When he left London, England, earlier this year to start the sizable task of guiding the Vancouver Whitecaps’ transition to Major League Soccer, Paul Barber hoped he was coming to a city ready to embrace top-tier soccer.

Now, after watching Vancouverites get swept up in the World Cup for the past month, the Caps’ new chief executive officer has discovered that a passion most certainly exists here for the beautiful game. And the former executive with fabled Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League is more confident than ever that soccer at the highest level in North America will thrive when the Whitecaps join MLS early next year.

“I always thought that the World Cup would be popular in Vancouver because I’ve had the feeling since I first came here that soccer has a special place in the hearts of the people in this city,” Barber told the Georgia Straight in a telephone interview from the club’s Gastown office. “I always sensed that the World Cup would be big here. I think what I’ve been most pleasantly surprised with is just the number of different nationalities in the city that have been flying flags on the cars, wearing team jerseys, and cramming the bars and pubs and restaurants to watch the games together. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t really expecting that. You’d expect that in London, but I wasn’t expecting that in Vancouver, so that’s been a really pleasant surprise. And it’s been very enjoyable to watch the games here with passionate people and passionate soccer fans, but it’s always been in a great, convivial atmosphere, and that’s been fantastic.”

Barber had a strong sense that a group of hard-core soccer supporters existed here, but the World Cup has shown him that casual fans are also out there. And that’s why the Caps made sure they didn’t miss out on the biggest marketing tool an expansion soccer franchise could ask for and tried everything in their power to seize on the surge of interest in soccer.

Over the past month, the Whitecaps have launched a number of initiatives aimed at soccer fans of all stripes in an effort to ensure they’re all on board when the franchise makes the jump to MLS next spring.

“We planned a lot of big events during this period, during the buildup to the World Cup. We deliberately planned the launch of our new identity—our new logo and our new jersey for next season—and we strategically planned the launch of our new jersey sponsor because the feeling in the city was all about soccer,” Barber explained. “The Stanley Cup playoffs had just ended for the Canucks, but the path was clear for soccer, and we’ve been able to use the power of the World Cup and the interest in the game for our own benefit. We’re now up past 13,000 [of the 16,500 available] season-ticket deposits, which puts us in a great position leading up to MLS.”

With the unveiling of the team’s new logo, jersey, and major corporate partner (Bell Canada) in separate announcements over the past month, Barber figures he’s been able to check three major items off his “to do” list. But he and the Whitecaps are far from done.

The team has to prepare for two stadium moves: from Swangard to Empire Field and ultimately into its permanent home in the refurbished B.C. Place Stadium. The Whitecaps still need to name a head coach, and they have to fill out a roster with players who can make the team competitive right away.

“We’re going into MLS to win, not just to make up the numbers and be the 19th or 20th team in the league,” Barber stated emphatically. “We’re going in there because we believe we can compete and we want to go in there to win it. And to have any other mentality would simply be cheating the Vancouver people, and we certainly don’t intend to do that.”

At the end of the day, Barber knows that results matter most and that a winning product on the field is the best way to get people enthused about the Whitecaps and their move to MLS. But he also knows that the in-game experience is important, and that’s why the response of Vancouverites and soccer fans in this city to what has taken place in South Africa during the past four weeks has given Barber more reason than ever to believe that people are ready for what’s coming their way next March.

“I’m still new to the city and to live sports in the city. I’ve been to a number of Canucks games and enjoyed them immensely. And I saw what the Olympic experience was like, albeit from TV and from afar, and I’ve heard a lot of detail of what it was like the last time the Whitecaps were in the ascendancy. All of those indicators give me the feeling that the Vancouver people will create their own fantastic atmosphere for the Whitecaps,” said Barber, who has had the opportunity to take in games in other MLS markets as part of the research that goes into putting an expansion franchise on the field. “It may not be the same as Seattle; it may not be the same as Toronto—it will be very much a West Coast Whitecaps atmosphere. And in some ways I prefer that. I don’t want to copy those other cities.”

Barber isn’t quite sure what that atmosphere will be just yet, but the past month has shown him the interest in soccer is out there. And that has the man at the top more excited than ever to get the Whitecaps started in Major League Soccer.

Jeff Paterson is a talk-show host on Vancouver’s all-sports radio, Team 1040. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/patersonjeff/.