Calgary’s only professional women’s soccer team has expanded its ownership roster, with the addition of a couple of exceptional professionals.

Ex-Cavalry-FC player Charlie Trafford, who recently retired, and Team Canada and Vancouver Whitecaps pro Sam Adekugbe are the newest players to join the team as part of the Wild FC owners group, which now has early 20 investors into the fledgling team.

The pair joined the team as some of the final investors as part of the first round of capital raises according to Deanna Zumwalt, founder and chair of the Calgary Wild FC.

Their additions, along with NHL defenseman Josh Morrissey, who joined the ownership group in October 2024, have added a depth of sports knowledge to the ownership group, she said.

“I think we add a lot of insight into sport and business, but also a lot of insight into the athlete, because obviously the three of them are athletes themselves, and all three of them are willing to share kind of their perspective and their learnings around how we properly manage the franchise,” Zumwalt said.

“And how we, in particular, can do a good job of taking care of our players.”

Trafford, in a statement, said that he was helping to bring his backgrounds in both soccer and entrepreneurship to the club. He, alongside his sister Sya, were the co-founders of urban agriculture firm Trafford Farms.

“I was fortunate to play professionally in my hometown of Calgary and experience what that can mean. I had the privilege of being part of one of the strongest club cultures in the country, thanks to leaders like Linda Heathcott, Ian Allison, and Tommy Wheeldon Jr. They built a culture of excellence and continuous improvement, and I carry those lessons with me,” he said.

“I hope to bring a piece of that experience to the Wild FC—to help bridge the soccer and business worlds, and to support this Club in becoming something truly special.”

Family feeling, not financial

Zumwalt said that one of the feelings that the Wild FC wanted to build was having the players and staff on the team feel like family, instead of a financial asset to be traded.

“We will definitely be pulling on insights from all three gentlemen in that regard. I know, once Josh finishes his Stanley Cup run and he’s back here in Calgary and he plans to spend a bunch of time with the team. Charlie as well, having recently announced his retirement, plans to spend a fair bit of time with the team as well,” she said.

Zumwalt said the breakdown of the ownership group was currently about 50-50 women and men—an unusual ratio for gendered ownership of professional sport teams.

She said one of the major investment groups putting money into the Wild FC in Calgary was The51, which is a women led and invests in women-led ventures.

“They should be closing their raise soon, and we’ll do an announcement on it. The51 has been raising funds through a special purpose vehicle. That’s a female founded, female led venture capital fund that went into the market, and I would say, further democratized ownership of the sport franchise,” Zumwalt said.

The other owners represent investments from inside Calgary, across Canada, and some from the United States.

“It’s a bit of a mixed group as well. But I would think over time, we’ll probably have more transparency into who that ownership group is, as we get them comfortable with being public,” Zumwalt said

She said the unifying thread among investors was their belief in the team and the mission to elevate women leaders on and off the pitch.

“They believe that purpose lends credibility to the business, because the community then buys into the team. I think they’re both supportive of our purpose, but also supportive of just women’s support in general just as an emerging asset class that really is taking off,” Zumwalt said.

“There are very few opportunities, I think, to get into owning a sports franchise. It’s an opportunity to own a sports franchise at a fairly modest entry point for some of these individuals. So is there risk behind it? For sure, as there would be with any alternative asset class, but it’s certainly something that they can manage, and it’s something that they believe in.”