Cavalry FC
Canadian professional soccer club based in Calgary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cavalry Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches at ATCO Field on the grounds of Spruce Meadows in Foothills County.
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| Full name | Cavalry Football Club[1] | ||
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| Short name | Cavs[2][3][4] | ||
| Founded | May 5, 2018 | ||
| Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 6,000 | ||
| Owner | Spruce Meadows Sports & Entertainment | ||
| President | Ian Allison | ||
| Coach | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | ||
| League | Canadian Premier League | ||
| 2024 | Regular season: 2nd Playoffs: Champions | ||
| Website | cavalryfc | ||
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The team is managed by Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and owned by Spruce Meadows Sports & Entertainment.[5]
History
On May 5, 2018, Calgary was one of four cities accepted by the Canadian Soccer Association for professional club membership.[6]
Cavalry FC was announced on May 17, 2018, as the second team to officially join the Canadian Premier League.[7] Spruce Meadows Sports & Entertainment Group CEO Linda Southern-Heathcott and COO Ian Allison were joined by league commissioner David Clanachan and league president Paul Beirne to unveil the team.[8]
The club's name, crest and colours were all revealed at the event at Spruce Meadows, while Tommy Wheeldon Jr. was announced as head coach and general manager.[9][10] Plans to renovate existing facilities at Spruce Meadows, resulting in a soccer-specific stadium with a capacity of at least 5,000 seats, were also revealed.[11][12]
On June 26, 2019, Cavalry FC qualified for the 2019 Canadian Premier League Championship by winning the inaugural CPL Spring season.[13] The following month the Cavs became the first CPL club to defeat a Major League Soccer club in the Canadian Championship by upsetting Vancouver Whitecaps FC in 2019 over two-legs.[14] In 2019, Cavalry FC goalkeeper Marco Carducci became the first CPL player called up to the Canada men's national soccer team.[15]
On November 9, 2024, Cavalry won its first ever Canadian Premier League championship by defeating four-time winners Forge FC 2–1 at ATCO Field. The team earned a 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup berth in the process.[16] In February 2025, Cavalry became the first Canadian Premier League team to win a match in CONCACAF Champions Cup, defeating Pumas 2–1 during the first leg of the first round matchup.[17]
Colours and crest
The team's crest was designed by Jon Rogers. The crest features a chevron in homage to the Lord Strathcona's Horse armoured regiment, Alberta Foothills and Rocky Mountains, and a football to represent the past and future of Calgary as a sporting city.[12]
The club's colours are green, red and black (branded by the club as "army green," "Calgary red," and "black on black"). These colours symbolize the green of Calgary's nature and Spruce Meadows, and the red and black of other Calgary sports teams and the flag of Lord Strathcona's Horse.[18] The official mascot is a red horse named Sarge.
Kit suppliers and sponsors
Stadium
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Cavalry FC play at ATCO Field, a 6,000-seat stadium[19] located at Spruce Meadows, at the 'Meadows on the Green' equestrian ring.[20][21] The stadium is modular to allow for future growth and uses natural grass. In September 2019, Spruce Meadows presented a new area plan to Foothills County, that includes a 12,000 seat soccer-specific stadium on the grounds that would replace ATCO Field over the next 30 years.[22][23] The record attendance for a game at ATCO Field is 7,052, during the 2024 Canadian Premier League final.[24]
Because ATCO Field is not suited to hosting matches in Canadian winter, Cavalry have played their February home games in the CONCACAF Champions Cup at Starlight Stadium, a 6,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Langford, British Columbia and home to fellow CPL club Pacific FC.[25][26]
Club culture
Supporters
The Foot Soldiers are a group originally formed in 2015 to support USL League Two club Calgary Foothills and the Calgary Foothills UWS team. The supporters group began supporting Cavalry in the lead-up to the first match, with the group's numbers swelling. Fans sitting in sections 108 and 109 have created a group called the Mighty 109 / 108 who sit on the other side of the entrance arch. The Front Line Ultras stand in section 200 and have supported the team since 2019. [27]
Rivalries
Al Classico
The Al Classico existed with FC Edmonton as a geographical rivalry between the two Alberta-based clubs in the Canadian Premier League. The rivalry is part of a larger sporting rivalry between teams based in Calgary and Edmonton; the two largest cities in the province.[28] The Wildrose Cup was awarded annually to the team that wins the most points from the series in league play (excluding 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), which Cavalry won each year until FC Edmonton ceased operations in 2022.[29]
Cavalry FC–Forge FC rivalry
The Cavalry FC–Forge FC rivalry developed during the 2019 spring season as the two top clubs in the league.[30] The rivalry bled into the 2019 Canadian Championship in which Cavalry defeated Forge 3–2 over two legs on aggregate. The first leg, which resulted in a 1–1 draw, ended with heated altercations between both sides on the pitch, leading to a disciplinary review by the Canadian Soccer Association.[31]
Honours
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Canadian Premier League | 1 | 2024 |
| Regular season | 2 | 2019, 2023 |
Players and staff
Roster
- As of January 15, 2026[32]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Staff
- As of May 21, 2024[33]
| Executive | |
|---|---|
| Owner, chairman, and CEO |  Linda Southern-Heathcott |
| President and COO | Ian Alisson |
| General manager |  Tommy Wheeldon Jr. |
| Assistant general manager | Tofa Fakunle |
| Coaching staff | |
| Head coach | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. |
| Technical director and assistant coach | Jonathan Wheeldon |
| Assistant coach | Nik Ledgerwood |
| Goalkeeper coach | David Odorico |
Head coaches
- As of November 10, 2024
| Coach | Nation | Tenure | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | May 17, 2018 – present | 178 | 91 | 44 | 43 | 51.12 | ||
Club captains
| Years | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–2021[34] | Nikolas Ledgerwood | Canada |
| 2022[35] | Mason Trafford | Canada |
| 2023–2025[36] | Marco Carducci | Canada |
Record
Year-by-year
| Season | League | Playoffs | CC | Continental | Average attendance |
Top goalscorer(s) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div | League | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Pos. | Name | Goals | ||||||
| 2019 | 1 | CPL | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 51 | 19 | +32 | 62 | 2.21 | 1st | RU | SF | Ineligible | 3,292 |  Dominique Malonga | 13 | |
| 2020 | CPL | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 16 | 1.60 | – | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | N/A | Jordan Brown Nathan Mavila |
3 | ||
| 2021 | CPL | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 50 | 1.79 | 2nd | SF | QF | 2,544 |  Joe Mason | 8 | |||
| 2022 | CPL | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 47 | 1.68 | 3rd | SF | QF | 3,492 | Joe Mason | 8 | |||
| 2023 | CPL | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 55 | 1.96 | 1st | RU | PR | 4,090 |  Myer Bevan | 11 | |||
| 2024 | CPL | 28 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 39 | 27 | +12 | 48 | 1.39 | 2nd | W | QF | Champions Cup | R1 | 4,223 |  Tobias Warschewski | 15 | |
| 2025 | CPL | 28 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 47 | 36 | +11 | 42 | 1.50 | 3rd | RU | TBD | Champions Cup | R1 | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
1. Average attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league season, league playoffs, Canadian Championship, CONCACAF League, and other competitive continental matches.
International competition
- Scores and results list Cavalry FC's goal tally first.
| Year | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | CONCACAF Champions Cup | Round one |  Orlando City SC |
0–3 | 1–3 | 1–6 |
| 2025 | Round one |  UNAM |
2–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 |
Reserve team
Cavalry operates a reserve team, Cavalry FC U21, in League1 Alberta.[37]