Calgary Foothills
Full nameCalgary Foothills Football Club
StadiumCalgary Soccer Centre
LeagueUnited Women's Soccer
20232nd, West
WebsiteClub website

Calgary Foothills WFC is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta that currently plays in United Women's Soccer. 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.

History

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 an 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 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 F.C., one of eight teams in a new Canadian women's pro-league started by former national team player Diana Matheson and targeted to start in 2025.[20]

In 2023, they added a second team to play in League1 Alberta, while also continuing to play in United Women's Soccer.[21]

Supporters' Groups

The Foot Soldiers were founded in February 2015 with the intention of bringing a passionate atmosphere to Calgary Foothills FC games.[22]

Seasons

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]

References

  1. ^ "Our Mandate - The Foothills Way". Calgary Foothills.
  2. ^ "Foothills FC joins Under-23 soccer league". Calgary Sun. December 3, 2014. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015.
  3. ^ "Foothills sights set on playing in W-League for 2016 season". Calgary Foothills.
  4. ^ a b Kelly, Ryan (May 26, 2017). "RSL Women vs. Calgary Foothills: Match Preview". RSL Soapbox.
  5. ^ "Foothills FC Brings Canada's Highest Level of Female Club Soccer to Calgary". Calgary Foothills. February 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Gradon, Stuart (April 4, 2017). "Calgary Foothills WFC holds try-outs for 2017 United Women's Soccer season". Total Soccer News.
  7. ^ Austin, Daniel (February 16, 2017). "Foothills FC bringing elite women's soccer back to Calgary". Calgary Herald.
  8. ^ Jarvie, Michele (February 16, 2017). "Foothills WFC to compete in United Women's Soccer league". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017.
  9. ^ "Foothills F.C. brings Canada's highest level of women's soccer to Calgary". Women's Soccer United. February 14, 2017.
  10. ^ "UWS Week III Roundup: West Conference". United Women's Soccer. May 29, 2017.
  11. ^ "UWS Week IX Roundup: West Conference - Santa Clarita stays unbeaten; Calgary wraps up 2nd place". United Women's Soccer. July 11, 2017.
  12. ^ Noseworthy, Jacob (May 2018). "Passion for soccer Burns bright in Calgary Foothills WFC goalkeeper". NSXI Network.
  13. ^ Saelhof, Todd (July 16, 2019). "Foothills WFC earn home-field advantage for UWS's final-four championship". Calgary Sun.
  14. ^ "In Pictures: LA Galaxy beat Calgary Foothills WFC to win United Women's Soccer championship". Total Soccer News. July 21, 2019.
  15. ^ "Galaxy OC shuts out Foothills WFC for league title". Calgary Sun. July 21, 2019.
  16. ^ "UWS Provides Update on 2020 Season". United Women's Soccer.
  17. ^ Prusina, Sandra (July 2, 2021). "Calgary's Foothills WFC back in action for first time since 2019". CityNews.
  18. ^ Kennedy, Paul (July 24, 2022). "United Women's Soccer: Chicago Mustangs win first outdoor title". Soccer America.
  19. ^ Kepke, Cami (August 19, 2021). "Calgary group pushing for new Canadian women's soccer league". Global News.
  20. ^ Dichter, Myles (December 5, 2022). "Christine Sinclair, Diana Matheson reveal pro Canadian women's soccer league set for kickoff in 2025". CBC Sports.
  21. ^ Saelhof, Todd (June 8, 2023). "Pathway falling into place for young female Calgarians to step toward domestic pro soccer". Calgary Sun.
  22. ^ "Foot Soldiers - Who Are We". Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  23. ^ "2021 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  24. ^ "2022 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ "2023 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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