Callum Ernest John Irving (born March 16, 1993) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

club

Vancouver FC Vancouver Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The club is based in Langley, British Columbia (district muni ...

. He began his career playing for local clubs in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

before joining the

Whitecaps FC Academy Whitecaps FC Academy ( sponsor name Whitecaps FC BMO Academy) is the youth system of the professional soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It fields a men's and women's team in the semi-professional League1 ...

in 2007. After attending the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, he went undrafted in the

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in ...

and subsequently joined

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, was an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas, Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The tea ...

. After a short-term loan spell at

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

, Irving joined Ottawa Fury in December 2016. Irving has won a single

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the Canada national team.

Club career

Youth and college

Irving began playing soccer at the age of four and spent 10 years with Marpole SC. He also played for the Vancouver Selects for two seasons, and represented the

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

provincial team at U16 level. In 2007, he joined the

and appeared for

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

side

Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, formerly known as Whitecaps FC Reserves, was a Canadian association football, soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Although founded in 2005 as part of the development system for the Vancouver Wh ...

in 2010 and 2011. Irving played four years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

at the

between 2012 and 2015. In his 2014 season, Irving was named NSCAA Third Team All-America, NSCAA First Team All-Southeast Region, Conference USA Player of the Year, Defensive MVP, Golden Glove and First Team All-Conference USA. In his 2015 season, Irving was named NSCAA First Team All-America, NSCAA First Team All-Southeast Region and Conference USA Player of the Year, Conference USA Defensive MVP, Golden Glove, First Team All-Conference USA and set a

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

record with 27 shut-outs.

Rio Grande Valley Toros

On January 13, 2016, Irving signed a contract with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

ahead of the

, where he was expected to go early on in the draft. However, Irving wasn't selected by any MLS team over the four rounds. He signed with

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side

on March 26. On May 29, Irving made his debut in a 1–1 draw against

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wide ...

. He went on to make 14 appearances in his inaugural season, conceding nine goals and keeping eight shutouts.

Houston Dynamo (loan)

On September 16, 2016, Irving was signed on a short-term loan by the

, an affiliate club of Rio Grande Valley Toros. Injuries to

Tyler Deric John Tyler Deric (born August 30, 1988) is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper. Early career Deric was coached by Scot Dymond at Texans SC during his youth career. Deric spent his high school years at Klein High School in Sp ...

and

Calle Brown Calle Brown (born July 1, 1992) is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Northern Virginia FC in USL League Two. Career College and semi-professional Brown played college soccer for the Virginia Cavaliers from 2010 to 2014. ...

meant Irving was called in to act as backup to Joe Willis. On September 17, he was named as an unused substitute in a bloodless 1–0 affair against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

Ottawa Fury

On December 6, 2016, Irving joined Ottawa Fury ahead of their first season in the

. He made his debut in a 3–2 defeat to

on April 1, 2017, and went on to play in every minute of Ottawa's 2017 campaign, including all four

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

games. In doing so, he set a franchise record for consecutive starts. He was named Newcomer of the Year and Supporters Player of the Year at the end of the season after recording eight shutouts during the season. In November 2017, Irving re-signed with Ottawa for the 2018 season. On April 14, 2018, his streak of consecutive starts came to an end after 38 games when he was named as an unused substitute in a 1–0 defeat to the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

. Despite reports that Irving would not return after the 2018 season, it was later reported that he had re-signed for the 2019 season. After three seasons with the Fury, the club would cease operations for the 2020 season, making Irving a free agent.

Pacific FC

On February 19, 2020, Irving signed with

side

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

. He made his debut for Pacific on August 25, saving a penalty while keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over

Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...

. After backstopping Pacific to the 2021 CPL Championship, the club announced Irving would be returning to the team for the 2022 season. In December 2022, Pacific announced Irving was departing the club.

Vancouver FC

In December 2022, Irving was announced as

's first ever signing. He made his debut in their inaugural match against

on April 15, 2023. After playing every minute of the 2024 season and serving as team captain, Irving signed an extension for the 2025 season, with an option for 2026.

International career

Irving has been called for multiple camps with the Canadian U20 national team. In January 2016, Irving earned his first call up to the Canada national team for a friendly against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was an unused substitute as Canada suffered a 1–0 defeat. On January 22, 2017, he made his senior international debut in 4–2 win over Bermuda.

Personal life

Born and raised in

, British Columbia, Canada, Irving attended David Lloyd George Elementary School,

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School The Vancouver School Board (VSB), officially the Board of Education of School District No. 39 (Vancouver), is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine elected trustees governs this school district that s ...

and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.

Career statistics

Honours

Pacific FC *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Callum 1993 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Vancouver Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer players Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players Houston Dynamo FC players Ottawa Fury FC players Pacific FC players USL League Two players USL Championship players Canadian Premier League players All-American college men's soccer players Canada men's youth international soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Vancouver FC players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen