Calgary Foothills Football Club (CFFC) is a Canadian soccer club based in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, that competes in

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

(USL2). 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.

History

Calgary had previously hosted the Calgary Storm of USL2 (then known as

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

) during the 2001 season. Calgary Foothills FC launched in 2014 as they played a series of exhibition games against Vancouver Whitecaps U 23's,

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to ...

Reserves, and local university clubs. The club's inaugural game was played on May 17, 2015 against Puget Sound Gunners FC, winning 2–1. 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. In the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, Calgary Foothills would defeat Seattle Sounders U-23, FC Golden State Force, and

FC Tucson FC Tucson is an American soccer club based in Tucson, Arizona that plays in USL League Two. The club has an amateur women’s team, FC Tucson Women, that play in the WPSL. Organized in 2010, the club first fielded a team in March 2011, then joine ...

to win the Western Conference. Calgary Foothills would later defeat

Ocean City Nor'easters Ocean City Nor'easters is an American soccer team based in Ocean City, New Jersey. Founded in 1996, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays their home games at Carey Stadium whi ...

in the semifinals to advance to the 2016 final against

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, play ...

. Calgary would lose the final 3–2 on a controversial penalty decision in the 86th minute. 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. Off the pitch, the club would open an $11 million indoor training facility, the first of its kind in Western Canada. After playing in three stadiums in three years, and struggling to find a venue that met league standards in Calgary, the club would move 20 km south to the town of Okotoks for the 2018 season to play at Foothills Composite High School stadium. Prior to the start of the season, the club made headlines when Canadian national women's team goalkeeper

Stephanie Labbé Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbé (born October 10, 1986) is a Canadian retired professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. She won a bronze medal with Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the NWSL Championship with the Courage in 2019, and a ...

would try out for the USL2 squad. 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

. Foothills would advance to the league final for the second time in three seasons after defeating

Chicago FC United Chicago FC United, commonly called FC United, is an American soccer club in the Chicago metropolitan area. FC United fields youth teams for boys and girls, and a semi-professional team in USL League Two, the fourth-tier of American soccer. Youth ...

, and would win the 2018 Championship 4–2 after extra time, over

Reading United AC Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus of ...

. The Foothills played in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...

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 The 2020 USL League Two season was to have been the 26th season of the USL League Two, the top pre-professional soccer league in the United States, since its establishment in 1995. Flint City Bucks were the defending champions after defeating Read ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. That same month, the league announced the 2020 season would be cancelled.

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.

Coaching staff

* Jay Wheeldon – ''Head Coach'' * Mauro Eustaquio – ''Assistant Coach'' *

Thomas Cowlishaw Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

– ''Goalkeeping Coach'' *

Shari MacDonald Shari may refer to: * In South Asia, women's clothing also known as sari or saree * In Buddhism, bead-shaped objects among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters, also known as Śarīra Japanese culture * Shari, deadwood on the ma ...

– ''Athletic Therapist''

Notable former players

USL2 Squad

* Canadian women's national team goalkeeper

had a tryout with the team in preparation for the 2018 season, posting a shutout against the

Lethbridge Pronghorns The Lethbridge Pronghorns, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. They have men's and women's teams that compete in U Sports basketball, rugby union, soccer, swimming, and track ...

men's soccer team.

Foothills Academy

* Source
Calgary Foothills FC
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Club records

Most appearances

''League and playoffs'' Bolded players are currently on the Calgary Foothills roster.

Top goalscorers

''League and playoffs'' Bolded players are currently on the Calgary Foothills roster.

Record

Year-by-year

''As of July 20, 2021''

Honours

*USL League Two **National Champions: 2018 ** Western Conference Champions: 2016, 2018 ** Northwest Division Champions: 2016, 2018

Player honours

References

{{Soccer in Calgary Articles with hCards USL League Two teams Soccer clubs in Calgary Association football clubs established in 1972 1972 establishments in Canada Expatriated football clubs