Calgary Foothills Football Club is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in League1 Alberta (L1AB). The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and joined as a USL2 franchise in 2015. The team plays its home games at the Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks.[1][2][3] The team colours are green and white.[4]
The club's inaugural game was played on May 17, 2015 against Puget Sound Gunners FC, winning 2–1.[8][9] The club finished 4th in the Northwest Division in 2015 with a 3–2–7 record, ultimately missing the playoffs.
In the 2016 season, Calgary Foothills won the Northwest Division with an 8–3–3 record, despite only 4% of supporters predicting the club would win the division.[citation needed] In the playoffs, Calgary Foothills would defeat Seattle Sounders U-23, FC Golden State Force, and FC Tucson to win the Western Conference.[10][11] Calgary Foothills would later defeat Ocean City Nor'easters in the semifinals to advance to the 2016 final against Michigan Bucks.[12][13] Calgary would lose the final 3–2 on a controversial penalty decision in the 86th minute.[14]
In the 2017 season, despite losing key players Elijah Adekugbe and Dominic Russo to injury, Calgary Foothills would improve on their point total from the season before, finishing second in the Northwest Division on goal differential to Portland Timbers U-23. The club would lose to Portland in the Northwest Division play-in game.[15] Off the pitch, the club would open an $11 million indoor training facility, the first of its kind in Western Canada.[16]
After playing in three stadiums in three years, and struggling to find a venue that met league standards in Calgary, the club would move 20km south to the town of Okotoks for the 2018 season to play at Foothills Composite High School stadium.[17][18] Prior to the start of the season, the club made headlines when Canadian national women's team goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé would try out for the USL2 squad.[19][20] The club would have their best season to date during 2018, only losing once in 14 games, and would become Western Conference champions after defeating Colorado Rapids U-23 and FC Tucson.[21] Foothills would advance to the league final for the second time in three seasons after defeating Chicago FC United,[22] and would win the 2018 Championship 4–2 after extra time, over Reading United AC.[23]
The Foothills played in Saskatoon for the first ever SK Summer Soccer Series which is hosted by the Saskatchewan Selects. The Foothills defeated the Selects 2–1 in front of 3,067 people.
In April 2020, Calgary Foothills announced their withdrawal from the 2020 USL League Two season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] That same month, the league announced the 2020 season would be cancelled.[25]
In 2023, they joined League1 Alberta, playing in the league's exhibition series, ahead of the official launch the following season. In 2023, they won the league's exhibition series championship.[26]
Youth system
The Foothills have a full youth academy system from ages U4-U18 for boys and girls. Teams play in the Calgary Minor Soccer Association (CMSA) Tiers 1–6. The Generation program consists of the top players in U15 and U17 boys and girls. These teams are prepared to qualify and compete for the Canada Soccer Toyota National Championship.
Supporters' groups
The Foot Soldiers were founded in February 2015 with the intention of bringing a passionate atmosphere to Calgary Foothills FC games.[27]
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is an amateur/semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league featured 122 teams for 2023, split into eighteen regional divisions across four conferences. USL League Two is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
The Calgary Mustangs were a soccer team in Calgary, Alberta, that played in the semi-professional USL Premier Development League in 2001 and the professional USL A-League from 2002 to 2004.
The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which oversees the system and domestic cups but does not operate any of its component leagues. In addition, some Canadian teams compete in leagues that are based in the United States.
Jordan Markus Haynes is a Canadian professional soccer player who currently plays for Valour FC in the Canadian Premier League.
Rareș "Chris" Șerban is a former Canadian soccer player who last played for Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League.
Calgary Foothills WFC is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta that currently plays in United Women's Soccer and League1 Alberta. The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and in 2017 as a UWS franchise. The team is the women's team of Calgary Foothills FC.
Carlos Patino is a Colombian professional soccer player who last played for Canadian club Cavalry FC.
The 2016 USL Premier Development League season was the 22nd season of the PDL. The regular season began on May 6 and ended on July 17. The Michigan Bucks were the season champions.
Alain Osondu Sargeant is a footballer who plays as a defender who plays for Unionville Milliken SC in League1 Ontario. Born in Canada, he represents the Saint Kitts and Nevis national team.
Sean Ross Melvin is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Pacific FC in the Canadian Premier League.
Sergio Andres Camargo Peñaranda is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League.
Dominick Lukasz Zator is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Ekstraklasa club Korona Kielce and the Canada national team.
Cavalry Football Club, is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches at ATCO Field on the grounds of Spruce Meadows in Foothills County.
Bruno Zebie is a former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Born in France, Zebie represented Canada at youth level.
Elijah Adekugbe is an English professional footballer who plays for York United in the Canadian Premier League.
Dean Northover is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a full-back.
Jonathan "Jay" Wheeldon is an English football coach and former player who serves as assistant coach of Cavalry FC.
Dylon Justin Powley was a Canadian soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.
Daniel Matthias Kaiser is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays for Burnaby FC in League1 British Columbia.
↑ MacKinnon, Jeff (December 4, 2014). "Foothills join upper level soccer league; USL development loop welcomes Calgary squad beginning in 2015. The teams jersey sponsor is Celtic Power Canada". Calgary Herald. p.B14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
