FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...
(NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operations before the cancelled 2018 season. FC Edmonton competed in the
Canadian Premier League from the league's inaugural season in 2019 until 2022. From 2012 onward, FC Edmonton's home field had been
Clarke Stadium.
History
Formative years
In February 2010, FC Edmonton was launched by brothers Tom Fath and Dave Fath as founding members of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...
. The club spent the first year playing exhibition matches against teams including
Colo Colo, the
Spokane Spiders
Spokane Spiders were an American soccer team based in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of th ...
and
Vitória, with a squad mostly represented by Albertan college students and amateur players.
The team also played an honorary match against the
Canadian Armed Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
on
Canada Day
Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...
in July.
In December 2010, head coach
Dwight Lodeweges and his assistant Hans Schrijver left the club before competing in a professional game to take a job in Japan. He was replaced by fellow Dutchman
Harry Sinkgraven shortly after.
In January 2012, FC Edmonton started a male youth academy, and in September 2013 launched a female youth academy in partnership with the
Alberta Soccer Association.
North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
On April 9, 2011, the team played its first competitive game and recorded a 2–1 victory against
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to:
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983
* Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profe ...
. Alberta-native
Shaun Saiko
Shaun Saiko (born November 13, 1989) is a Canadian retired professional soccer player.
Career
Club
After impressing during a trial, Saiko began his professional career with Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship. Despite play ...
scored the first goal in the club's history. Edmonton finished their inaugural season in fifth out of eight teams and qualified for the
2011 NASL Playoffs quarterfinals, but were knocked out in a 5–0 defeat against the
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to:
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983
* Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profe ...
.
Schrijver returned to the club as assistant head coach for the
2012 season, but just five wins from 28 games finished the club at the bottom of the table. In September 2012, both Sinkgraven and Schrijver were released due to the bad results. On November 27,
Colin Miller was named as the club's new head coach.
The club saw slight improvement during Miller's first year in charge, finishing fifth in the spring season before slipping to seventh in the fall season. However, the
2014 season saw considerable improvement for the club. After struggling at ninth in the spring season, Edmonton recorded their best ever league finish at third place during the fall season.
The
2015 season brought a similar scenario for the club. After a 10th-place finish in the spring season, the Eddies bounced back to finish fifth in the fall season, missing a playoff position by just four points. Edmonton improved further for the
2016 season, finishing third in both the spring and fall seasons. The club missed out on topping the spring season table by a single point after both
Indy Eleven and the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
recorded 18 points.
FC Edmonton returned to its former ways during the
2017 season and struggled to seventh-placed finishes in both the spring and fall seasons. On November 24, 2017, the club ceased professional operations citing the sustainability of the team and "continuous uncertainty being forced upon the NASL by the
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
". FC Edmonton continued to run their academies in hope of re-establishing the professional team at a later date.
Canadian Premier League and ownership struggles (2018–2022)
On June 5, 2018, it was announced that the newly formed
Canadian Premier League had approved the city of Edmonton for a professional club to compete in the league. Three days later, FC Edmonton announced their return to professional soccer. As well as confirming their place in the league for the 2019 season, the club revealed a new crest and branding.
On July 3, the club named former assistant coach and academy technical director
Jeff Paulus
Jeffrey Paulus (born October 3, 1969) is a Canadian former semi-professional soccer player and former head coach of FC Edmonton in the Canadian Premier League.
He coached the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology men's soccer team between 20 ...
as the new head coach. The club finished fourth out of seven teams in the inaugural CPL season.
Following a last-place finish in the
2020 season, Jeff Paulus resigned as head coach and general manager. On November 2, 2020, Eric Newendorp was named club president and general manager.
FC Edmonton struggled again on the pitch in 2021 with new head coach
Alan Koch, finishing seventh of eight and consistently drawing crowds of fewer than 1,000 people. On December 31, 2021, the league announced that it had taken over operations of the club from the Fath's, with an aim to find a new ownership group.
On February 8, 2022, it was announced that club president Eric Newendorp had left the club and was replaced by former
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
executive Jeff Harrop. The majority of Edmonton's roster in 2022 was players on loan from other CPL clubs. The team finished the season in last place, recording just 4 wins in 28 matches. Following the season the CPL terminated the Fath Group's rights to operate the team in the CPL and said that the league will not operate a team in the Edmonton market for the 2023 season.
Stadium
*
Foote Field
Foote Field is a multi-purpose sports facility on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, built as a legacy facility for the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. It was named for University of Alberta alumnus, former varsi ...
;
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
(2011)
*
Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta (2011–2013) three games (one per season) in
Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contes ...
*
SMS Equipment Stadium,
Fort McMurray, Alberta (2015) two games.
*
Clarke Stadium; Edmonton, Alberta (2012–2017, 2019–present)
The team began playing its home games at
Foote Field
Foote Field is a multi-purpose sports facility on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, built as a legacy facility for the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. It was named for University of Alberta alumnus, former varsi ...
, a 3,500-seater stadium viewed as the centrepiece of a multi-purpose sports facility on the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...
campus. Initially built as a legacy facility for the
2001 World Championships, it was named after University of Alberta alumnus Eldon Foote, who donated $2 million towards the construction costs.
In 2012, the team moved into
Clarke Stadium, the former home of the
Edmonton Drillers, the
Edmonton Brick Men, and the
Edmonton Aviators
The Edmonton Aviators were a soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The club was founded in 2003 as a member of the United Soccer League's A-League and folded after playing only one season in 2004. Midway through the season, with the cl ...
. The club soon expanded the capacity from 1,200 to over 5,000 with temporary seat-back and bleacher seating, and tried to find a permanent solution to bring the capacity up to 15,000.
Between 2011 and 2013, FC Edmonton played three games at
Commonwealth Stadium, a much larger stadium with a capacity of 60,081. Two games were also played at
SMS Equipment Stadium in 2015 as an opportunity to increase the club's exposure in
Fort McMurray.
To meet the demands of the Canadian Premier League, FC Edmonton asked the City of Edmonton to help increase the capacity at Clarke Field to 7,000. The club cited that "the decision to join will bring in more fans as rivalries between national teams will be much stronger than the club experienced when it was in the North American Soccer League". In June 2018, FC Edmonton announced they would play at Clarke Stadium for the 2019 season, with seating capacity increased to 5,100.
Crest and colours
The club's original shield was quartered black and blue, fimbriated silver, and bordured white and silver, with a black and white soccer ball in the centre. A partial, stylized red
maple leaf in the crest position, and a blue ribbon, bearing the club's name, was placed overall. The club adopted the shade of blue used by City of Edmonton, and the shape of the shield mirrored the
municipal coat of arms.
The club relaunched with a new logo to compete in the Canadian Premier League. The shape of shield is unchanged, but the look is completely different. The field is dark blue, with a bend sinister in chief. The main charge is a stylized FCE, that includes representation of the
North Saskatchewan River, and the letters double for the club's name and main beliefs, family, courage and energy.
The FCE is ensigned by the words FC Edmonton, and 2010 for the year the club was founded, with a single rabbit's foot print in the base between the 20 and 10.
The official club colours are blue, navy and white (branded by the club as "prairie blue sky," "River City navy," and "white rabbit.") These colours symbolize the sky of the
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
, the
North Saskatchewan River and the Rally Rabbit.
Club culture
Supporters
The FC Edmonton Supporters Group was formed in early 2010 by five members of
The Voyageurs
The Voyageurs is an unofficial Canadian soccer supporters group founded in 1996, notable for their support of Canada's national teams, awarding of the annual Voyageurs Cup for men's club soccer, and influence in the Canadian soccer media.
His ...
, a
Canadian national team supporters group, in response to the announcement that an Edmonton team would compete in the North American Soccer League in 2011. The group aimed to bring a 'European-style' atmosphere to games in a similar manner to the
Red Patch Boys in Toronto and the
Vancouver Southsiders. The group folded in September 2018, with the creation of the River Valley Vanguard.
In December 2017, YEG for CPL was created as a group of passionate supporters hoping to persuade the club to join the Canadian Premier League. The group were recognized by owners Tom Fath and Dave Fath, and general manager Jay Ball, as part of the reason the club returned to professional soccer. At his official unveiling as head coach,
Jeff Paulus
Jeffrey Paulus (born October 3, 1969) is a Canadian former semi-professional soccer player and former head coach of FC Edmonton in the Canadian Premier League.
He coached the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology men's soccer team between 20 ...
praised the group saying "I'm grateful to the YEG for CPL members and all those who fought to save this club".
In September 2018, after the success of the YEG for CPL campaign, the River Valley Vanguard was created. The new supporters group is headquartered at 1st Round in Downtown Edmonton.
Mascot
The Rally Rabbit has been an important part of the club's culture since its inception in 2011. On June 26, the club faced the
Montreal Impact at
Foote Field
Foote Field is a multi-purpose sports facility on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, built as a legacy facility for the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. It was named for University of Alberta alumnus, former varsi ...
before they left the North American Soccer League for
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
.
Kyle Porter
Kyle Neville Porter (born January 19, 1990) is a Canadian professional soccer player for Blue Devils FC in League1 Ontario.
Club career
Vancouver Whitecaps
Porter grew up in nearby Mississauga, Ontario and attended John Fraser Secondary Sch ...
opened the scoring in the fifth minute but FC Edmonton looked likely to tire under the pressure of the Impact. In the later stages of the game, a rabbit made its way onto the pitch and sat in front of the Montreal goal. Home supporters cheered for the rabbit and the Edmonton players did not seem bothered, but the visiting team could not stop trying to chase the rabbit off the field. The team failed to regain their focus and FC Edmonton saw out the victory. The rabbit has since made several unscripted appearances and is always welcomed by cheers from the crowd, seen by supporters as a measure of good luck. The Rally Rabbit has also been known as Eddie Bunny or Eddie Jackalope.
Rivalries
During their time in the North American Soccer League, FC Edmonton's main rivalry was with
Ottawa Fury, the only other Canadian team competing in the league when they joined in 2014. The meetings between the two sides were named "The Battle of Canada" and occurred in both the league and the
Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contes ...
. The two teams met every year in the preliminary round over two legs, with the first ever meeting ending in a goalless draw on April 23, 2014. A week later, FC Edmonton won 3–1 in the home leg with two goals from
Daryl Fordyce
Daryl Thomas Fordyce (born 2 January 1987) is a Northern Irish retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career Early career
Fordyce played for St Andrews and Lisburn Youth in Northern Ireland, winning major trophies with ...
and one from
Hanson Boakai. The first league derby between the two teams took place on May 31, with Ottawa Fury emerging as 1–0 victors after scoring a 90th-minute goal. The second meeting on July 13 saw a goalless draw as Ottawa Fury played with ten men for over 30 minutes, before FC Edmonton recorded their first league victory against the Fury with a 2–0 win on October 18.
In 2011, a friendly rivalry was also formed over the course of the season between FC Edmonton and the
NSC Minnesota Stars. In the aftermath of the
2011 Slave Lake wildfire in Alberta, a Minnesota supporters group raised money for affected families. This was reciprocated by an Edmonton supporters group who donated to the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...
after a
series of tornadoes which affected Minnesota. These events formed the rivalry between the teams, and the supporters groups created the Flyover Cup. The name was chosen because Edmonton and Minnesota lie in the flight paths of transcontinental flights, but are often passed over by tourists. The symbol of the cup is a
loon
Loons ( North American English) or divers ( British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order ...
, being an unofficial national bird of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
and also the state bird of Minnesota.
In 2018, the FC Edmonton Academy played provincial rivals the
Calgary Foothills FC
Calgary Foothills Football Club (CFFC) is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in USL League Two (USL2). The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and joined as a USL2 franchise in 2015. The team plays its home gam ...
in two friendly games to help them prepare for their upcoming season. The fixtures were also used to gauge Edmonton's interest into a potential return to join the Canadian Premier League. The series was suggested by supporters groups from the two clubs and dubbed "Al Classico", inspired by the
El Clásico rivalry between
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
and
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. The rivalry continued between FC Edmonton and
Cavalry FC when the Canadian Premier League began in April 2019.
Players and staff
Roster
Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.
Staff
Head coaches
Captains
Broadcasting
When the club competed in the North American Soccer League, FC Edmonton matches were broadcast by a variety of distributors on various formats. Radio commentaries were broadcast on
The Team 1260, the local sports radio station, from 2011 to 2013. In 2013, matches were televised on
Sportsnet 360
Sportsnet 360 (SN360) is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Media. The channel was launched in 1994 as the licence-exempt service Sportscope, which featured a display of sports news and scores. In 1997, the network was ...
. Matches were also previously available to view free through the team's
Ustream channel until the introduction of NASL Live, a paid-subscription service, which was subsequently abandoned.
In 2016 and 2017, Canadian viewers could stream matches for free at NASL.com while American viewers required subscriptions to various broadcasters including
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ( ...
,
beIN Sports and the
CBS Sports Network
CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known ...
.
Under the Canadian Premier League's media rights, all matches are streamed on the subscription service
OneSoccer.
Seasons
1. Average attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contes ...
, CONCACAF League, and other competitive continental matches.
Top goalscorers
Most appearances
Single season club records
Individual awards
NASL Best XI
NASL Player of the Month
NASL Young Player of the Year
NASL Golden Glove
Supporters Awards
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonton FC
North American Soccer League teams
Canadian Premier League teams
Defunct soccer clubs in Canada
FC Ed
Association football clubs established in 2010
Association football clubs disestablished in 2022
2010 establishments in Alberta
2022 disestablishments in Alberta