 | ||
| Full name | Calgary Foothills Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Calgary Soccer Centre | |
| League | United Women's Soccer League1 Alberta | |
| 2024 | UWS: 2nd, West L1AB: 5th | |
| Website | https://gofoothills.ca/ | |
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.
The Calgary Foothills Soccer Club was founded in 1972 as a youth soccer club. [1] In 2014, the club formed a men's semi-pro side to play in the US-based Premier Development League to begin play in 2015. [2]
In 2015, the club formed a women's side, playing a season of exhibition matches in 2015, with the aim to compete in the USL W-League beginning in 2016. [3] [4] However, the W-League unexpectedly folded after the 2015 season, leaving the club without a league to play in. [5] In 2015, they played a series of 7 friendlies, including a 1–0 victory over the W-League West-leading Seattle Sounders Women.[ citation needed ] The club planned to switch to the UWS for 2016, but those plans were put on hold after the Canadian Soccer Association denied the applications of the Laval Comets and Quebec Dynamo for the 2016 UWS. [4]
The following year in 2017, they did manage to join the UWS, [6] [7] becoming the first Canadian team in the US-based league, [8] after receiving their sanctioning from the CSA, Alberta Soccer Association, and the United States Soccer Federation. [9] The club's inaugural UWS game was played on May 26, 2017, against Real Salt Lake Women, with Foothills suffering a 3–0 defeat. [10] The club finished their inaugural season coming in second place in the West Conference. [11]
In 2018, the Foothills won their first West Conference title, advancing to the league playoffs where they lost in the semi-finals. [12] In 2019, they repeated as West Division Champions, earning a berth in the Final Four tournament for the second year, as well as earning the right to host the tournament at Mount Royal University field. [13] After defeating the Lancaster Inferno in the semifinals, Foothills would lose the 2019 UWS Championship 1–0 to LA Galaxy OC in front of over 1000 fans. [14] [15]
In June 2020, the UWS would announce the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and as such, Calgary Foothills would not play that season. [16] They returned to action in 2021, with a match against a new Canadian expansion franchise from Edmonton, SASA Impact FC, in the first all-Canadian UWS match. [17] In the 2022 season they would win all 10 of their regular season games, before eventually losing to Chicago Mustangs in the 2022 UWS Finals. [18]
In 2021, the club became part of a group looking to create a new Canadian pro-am women's league. [19] In 2022, it was announced that the club would be, alongside Vancouver Whitecaps FC, one of eight teams in a new Canadian women's pro-league started by former national team player Diana Matheson. [20] The league will debut in 2025 as the Northern Super League with six teams.
In 2023, they added a second team to play in League1 Alberta, while also continuing to play in United Women's Soccer. [21]
The Foot Soldiers were founded in February 2015 with the intention of bringing a passionate atmosphere to Calgary Foothills FC games. [22]
First team
| Season | League | Division | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | United Women's Soccer | West Conference | 4–1–3 | 2nd (5) | did not qualify | |
| 2018 | 7–2–1 | 1st (6) | Semi-finals | |||
| 2019 | 6–1–1 | 1st (5) | Finalists | |||
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| 2021 | West Conference | 2–1–1 | 2nd (5) | did not qualify | [23] | |
| 2022 | 10–0–0 | 1st (6) | Finalists | [24] | ||
| 2023 | 5–0–2 | 2nd (5) | did not qualify | [25] | ||
| 2024 | 4–0–2 | 2nd (5) | did not qualify | [26] | ||
Second team
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | League1 Alberta Exhibition Series | 5 | 5–0–3 | 3rd | did not qualify | |
| 2024 | League1 Alberta | 7 | 5–1–6 | 5th | not held | |
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.
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. The team colours are green and white.
United Women's Soccer (UWS) is a national pro-am women's soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the WPSL and of the folding of the original USL W-League. The league began play in May 2016 with eleven teams in two conferences. The first league currently has 39 teams in 3 conferences and second league currently has 18 teams in 2 conferences.
The 2017 United Women's Soccer season was the 23nd season of pro-am women's soccer in the United States, and the 2nd season of the UWS league.
Sergio Andres Camargo Peñaranda is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League.
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.
The 2019 LA Galaxy OC season is the club's second season, and second season in United Women's Soccer. LA Galaxy OC play their home matches at Championship Soccer Stadium in the Orange County Great park in Irvine, California. The team finished 2nd in league play and won the UWS National title defeating Calgary Foothills WFC 1–0 in the final on July 21, 2019, at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Alexandria Lamontagne-Maycock is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a forward for Saint-Étienne at the Division 1 Féminine.
FC Buffalo is an American women's soccer club based in Buffalo, New York, United States. Founded in 2021, the team plays in United Women's Soccer (UWS), a pro-am league at the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the East Conference. FC Buffalo is the sister team of USL League Two club FC Buffalo.
St. Albert Soccer Association Impact FC, commonly known as St. Albert Impact FC or SASA Impact FC is a Canadian soccer team based in St. Albert, Alberta that plays in the men's and women's division of League1 Alberta.
The Canada Soccer National Development Centre and Canada Soccer EXCEL programs are full-time women's soccer development programs run by the Canadian Soccer Association in partnership with the various provincial associations to develop Canadian women's soccer players as part of the Canadian women's soccer pathway. There are three National Development Centres in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia and Regional EXCEL programs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Markus Kaiser is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Calgary Foothills in League1 Alberta..
Robert Owen Antoniuk is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Calgary Foothills FC in League1 Alberta.
Gareth Smith-Doyle is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a forward for League1 Alberta club Calgary Foothills FC.
League1 Alberta (L1AB) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in Alberta, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Alberta Soccer Association as a third division pro–am league in the Canadian soccer league system.
Calgary Blizzard Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Calgary, Alberta that plays in the men's and women's divisions of League1 Alberta.
Cavalry FC U21 is a Canadian soccer team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that plays in League1 Alberta. They are the reserve club of Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC.
Calgary Wild FC is a professional women's soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta that competes in the Northern Super League, a league at the top of the Canadian soccer pyramid.
Grace Stordy is a soccer player who plays for Calgary Wild FC in the Northern Super League.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)