Calgary Foothills Soccer Club’s (Foothills or the Club) three Pro-Am teams kick off their 2023 seasons in May. A priority of the Club is the development of players to participate at a professional level. Establishing our three Pro-Am teams supports that mandate and provides a platform to showcase and develop Canada’s future soccer stars, coaches, and match officials.  Foothills Pro-Am system has developed 40 men and 30+ women who have signed professional contracts. 

Jay Wheeldon, Head Coach of the Foothills FC League 1 team and Technical Director of the Club comments, “Foothills has a long history of success in showcasing Alberta talent.  We have always believed that the talent existed in Alberta and needed clear pathways to provide players with opportunities. This year is exciting as we are the reigning conference champions in the United Women’s Soccer (UWS) League and the National finalist runner-up.  UWS is a US-based league with 45 teams from coast to coast, with Foothills being the only Western Canadian participant.  The League is home to top NCAA athletes, National team athletes, and prospective professionals.  We believe this is the top level of club soccer in Canada and are incredibly proud to have competed in the National Finals last year for the second time in our six-year League history.”

Foothills is one of the two founding franchises for the first Women’s Professional Soccer League in Canada,  Project 8. Project 8 will launch in 2025, piloted by former Olympian Diana Matheson and backed by many Canadian soccer stars including Christine Sinclair. Project 8 has recently received League Membership with Canada Soccer Association which is a major milestone for the league.  Combined with our formal affiliation with the Cavalry FC men’s professional team in Calgary, this will provide a complete pathway from grassroots soccer to professional soccer within Calgary for females and males.

Mr. Wheeldon continues that “This year is also groundbreaking, as Foothills is fielding teams in the newly formed League 1 exhibition series, which is run by Alberta Soccer Association. This allows both male and female players to continue their journey toward excellence in soccer. We are ramping up for the success of our teams on the pitch in 2023 but also to provide the best opportunity possible for our future professional players to achieve their goals.”

Our Pro-Am teams and the development of our pathway to pro have the backing of a phenomenal lineup of sponsors: SECURE Energy Services, RBC, Remington Laser Dermatology Centre, Blakes, Delta Airlines, Marmot Construction, CBRE, Parkland (Chevron & M&M), Calgary Co-Op, Acera Insurance, Daveta Energy Services, JOW Project Solutions, and First Choice Millwork.

We want to thank all of our sponsors for making this happen and importantly to SECURE Energy, who has been our jersey sponsor for five years, and is helping make youth players’ dreams a reality.

Foothills United Women’s Soccer (Foothills UWS)

This summer, Foothills begin the season as the reigning Conference Champions within a very competitive Western Division. Many alums and new players are hitting the pitch and representing Alberta as part of the UWS. Our roster will see past and present Foothills players and top athletes from USports and NCAA. We will also have several players on the team who have represented Canada at various levels as well as international players. The team won the Western Conference Championship in 2018, 2019, and 2022 and was voted UWS franchise of the year in 2019.

The Foothills women have put on incredible displays in their regular season, taking them to the UWS National finals twice. The first time was in 2019 when we hosted the National Championship in Calgary in front of 1,500 fans at Mount Royal University. The final was against Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Club, which edged them out in a close final 1-0, with the winning goal coming from current Olympique Lyonnais and USA star Catarina Macario.

2022 was a record-breaking season, with the team winning all its conference games and entering the National Championship with a 100% (10-0-0) winning record. After a dominant 4-1 win in the semi-final, the team came up against the very strong Chicago Mustangs, who came out on top of a close game, winning 2-1. Success followed the team off the field as well with Head Coach, Lee Tucker, winning the 2022 Western Conference Coach of the year award. 

The season kicks off May 28th as we host Los Angeles SC. Founded in 1951, LASC have 60 youth teams of all ages and participates in some of the most prestigious leagues in the United States, such as MLS Next (Men’s Professional), UWS, USYS Elite 64, and the Elite Academy League.  They have also won three US National Championships in the last three years.  Foothills looks forward to welcoming a top Academy program from California and expects a very competitive game. 

Game time on May 28^th is 3:00 p.m. at Broadview Field in Calgary. The full season schedule details and ticket information can be found here.

Introducing League 1 Alberta

League 1 Alberta is the province’s Pro-Am, standards-based, senior league.  Founded in 2023 and in its inaugural exhibition season, the League comprises five teams in the men’s and women’s divisions, with Foothills having a team in each. The League was announced in 2023 as an exhibition series with plans to officially launch in 2024 including membership in Canada League 1, which could also lead to the Canadian Championship.

Calgary Foothills FC program is formally affiliated with Cavalry FC. Calgary Foothills FC previously participated in USL League Two (formerly PDL), a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada until 2020. The team participated in the Western Division, which intermittently had the Portland Thorns, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps MLS development teams in the League.  Foothills was a consistent contender with three Division titles, two Conference titles, a National runner-up and a National Championship (United States).

The team will be led by head coach Jay Wheeldon, Technical Director of Foothills, and a former professional player with Cavalry FC.

The full schedule details and ticket information can be found here.

Calgary Foothills WFC has been a part of the UWS League since 2017, and is now excited to add this layer of provincial competition to support its women’s pathway.

The team will be coached by Sarah Taylor, who played Div 1 University Soccer at Boise State University and with the U20 National Team at the 2016 World Cup at Papua New Guinea. Sarah was recently named the Director of Soccer for the South Shore United Football Club and was also the Associate Head Coach at StFX University for the fall season of 2021.

Jay Wheeldon, Technical Director of Calgary Foothills, states, “We are delighted to be showcasing the players in a newly formed Canadian League.  This Canadian solution will increase the player pool in a professional environment across Alberta and Canada.  We would also like to welcome Sarah Taylor who is an experienced player, coach and a great role model who will be leading the team.”

The full schedule details and ticket information can be found here.

Media Contact:

Claire Mikuska

Marketing & Game Day Operations Manager, Foothills Pro-Am Programs

(403)-801-6551

claire@calmstrategyinc.com