="attachment_2250840" style="width: 2058px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2250840" class="size-full wp-image-2250840" src="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2026/03/whitecaps-team-bc-place.png" alt="vancouver whitecaps team bc place" width="2048" height="1365" srcset="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2026/03/whitecaps-team-bc-place.png 2048w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2026/03/whitecaps-team-bc-place-500x333.png 500w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2026/03/whitecaps-team-bc-place-1024x683.png 1024w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2026/03/whitecaps-team-bc-place-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2026/03/whitecaps-team-bc-place-1200x800.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" />BC Place was completely sold out for Vancouver&#8217;s game against LAFC during the MLS Cup Playoffs (Bob Frid/Vancouver Whitecaps FC)</div>
A big crowd is expected to follow Rodriguez to BC Place, as the Whitecaps have announced that over 22,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday&#8217;s match, which kicks off at 1:30 p.m. PDT.
Attendance has ticked up for MLS regular-season matches since Müller&#8217;s arrival last year. This is the 10th straight weekend match the Whitecaps have drawn over 22,000 fans, dating back to last summer.
Vancouver&#8217;s MLS home opener against Real Salt Lake drew 23,546 fans to BC Place, while their second MLS match against Toronto FC saw attendance climb to 24,533.
While it&#8217;s not looking good for Vancouver in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Whitecaps are off to a great start in MLS play. They have a perfect 3-0-0 record through three MLS matches, outscoring opponents 8-1 in the process.
<ul class="article-see-also">You might also like:<li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/james-rodriguez-mls-debut-play-whitecaps' target='_blank'>Colombian soccer legend James Rodriguez making MLS debut in Vancouver</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/whitecaps-flying-start-thomas-muller-lifting-up-teammates' target='_blank'>Vancouver Whitecaps off to a flying start with Müller lifting his teammates up</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-whitecaps-released-new-jersey-2026-mls-season' target='_blank'>Vancouver Whitecaps show off new jersey featuring a fresh design</a></li></ul>

Vancouver

One of the most famous athletes in the world is making his MLS debut in Vancouver against the Whitecaps this weekend.