Wild FC unveil kit ahead of NSL opener

In one of their first meetings as members of Wild FC, Calgary’s first professional women’s soccer team and a founding member of the Northern Super League, players were given 15 minutes to share their life stories with one another.

The aim was to get to know one another beyond the pitch before they make history when the NSL kicks off April 16 with Calgary travelling to Vancouver to face the Rise.

“Humanizing the experience behind every player,” said midfielder Farkhunda Muhtaj at the Wild’s jersey unveiling on Thursday morning at McMahon Stadium. “Everyone had 15 minutes to present key moments in their lives. You pretty much were exposed to the sacrifices that everyone went through in order to be a professional footballer. As we know, it hasn’t been easy for a lot of us leaving the country and taking risks, and now we get to do that here at home.”

Muhtaj’s story goes far beyond the soccer pitch.

The 27-year-old was born in Pakistan, where her parents had fled during the civil war in Afghanistan. The family moved to Canada and settled in Scarborough, Ont. when she was two years old. She has represented Afghanistan internationally, serving as captain of the senior women’s team.

Muhtaj also helped young Afghan female soccer players flee after the country was taken over by the Taliban in 2021. She’s been honoured by Barcelona FC and advocates for the rights of refugees. 

Now she is leaning in to her role as a face of Wild FC and an upstart league.

“I have been blessed to do a lot of that work with the Wild as well, which is really important to me,” Muhtaj said. “You certainly see us taking on things that perhaps other teams in this league are not, one of which is building a foundation right from the beginning.”

Muhtaj was wearing the Wild’s new kit, which is primarily purple and has symbolism related to the city. 

“The deep purple embodies ambition and power,” she said. “Our striking red…which represents not only our fierce spirit, but also our civic colour of the city of Calgary, which is very important to us. The two colours also represent Calgary’s dusk sky. We’re very honoured to be able to put the shirt on.”

The NSL, which was cofounded by former Canadian international Diana Matheson, is comfortable with the league’s direction a month ahead of kick-off.

“Our league office has been busy at work readying ourselves,” NSL president Christina Litz said. “It’s everything from technically writing a number of policies and guidelines to education with the new team staff that are coming onboard.”

Litz is optimistic about ticket sales and broadcast deals. TSN is a broadcast partner of the NSL and will show a number of games nationally, beginning with the league’s first-ever match on April 16 in Vancouver.

“This is about the fans and for the fans, so we are working hard with our clubs to make sure that these stadiums are full,” she said. “There’s a lot of anticipation around it, but I think that has to be balanced with realizing that we’re in this for the long haul and growth takes time.”
The league has taken notes from the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which has had strong gate revenue and games on several major networks, including TSN.

“Everything from sharing policies that we’re drafting, to the best practices on partnerships that are coming together, to dealing with broadcasts and production,” Litz said. “There’s been a tremendous amount of collaboration and cooperation.”

Wild CEO Lara Murphy said that ticket sales for the franchise’s home opener on May 11 are steady. 

“We do need more exposure,” she said. “We’re pleased but we need to keep pushing and get the word out.”

McMahon Stadium, also home of the Stampeders, is being partially renovated to accommodate the new club. It is also getting new turf that complies with FIFA’s regulations. The turf is set to be installed starting at the end of March. 

“We have to make the field a bit wider in order to meet FIFA regulations,” Murphy explained.

She also said that the field will have a new hydraulics system that will make it easier to change from one sport to another. The non-profit McMahon Stadium Society, which administers the facility, is working on fundraising initiatives to pay for the upgrades and has applied for different grants. 

“They will be replacing the pitch,” Murphy said.

With less than a month until kick-off, the NSL is hopeful that its impact will extend far beyond the playing surface. For Muhtaj, that began with sharing her story with her teammates before they ever laced up their cleats together.

“That’s really set the tone, I think, for the positive environment that we have now and the strong relationships,” Muhtaj said. “That’s just going to hopefully going to translate into strong relationships on the pitch as well.”