K–W United FC was a Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team based in the Kitchener–

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

region in Ontario that played in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, the fourth tier of the American soccer league system. The club was originally formed in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, as ''Hamilton Rage FC'', until moving to Kitchener-Waterloo in 2012. The men's team also had a sister women's team of the same name, who played in the

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

. The club ceased operations in February 2018.

History

Hamilton Rage

On February 17, 2011, the Hamilton FC Rage were announced an expansion franchise in the

expansion franchise on February 17, 2011, when the owner's of the women's team, Hamilton Avalanche (which would also be renamed as the Hamilton FC Rage in 2011) who played in the

, decided to add a men's team to the club. The club's official name was the Hamilton Football Club (Hamilton FC). They played their first competitive game on May 25, 2011, a 2–0 loss to the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

. They won their first game in their second game on May 29, defeating the Ottawa Fury 5-0. The club ultimately did not make the playoffs in their first season, but the team was lauded for its professional environment by players.

K-W United

Following the 2012 PDL season, the club was sold, renamed ''K–W United FC'', and both the men's and women's teams were relocated to Kitchener-Waterloo due to low attendance numbers in Hamilton throughout the club's two seasons. The club formed a partnership with local youth club Kitchener SC. (The club had no affiliation with

SC Waterloo Region SC Waterloo Region was a Canadian soccer team based in Waterloo, Ontario. The club competed in various divisions in the Canadian Soccer League. The club was formed in 2011 under KW United FC and initially competed in the league's second division. ...

, who also played in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

and were formerly known as K-W United FC. In 2015, after finishing 2nd in the competitive Great Lakes Division, they won the PDL Championship, defeating

New York Red Bulls U-23 The New York Red Bulls U-23 is an American soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. It is part of the official De ...

on August 2 in the playoff final by a score of 4–3, becoming the third Canadian club to win a PDL title after the

Thunder Bay Chill Thunder Bay Chill Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2000, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer pyramid from 2000 to 2024. The team plays its home ...

in 2008 and

FC London FC London is a Canadian semi-professional association football, soccer club based in London, Ontario, London, Ontario that plays in the men's and women's divisions of League1 Ontario Premier in the Canadian third tier. The team was founded in ...

in 2012. In 2017, they formed a partnership with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

to serve as the team's PDL affiliate for two seasons, after Toronto FC withdrew their Academy team from the PDL after the 2016 season. However, a year later, in February 2018, the club ceased operations after not being granted sanctioning to play in the US-based PDL, due to the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

wanting them to join the comparable level

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

. Over the five seasons, after missing the playoffs in their inaugural season, they qualified for the playoffs each of the other four seasons. The club had a supporters group known as the Grand River Union.

Notable former players

''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.''

Year-by-year

as Hamilton FC Rage as K-W United

Honours

** Champions (1):

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Head coaches

* Brett Mosen (2011–2013) * Stuart Neely (2014) *

Chris Pozniak Krzysztof "Chris" Pozniak (born 10 January 1981) is a Canadian retired soccer player. Club career Pozniak emigrated from Poland with his parents Tadeusz and Elżbieta, and sister Kinga, to Canada in 1990. He is able to speak Polish. He began h ...

(2015) * Martin Painter (2016–2017)

Stadiums

Brian Timmis Stadium Brian Timmis Stadium was a soccer stadium in Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Cen ...

;

(2011) *

Ron Joyce Stadium {{Infobox venue {{infobox venue , name = Ron Joyce Stadium , fullname = , logo_image = Mcmaster marauders textlogo.png , logo_size = 100 , image = Ron Joyce Stadium.jpg , image_size = 2 ...

;

(2012) * University Stadium;

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

(2013–2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:K-W United FC Association football clubs established in 2010 Association football clubs disestablished in 2017 Defunct Premier Development League teams 2011 establishments in Ontario K–W United FC Sport in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Soccer clubs in Ontario 2017 disestablishments in Ontario 2017 disestablishments in Canada