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| Full name | Calgary Villains Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Three Lions |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Stadium | Villains Dome |
| Owner | Chris Baker |
| Men's Head Coach | Munib Koric |
| Women's Head Coach | Calvin Campbell |
| League | Alberta Premier League |
| Website | https://calgaryvillainssoccer.ca/ |
Calgary Villains Football Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Calgary, Alberta that plays in the men's and women's divisions of the Alberta Premier League.
The club's history dates back to 1981, when club president Chris Baker and a group of passionate local soccer enthusiasts created Calgary Villains FC originally to serve Calgary as a top-flight men's club, with a goal of promoting and growing the sport throughout the city. In its early years, the Villains developed into one of the city's most prominent amateur clubs, competing in regional leagues and building a reputation for strong participation and spirited competition throughout Calgary's men's soccer circuits. [1] The club later became one of the founding members of the Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL), where they have regularly competed as a top caliber side for decades.
[2] [3] In the fall of 2002, the club, under the technical leadership of former professional player and UEFA Pro-certified coach Munib Koric, expanded its operations with the launch of their youth development program. The program quickly grew into one of Calgary's leading player development environments and contributed to the club's long-term competitive success. Over time, Calgary Villains FC established itself as one of the most successful and dominant clubs in Alberta and Canadian soccer history, being credited with the development of numerous players who have progressed to professional levels of the sport.
[4] [5] In September 2020, they were awarded the prestigious National Youth Club License by the Canadian Soccer Association. This distinction is reserved for Canada's most outstanding clubs, recognizing organizations that meet the highest standards in club management, player development, and coaching excellence, further summating their status as one of the nation's leading youth soccer clubs.
Under the leadership of the club's sporting director Calvin Campbell, and governing director Jeff Marchant, the club was able to open the Villains Training Centre in the summer of 2021, the Villains Clubhouse in the spring of 2024, and the Villains Dome in the winter of 2025, distinguishing the Villains training complex as one of the most complete soccer infrastructure ecosystems in Western Canada.
[6] In December 2024, it was announced that the club would enter a men's and women's team in semi-professional Alberta Premier League for the 2025 season.
Calgary Villains FC operates a fully integrated youth development academy that provides structured soccer programming for players from grassroots to high‑performance levels. As a National Youth Licensed club, it offers year‑round participation opportunities for more than 2,900 players ranging from U3 to U19 for boys and girls, including recreational, competitive, and elite streams. The club’s pathway begins with its Young Villains grassroots programs for the youngest age groups, progressing through CMSA‑sanctioned recreational and competitive teams from U7 to U19. For players seeking higher‑level competition, Villains FC fields Alberta Player Development League (APDL) teams in the U14–U17 category, a recognized high‑performance stream emphasizing technical, physical, and tactical preparation.
The Calgary Villains Youth Academy operates under a player-centred development philosophy led by academy director Munib Korić. The academy emphasizes a “Player First” approach, prioritizing long-term individual development over short-term team success, while still encouraging competitive excellence. Central to the Villains’ methodology is the cultivation of the “Complete Player,” focusing on all key pillars of football development, including technical, tactical, physical, and psychological growth. The academy’s objective is to carefully foster and nurture talent during the formative youth years through intensive, individualized training and mentorship. By investing significant time and resources into each player’s holistic development, the Villains aim to prepare graduates for success in professional and post-secondary football environments. This philosophy is rooted in the belief that building exceptional teams begins with developing exceptional individuals, when every player is highly developed, collective success follows naturally. This model has contributed to the club’s sustained competitive achievements over the years.
Munib Koric has been a central figure in the development of Calgary Villains FC’s youth program, bringing a European coaching philosophy and extensive qualifications to the club’s player development framework. Koric holds a UEFA Pro Coaching Licence and the prestigious UEFA A Elite Youth Coaching Licence, the highest coaching certification in world football, and completed his coaching apprenticeship with Real Madrid CF, reflecting a training pedigree rooted in European professional standards. His approach emphasizes technical precision, tactical understanding, and individual player growth, elements characteristic of elite European soccer instruction, and has helped elevate the Villains’ youth system into one of the most respected in Alberta and Canada. Under his leadership, the Villains have achieved significant success in provincial and national competitions, most notably winning the Canadian Soccer Association U16-boys National Championship in 2007 in Sherwood Park, immediately being named team of the year by the Alberta Soccer Association. The club’s youth teams regularly contend for and win titles in the Alberta Player Development League and have represented Alberta in Canada Soccer's national developmental championships. Koric has served as the technical director of Calgary Villains FC since September 2002, making him the longest-tenured technical director at a single soccer club in Calgary.
The club has been widely recognized for producing technically proficient players and fostering talent capable of progressing to professional and international levels. Often credited with creating meaningful pathways beyond youth soccer in Calgary, Calgary Villains FC has helped roughly seventy young players move on to higher levels such as professional environments and university programs throughout Canada and the United States. Through the strong emphasis on individual player development, exposure, and mentorship, the club has built a reputation for preparing players not just for competition, but for the next stage of their careers. By connecting players with post-secondary opportunities, showcasing talent to scouts, and maintaining long-standing relationships with professional clubs around the world, Calgary Villains FC has played a key role in turning local youth potential into tangible futures in the game, both academically and competitively. Most notably Marco Carducci, Ethan Gage, Kyle Yamada, Chris Șerban, Michael Cox, Dean Northover, and Chituru Odunze have all spent their youth development mainly playing for Calgary Villains FC before progressing to professional careers, contributing to the academy’s prestigious reputation.
[7] [8] The Villains Dome is a year round, air-supported indoor soccer facility located at 830 59 Avenue SE in Calgary, Alberta, operated by Calgary Villains Football Club. The CA$6 million dome was inflated on November 13, 2025. The 70,000 square foot dome features a full-size 11-a-side FIFA-Standard artificial turf field that can be subdivided for smaller formats and is designed to support high-performance training, league games, and community sport activities for youth and adults alike. It complements the existing 19,500 square foot Villains Training Centre, and the 19,000 square foot Villains Clubhouse, expanding the club's capacity to host practices, competitive matches sanctioned by governing leagues, and rentable space for other sports groups across the city. The facility began operations in early 2026, addressing the growing demand for indoor soccer infrastructure in Calgary's long winter season. The Villains Dome will serve the club as its primary field for home matches for the upcoming 2026 Alberta Premier League season.
Together with the Villains Dome, the Villains Training Centre serves as the club’s primary operational and player development hub. The training centre features a 14,500 square foot FIFA-standard artificial turf field, which can also be subdivided to accommodate smaller training groups, and is designed to support high-performance training and year-round use. The facility is equipped with locker rooms, modern sports science and performance facilities including a fitness gym, physiotherapy and recovery areas, video analysis rooms, and coaching offices. The training centre includes a viewing mezzanine and front of house area that provide designated spaces for coaches, staff, and visitors to observe training sessions. The elevated mezzanine offers clear sightlines across the pitch for technical evaluation and analysis, while the front of house area functions as an access and circulation space for spectators, players, and staff. Together, these areas support structured observation, talent identification, and operational oversight, while also enhancing the functionality and accessibility of the training environment.
Adjacent to the training centre, the Villains Clubhouse serves as the administrative and social core of the club. The facility houses locker rooms for players and staff, a secondary fitness gym, a fully equipped physiotherapy and recovery suite, video analysis and meeting rooms, a club retail store, as well as offices for coaching, technical, and administrative personnel. The clubhouse includes lounge and communal areas equipped with large screens that broadcast live training sessions and matches, allowing players, staff, and visitors to observe events in real time while using the space for relaxation and social interaction. Together, these integrated facilities support the club’s day-to-day operations and high-performance programs by centralizing training, recovery, analysis, and administrative functions in a single location. This arrangement enables efficient coordination among staff, consistent monitoring of player health and performance, and the structured implementation of technical and tactical planning, contributing to the club's professional standards and long-term player development.
Calgary Villains FC is widely recognized for its distinctive club culture, which emphasizes homegrown talent, community engagement, and a lifelong connection to the organization. Unlike many contemporary clubs, Villains FC does not actively recruit players from outside the organization, instead, the club has historically developed its top teams from within its own academy, fostering a system in which players progress through the ranks under the guidance of coaches who are often former alumni, typically having played under Munib Koric and the club's elite squads. These alumni frequently continue their involvement with the club as active board members, coaches, and investors, creating a multi-generational cycle of leadership, mentorship, and institutional continuity. Privately funded by Villains members and close associates, the club was for many years one of the smallest in Calgary, yet it rose to prominence through a philosophy commonly referred to as “The Villains Way,” which prioritizes community involvement and long-term player development over short-term success. Central to this culture is the belief in representing the badge on the front of the shirt, with the club holding that collective identity and commitment ultimately lead to individual recognition, as players who progress through the system gain professional-level acknowledgement as a byproduct of the club’s developmental structure.
The club’s fanbase reflects and reinforces these values, consisting largely of local families, former academy players, and alumni who maintain lifelong ties to the organization. Rather than pursuing a broad, commercially driven following, Calgary Villains FC has traditionally cultivated a tight-knit and deeply invested supporter community, contributing to an intimate matchday atmosphere and strong internal identity. Supporters are known for embracing the principles of the “Villains Way,” placing emphasis on loyalty, development, and collective success over individual accolades. Fan engagement frequently extends beyond competition, with involvement in club events, youth programs, and community initiatives, underscoring the role of Calgary Villains FC as both a competitive soccer club and a cornerstone of the local soccer community. This alignment between club leadership, players, and supporters has been a defining factor in the club’s rise to recognition as one of Calgary's premier soccer organizations.
Calgary Villains FC’s crest and team colours play an important role in the club’s identity and traditions. The club’s primary colours are light blue and black, which are featured prominently on its jerseys. Light blue is often interpreted as symbolizing loyalty, trust, and the club’s emphasis on nurturing young talent, while black conveys strength, determination, and the competitive resilience associated with the “Villains Way.” The combination of light blue and black reflects the balance between community‑focused development and on‑field ambition that underpins the club’s philosophy. The club crest incorporates three lions, inspired by the three lions motif from the England national football team, representing courage, unity, and a link to football heritage, alongside the club’s initials “CVFC” on the opposite side of the badge. A Maple leaf at the bottom of the crest signifies the club’s Canadian identity and its connection to the broader national soccer community. Together, these elements visually reinforce Calgary Villains FC’s commitment to tradition, development, and community representation.
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | League1 Alberta | 9 | 0–0–16 | 9th | — | |
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | League1 Alberta | 8 | 4–1–9 | 6th | — | |
