A nervous sense of excitement filled a dimly lit room at the Elephant & Castle pub in downtown Calgary, where the Foot Soldiers gathered on Tuesday evening.
Cavalry FC’s faithful were there to watch their team learn its fate for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Its opponents for the first round of the tournament were soon to be drawn — and mutterings of what could be for the men in red echoed all around.
“The Canadian teams get a chance to play the best teams for the United States from Mexico, from Central America, from the Caribbean, and really test themselves on an international stage,” said Pavit Sidhu with the Foot Soldiers supporters group.
“This is an incredible opportunity to help grow the sport.”
On the cards for the Cavs: an all-Canadian matchup against MLS club Vancouver Whitecaps, or the star-studded LAFC led by France’s all-time leading goal scorer, Olivier Giroud.
Or perhaps the most alluring possibility, a date with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
But a date with The Flea wasn’t meant to be and there won’t be any Messi magic north of the border this time around.
Instead, the Calgary side will head south to take on Pumas of Mexico City — one of that country’s biggest clubs with a trophy cabinet filled with both domestic and continental silverware.
Pumas qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup for the sixth time. The club has won the tournament three times.
This edition of the tournament will be only the second for the Cavalry. The Calgary club qualified last year but lost in the first round to MLS side Orlando City.
“This will be a big challenge, but it’s one that I think we’re inspired by, prepared for,” said Cavalry FC president Ian Allison.
“[Pumas are] a famous and fabled team that’s got about 65 years of history on us.”
But the Cavs have an opportunity to write their own story.
“I look at the faces on that roster and I look at our captain, Marco Carducci, who came up through Calgary minor soccer and now will be leading his club out onto the grand stage of the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City,” said Allison.
“It’s another great chapter in the story of soccer here in Canada and, of course, with the Cavalry FC.”