Callum Ernest John Irving (born March 16, 1993) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring 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 intercepting o ...

for

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...

club

Vancouver FC Vancouver Football Club, commonly known as Vancouver FC, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Langley, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer league system. History On Novemb ...

. 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 ...

before joining the

Whitecaps FC Academy Whitecaps FC Academy is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...

in 2007. After attending the

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

, 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 B ...

and subsequently joined

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

. After a short-term loan spell at Houston Dynamo, 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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

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 (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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

and appeared for Premier Development League side

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

in 2010 and 2011. Irving played four years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

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. 30,473 ...

record with 27 shut-outs.

Rio Grande Valley Toros

On January 13, 2016, Irving signed a contract with Major League Soccer 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 United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

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 Wid ...

. 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 Houston Dynamo, 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 for the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros in the USL Championship. Youth and college soccer Deric was coached by Scot Dymond at Texans SC during his yout ...

and Calle Brown 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, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

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 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 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

. 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, 2 ...

. 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 Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned thr ...

. 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.

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. 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 School District 39 Vancouver) is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine trustees normally manages this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the Uni ...

and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.

Honours

Club

Pacific FC *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Callum 1993 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Canadian soccer players Soccer players from Vancouver Canadian expatriate soccer players Expatriate 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