FC Berlin is a Canadian and American soccer club based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and Buffalo, New York, U.S. The senior men's team competes in United Premier Soccer League and the senior women's team competes in United Women's Soccer.
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| Short name | FCB | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 | ||
| Stadium | Coyer Field, Buffalo State College | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 | ||
| Owners | Santiago Almada Gabriel Almada | ||
| Head Coaches | Francesco Cardillo (UPSL) Greg Margolis (UWS) | ||
| League | UPSL (men) United Women's Soccer (women) | ||
| 2024 | UPSL Spring: 6th, Western NY Division (men) UWS: 15th, East Division (women) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History
edit
The Berlin Football Academy was founded in 2017 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada as a youth development soccer academy aimed at preparing players for university and professional soccer opportunities.[1][2] In the first years, the objective was to provide athletes aged 15–19 with a direct pathway to scholarship opportunities in Canada and the United States.[1] The club's name FC Berlin (Football Club Berlin) pays tribute to the old name of the club's hometown, Kitchener, Ontario (and by extension to its large German community), which was previously known as Berlin, and changed its name after the First World War, following a 1916 referendum.[3]
After joining the Ontario Soccer Association in 2018, the club successfully achieved its first U21 Regional Championship in the Ontario Soccer League, going 12–1–1 with a first-year program.[citation needed] From there, the club significantly invested in its professional development by launching FC Berlin in July 2020, to provide professional development opportunities for Canadian and American players, announcing the team would enter in the American-based United Premier Soccer League in 2021 and would operate out of Buffalo, New York.[4][5] While the team operates out of the United States to play in the UPSL, they were able to play their first UPSL game in Canada on September 29, 2022, when they took on Chantilly Forever FC, another Canadian club that would operate out of the United States in the league.[6]
In January 2021, they announced their intention to join the Women's Premier Soccer League, where they would operate out of Buffalo like the men's team while fielding a roster of all-Canadian players.[7][8] However, they ultimately joined United Women's Soccer for the 2022 season.[9]
In 2023, FC Berlin's Canadian-based U17 Girls team won the MilkUP Ontario Cup, beating London Alliance by 4–2 in penalty kicks after a 2–2 tie and qualified to the National Championship.[10][11]
In January 2024, it was announced that Greg Margolis would become the UWS squad Head Coach, along with Nate Holler, Victoria Colotti (Assistant Coaches), and Emily Kelly (Goalkeeping Coach). With these announcements, FC Berlin looks to build an even stronger presence in the Western NY area, as Margolis is currently the head coach of the Buffalo State Bengals Women's Soccer team.[12][13]
A few days later, Francesco Cardillo was announced as the coach of FC Berlin's men's team for the 2024 season. Like Margolis, Cardillo is also the head coach of the Buffalo State Bengals Men's team. August Finn and Yohan Andraud are joining him as his Assistant Coaches.[14]
The men's team ended the regular season in 6th place, advancing to the playoffs, where they eliminated Amlima FC in the quarter-finals and eventually lost to FCY New York in the semi-finals. The women's team placed 15th at the end of the regular season with a 1-0-7 record.
FC Berlin and both the men's and women's coaching staffs parted ways following the end of the Spring/Summer 2024 season.
Current squad
editMen
editAs of 26 Jun 2024 [15]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Transfers
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Women
editAs of 30 May 2024 [15]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Staff
editAs of 08 Jul 2024 [15]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Technical Director |  Santiago Almada
|
| General Manager | Gabriel Almada
|
| UPSL Head Coach | Santiago Almada
|
| UWS Head Coach |  Vacant
|
| UPSL Assistant Coach | Jamie Ward
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| Visual Media Director | Juan Almada
|
Seasons
editMen
edit| Season | League | Division | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Fall | United Premier Soccer League | Midwest East Division | 8 | 4–2–4 | 5th | did not qualify | [16] |
| 2022 Spring | Western NY Division | 10 | 6–1–3 | 3rd | Conference Semi-finals | [17] | |
| 2022 Fall | Midwest East Division | 9 | 4–2–2 | 5th | did not qualify | [18] | |
| 2023 Spring | Western NY Division | 12 | 6–1–4 | 6th | Conference Quarter-finals | [19] | |
| 2023 Fall | Midwest East Division | 6 | 1–4–5 | 6th | did not qualify | [20] | |
| 2024 Spring | Western NY Division | 10 | 3–2–5 | 6th | Conference Semi-finals | [21] |
Women
edit| Season | League | Division | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | United Women's Soccer | Penn-NY Division | 5 | 0–3–7 | 4th | did not qualify | [22] |
| 2022 Spring | United Premier Soccer League | Western NY Division | 4 | 2–0–4 | 3rd | did not qualify | [23] |
| 2023 | United Women's Soccer | East Division | 17 | 0–0–6 | 17th | did not qualify | [24] |
| 2024 | United Women's Soccer | East Division | 18 | 1–0–7 | 15th | did not qualify | [25] |
References
edit- ^ a b "FC Berlin, Ontario, Canada (UPSL / WPSL)". Protagonist Soccer. March 8, 2021.
- ^ "An Interview with Berlin Football Academy". Footy Narrative. August 19, 2018.
- ^ English, John; McLaughlin, Kenneth (1983). Kitchener: An Illustrated History. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 0-88920-137-4.
- ^ "UPSL Announces Northeast Expansion with FC Berlin". United Premier Soccer League. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020.
- ^ Almada, Gabriel (August 3, 2020). "Introducting FC Berlin". FC Berlin.
- ^ Almada, Gabriel (September 29, 2022). "FC Berlin vs Chantilly Forever SC – The first Canadian Derby – Tonight!". FC Berlin.
- ^ Almada, Santiago (January 27, 2021). "FC Berlin joins the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL)". FC Berlin.
- ^ Bryson, Mark (February 5, 2021). "Kitchener-based FC Berlin shuffles into Buffalo". Waterloo Region Record.
- ^ "UWS welcomes FC Berlin". United Women's Soccer. May 6, 2022.
- ^ "FC Berlin makes a comeback for MilkUP Ontario Cup Title in intense shootout". Ontario Soccer Association. September 10, 2023.
- ^ "Toyota National Championships – Girls U-17 Cup". Canadian Soccer Association. October 9, 2023.
- ^ "FC Berlin Announces New Women's Head Coach Greg Margolis". FC Berlin (Canada/United States). January 14, 2024.
- ^ "FC Berlin Announces New Women's Assistant Coaches – Victoria Colotti, Nate Holler, & Emily Kelly". FC Berlin (Canada/United States). January 14, 2024.
- ^ "FC Berlin announces new Men's Head Coach Francesco Cardillo". FC Berlin (Canada/United States). January 31, 2024.
- ^ a b c "FC Berlin Official Site". FC Berlin.
- ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
- ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
- ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
- ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
- ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
- ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
- ^ "2022 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "UPSL Women's Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
- ^ "2023 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "2024 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer.