Nervous excitement filled the dark room of the Elephant & Castle pub in downtown Calgary where the infantry gathered Tuesday evening.
The Cavalry FC faithful were there to watch the team learn its fate in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Opponents for the first round of the tournament were to be drawn soon. Murmurs echoed from all directions about what would happen to the men in red.
“Team Canada gets the opportunity to play against the best American teams in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and really test themselves on the international stage,” said Pavit Sidhu of the Foot Soldiers supporters group.
“This is an incredible opportunity to help grow the sport.”
On the cards for the Cavs is an all-Canada showdown with MLS club Vancouver Whitecaps or a star-studded LAFC led by France’s all-time leading scorer Olivier Giroud.
Or perhaps the most fascinating possibility is a date with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
But a date with The Flea was not to be and this time there will be no Messi magic north of the border.
Instead, the Calgary team will head south to take on the Pumas of Mexico City. Pumas is one of Mexico’s biggest clubs with a cabinet full of domestic and continental trophies.
The Pumas qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup for the sixth time. The club has won the tournament three times.
This will be the second tournament for the Cavalry. The Calgary club qualified last year but lost to MLS team Orlando City in the first round.
“This will be a big challenge, but I feel we are inspired and ready,” said Cavalry FC Chairman Ian Allison.
“(The Pumas) are a famous and legendary team with about 65 years of history.”
But the Cavs have a chance to write their own story.
“I look at the faces on the roster and see captain Marco Carducci, who came through Calgary minor soccer and will now lead his club to the grand stage of the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City,” Allison said.
“This is another great chapter in the story of soccer here in Canada and, of course, Cavalry FC.”
