Cavalry FC wrapped up its second week of pre-season training Friday, as Calgary’s new professional soccer club prepares for the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League (CPL).

The session included an informal, yet intensely contested, inter squad match.

“There are some hungry lions out there, playing some good football.” – Tommy Wheeldon Jr., Cavalry FC head coach

And Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. was pleased to see the competitiveness on display at the Calgary Foothills Field House Friday – a smile occasionally gracing his face as he watched approvingly from the sidelines. He sees Friday’s collective effort as further evidence that his players are embracing the aggressive and committed philosophy he and his staff are trying to instil.

“That’s going to be a corner stone of who we are,” said Wheeldon Friday. “We’re very hardworking, very humble. But there’s quality. We’ve seen that today. There are some hungry lions out there, playing some good football. That’s good to see.”

Cavalry FC’s pre-season had focused on building a framework of how Wheeldon wants the club to play – the technical and tactical identity.

A competitive edge

Wheeldon is now beginning to sharpen his club’s competitive edge. Cavalry FC will play a match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC U23 Tuesday, March 19 at the Calgary Foothills Field House. Cavalry FC will then host CPL rivals FC Edmonton for a pre-season match Saturday, March 30. Both matches will be behind closed doors and will not be open to the public.

Interview with Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

“I think it’s important for the players, that they play some competitive minutes,” said Wheeldon. “You make a game real, and then they have to get game-realistic fitness. Bringing in the Whitecaps U23 side, they’ll be a good footballing side. They’ll be young, fit. They’re farther along in their game season than we are, though we anticipate a good run out. It’s nice to bring in a quality club like that.”

Training in the Dominican Republic

Following the match against FC Edmonton at the end of the month, Cavalry FC will travel to Dominican Republic with every CPL team April 4 for 10 days worth of warm-weather training.

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“We’re looking at (playing) two to three games while we’re there,” said Wheeldon.” It will be base camp for all CPL teams, so I believe all the referees are coming in, all the logistics, things like that. So we can massage it through before we hit the field on May 4th, about what’s expected, the standard of refereeing, the rules and regulations.”

Cavalry FC will play its first match of the Canadian Premier League season against York9 FC at Spruce Meadows May 4, 2019.

The Canadian Premier League is a new professional soccer league set to kick off in April 2019. Cavalry FC is Calgary’s club and will play its home games at Spruce Meadows. Season tickets are available for purchase. Single game and multi-game pack tickets are expected to be available soon.