Against a red and violet banner with the logo of Calgary’s newest sports franchise behind her, Deanna Zumwalt took to the pitch at McMahon Stadium to announce what she — and so many others — hope will be a change in trajectory of women’s soccer in the city.
“It’s about setting the stage where Canadian female athletes are celebrated and where their achievements can inspire the next generation of young players,” said Zumwalt, the board chair of Calgary Wild FC.
“We are ready to propel girls and women in our province to new heights.”
Calgary Wild FC is the newest addition to the roster of teams that’ll play in the newly formed Northern Super League, formerly Project 8.
The team joins five others including Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax.
It’s the only franchise in Canada between Vancouver and Toronto, something that will give footy hopefuls a shot at something they haven’t had before.
“It means that girls who didn’t have opportunities before to play professional soccer can stay here,” said local soccer star Sarah Kinzner, who won a silver medal with Canada at the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship in 2015.
“There’s so much talent too that even stops playing soccer which is so sad because they don’t see those opportunities here at home.”
‘Calgary’s team’
In launching the team, Zumwalt said they wanted every aspect to represent the city; from its crest, its name and its colours.
Wild FC’s logo is just that: an owl made up of red and violet, colours it says are often seen in the sky above Calgary. The rivers and mountains that make up Calgary’s landscape are represented through the stylisation of the graphic.
But perhaps most suitably for the team it will represent, a ‘W’ that sits above the bird’s eyes is made up of five-points, a nod to Alberta’s Famous Five, who fought to have women recognized as persons under the law.
“This is Calgary’s team, and we want our identity to reflect our city,” Zumwalt said.
“We aim to embody the idea that this team will lift women’s soccer in Calgary and Alberta to new heights. The sky’s the limit.”
Before the development of Project 8, Canada was the only team in FIFA’s top 10 rankings that didn’t have a pro women’s soccer league.
Wild FC’s inaugural season kicks off in the Spring of 2025 and the team is looking to call McMahon Stadium home. That, however, will take some work.
The turf needs to be replaced, and Zumwalt said they’re getting that done ahead of next year.
“We’ve been working with McMahon Stadium to put in a FIFA-pro turf for the season,” Zumwalt said.
“We’re really confident that this is going to be our home.”