FC Berlin (Canada/United States)

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.

FC Berlin
Short nameFCB
Founded2017; 7 years ago (2017)
StadiumCoyer Field, Buffalo State College
Capacity2,000
OwnersSantiago Almada
Gabriel Almada
Head CoachesSantaigo Almada(UPSL)
Santiago Almada(UWS)
LeagueUPSL (men)
United Women's Soccer (women)
2024UPSL Spring: 6th, Western NY Division (men)
UWS: 15th, East Division (women)
Websitehttp://www.berlinfa.com/

History

edit
 
Berlin Football Academy logo

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]

 
FC Berlin lines up against Detroit Union in their first-ever UPSL match on September 4, 2021.

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]

 
FC Berlin logo (2020–2023)

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]

Current squad

edit

As of 26 Jun 2024 [12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK   CAN Luke Ewen
00 GK   CAN Sanjit Kang
1 GK   USA Daniel Fiegel II
2 DF   USA Jason Hernandez
3 MF   BRA Gabriel Cavalcante
4 MF   ENG Sean Burke
5 DF   USA Calvin Kron
6 MF   USA Luca Buscaglia
7 MF   ENG Ben Calkins
8 MF   USA Ben Schmidt
9 FW   ESP Alfonso Madrigal
10 MF   SCO Charlie Stewart
12 FW   USA Obie Casson
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 DF   SCO Sonny Simpson
14 MF   USA Malik Watson
15 FW   USA Chris Cox
16 MF   COL Marcos Ortega
19 MF   GER Justin Majedski
22 DF   USA Tyler Butler
23 DF   BRA Matheus Spina
24 MF   CAN Alex Babol
25 MF   CAN Brett Springer
26 FW   GER Dennis Montero Guerrero
28 DF   SWE Alexander Khademi
99 FW   ENG Kyrell Kavanagh

Transfers

edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK   FIN Oliver Alahviukola (returned to his country)
3 DF   BAH Jean Tilo (returned to his country)
7 MF   SCO Lucas Fenton (to Scrosoppi FC - League1 Ontario)
8 MF   SRB Nemanja Simic (released)
15 FW   KEN Ramazani Juma (to Kilimanjaro Bandits FC)
17 MF     NEP Sajan Magar (to Kilimanjaro Bandits FC)
19 MF   CAN Tiago Palhetas (released)
20 MF   CAN Santiago Almada (to Woodbridge Strikers - League 1 Ontario)
23 FW   CAN Ethan De Souza-Swan (released)
51 DF   KEN Saleman Salim (to FCY New York)
77 MF   KEN Abdullahi Hussein (to Kilimanjaro Bandits FC)

Women

edit

As of 30 May 2024 [12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK   USA Nevaeh Franjoine
1 GK   USA Hanna Johnson
2 DF   USA Grace Parker
3 MF   USA Olivia Geno
4 DF   USA Baylin Tighe
5 DF   USA Molly Tobin
6 MF   USA Victoria Colotti
7 MF   CAN Lauren Cuisia
8 MF   USA Eden Palkovic
9 MF   USA Faye Panagopoulos
10 FW   USA Tatyjana Scalisi
11 MF   USA Sienna Wolf
12 FW   USA Emalee Szablewski
13 MF   USA Grace Zabawa
14 DF   USA Baillie Colling
15 FW   USA Marissa Birzon
16 DF   USA Katelyn Dena
17 MF   USA Lindsay Lenhard
18 MF   USA Brooke Amato
19 DF   USA Ava Thompson
20 MF   USA Hannah Callaghan
21 MF   USA Grace Stranahan
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW   USA Lexi Aquilino
23 MF   USA Julia Benham
24 MF   USA Kristin Pickard
25 MF   USA Sarah Brunskill
26 MF   CAN Florencia Almada
27 DF   USA Mary Molloy
28 FW   USA Ava Plezia
29 FW   USA Sophia Bernardoni
30 FW   USA Emma Bough
31 GK   USA Kellie Brewer
32 MF   USA Scarlett D'Amico
33 MF   USA Isabella Deachman
34 GK   USA Emily McLouth
35 MF   USA Brigid Molloy
36 MF   USA Camryn Schiavitti
37 MF   USA Julia Stranges
38 DF   USA Rosalie Tacaksy
39 MF   BRA Ramone Trentin
40 MF   USA Claudia Scampoli
41 MF   GER Madita Zeitz
42 DF   USA Anna Bean
43 MF   USA Gabrielle Ciambella

Staff

edit

As of 08 Jul 2024 [12]

Position Name
Technical Director   Santiago Almada
General Manager   Gabriel Almada
UPSL Head Coach   Santiago Almada
UWS Head Coach   Vacant
UPSL Assistant Coach   Jamie Ward
Visual Media Director   Juan Almada

Seasons

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 [13]
2022 Spring Western NY Division 10 6–1–3 3rd Conference Semi-finals [14]
2022 Fall Midwest East Division 9 4–2–2 5th did not qualify [15]
2023 Spring Western NY Division 12 6–1–4 6th Conference Quarter-finals [16]
2023 Fall Midwest East Division 6 1–4–5 6th did not qualify [17]
2024 Spring Western NY Division 10 3–2–5 6th Conference Semi-finals [18]

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 [19]
2022 Spring United Premier Soccer League Western NY Division 4 2–0–4 3rd did not qualify [20]
2023 United Women's Soccer East Division 17 0–0–6 17th did not qualify [21]
2024 United Women's Soccer East Division 18 1–0–7 15th did not qualify [22]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "FC Berlin, Ontario, Canada (UPSL / WPSL)". Protagonist Soccer. March 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "An Interview with Berlin Football Academy". Footy Narrative. August 19, 2018.
  3. ^ English, John; McLaughlin, Kenneth (1983). Kitchener: An Illustrated History. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 0-88920-137-4.
  4. ^ "UPSL Announces Northeast Expansion with FC Berlin". United Premier Soccer League. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Almada, Gabriel (August 3, 2020). "Introducing FC Berlin". FC Berlin.
  6. ^ Almada, Gabriel (September 29, 2022). "FC Berlin vs Chantilly Forever SC – The first Canadian Derby – Tonight!". FC Berlin.
  7. ^ Almada, Santiago (January 27, 2021). "FC Berlin joins the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL)". FC Berlin.
  8. ^ Bryson, Mark (February 5, 2021). "Kitchener-based FC Berlin shuffles into Buffalo". Waterloo Region Record.
  9. ^ "UWS welcomes FC Berlin". United Women's Soccer. May 6, 2022.
  10. ^ "FC Berlin makes a comeback for MilkUP Ontario Cup Title in intense shootout". Ontario Soccer Association. September 10, 2023.
  11. ^ "Toyota National Championships – Girls U-17 Cup". Canadian Soccer Association. October 9, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "FC Berlin Official Site". FC Berlin.
  13. ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
  14. ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
  15. ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
  16. ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
  17. ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
  18. ^ "UPSL Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
  19. ^ "2022 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. ^ "UPSL Women's Standings". United Premier Soccer League.
  21. ^ "2023 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ "2024 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer.