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FC Berlin (Canada/United States)

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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/

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.

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

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Men

[edit]

As of 26 Jun 2024 [12]

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

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

Transfers

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK Finland FIN Oliver Alahviukola (returned to his country)
3 DF The Bahamas BAH Jean Tilo (returned to his country)
7 MF Scotland SCO Lucas Fenton (to Scrosoppi FC - League1 Ontario)
8 MF Serbia SRB Nemanja Simic (released)
15 FW Kenya KEN Ramazani Juma (to Kilimanjaro Bandits FC)
17 MF Nepal   NEP Sajan Magar (to Kilimanjaro Bandits FC)
19 MF Canada CAN Tiago Palhetas (released)
20 MF Canada CAN Santiago Almada (to Woodbridge Strikers - League 1 Ontario)
23 FW Canada CAN Ethan De Souza-Swan (released)
51 DF Kenya KEN Saleman Salim (to FCY New York)
77 MF Kenya 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. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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

Staff

[edit]

As of 08 Jul 2024 [12]

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

Seasons

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Men

[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

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  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.