Official: Calgary Foothills WFC to join United Women's Soccer

[shermanator]

As per Sandra Prusina from Sportsnet. If what I've heard via rumblings is accurate, this will be the destination for Calgary Foothills WFC.

For some back story, Calgary Foothills launched their WFC club in 2015 with a dry run of exhibition games. They were set to join the USL W-League in 2016, but the league folded. The CSA rejected Calgary Foothills' application for UWS in 2016, but Foothills were planning on pressing the CSA on the issue.

 

[Ansem]

That league is D2 for Women in the US. I'm guessing the CSA has plans for the women's side if they blocked a previous application to join a USSF league. Wasn't there a tweet/rumor saying CPL team would be required to start a women side as well?

[Gopherbashi]

I believe there was a rumour but I don't even know if it had a single tweet to back it up.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Why would the CSA allow a team in Alberta after blocking the teams in Laval and Quebec City?

[Gopherbashi]

8 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Why would the CSA allow a team in Alberta after blocking the teams in Laval and Quebec City?

It still pains me every time I think of that decision.

[shermanator]

And it's official. Calgary Foothills will join UWS in 2017.

http://www.uwssoccer.com/news_article/show/757594?referrer_id=2294922

[Complete Homer]

14 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

I believe there was a rumour but I don't even know if it had a single tweet to back it up.

It was Rollins, and even he said it was just an idea being bounced around by the CPL owners. Not exa solid 

[shermanator]

My only guess on why a Calgary UWS club was approved in their second attempt, but the two Quebec UWS clubs were rejected, is that perhaps the CSA was looking at a women's division similar to PLSQ in that province. Only speculation of course.

It will be interesting to see what type of game setup the women's side will have. Will it be similar to what the men's side has in PDL?

[Gopherbashi]

59 minutes ago, shermanator said:

And it's official. Calgary Foothills will join UWS in 2017.

http://www.uwssoccer.com/news_article/show/757594?referrer_id=2294922

For me, this only makes the Laval/Quebec decision last year even more confusing.  I wonder if they'd try to get in again.

The most obvious rationale I can come up with is the CSA were holding the door open in case plans moved forward on a CWPL, but those plans collapsed or were seen as unsustainable over the past year (especially in view of the rumoured Vancouver NWSL franchise).

[shermanator]

19 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

For me, this only makes the Laval/Quebec decision last year even more confusing.  I wonder if they'd try to get in again.

The most obvious rationale I can come up with is the CSA were holding the door open in case plans moved forward on a CWPL, but those plans collapsed or were seen as unsustainable over the past year (especially in view of the rumoured Vancouver NWSL franchise).

Definitely confusing. That said, I think any talk of a CWPL is completely unrealistic right now.

[Gopherbashi]

On another note, I didn't realise how much UWS had grown - up to 20 teams from their 11? last year.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

An article about why Laval and Quebec City had their sanctioning denied:

https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/end-of-an-era1

The Link contacted the CSA and was given the following statement regarding their decision:

“[The Quebec Soccer Federation] has women’s amateur soccer available to these teams. Canada Soccer is supportive of developing the game in Canada through the leagues and opportunities available within the country rather than allowing teams to participate in similar leagues in other countries.”

Presumably Alberta has amateur leagues like that as well, so that doesn't make sense unless the PLSQ women's league angle that is mentioned was the real reason. PDL expansion has also been blocked in Quebec because of that.