Calgary Wild FC women's pro soccer team announces its leaders

Lara Murphy is shown in a handout photo. Calgary Wild FC has named Murphy the women's pro soccer team's first chief executive officer and Lisa Oldridge its chief financial and operating officer. THE CANADIAN PRESS

Soccer so foundational to her life, Lara Murphy is putting her skills and money into Calgary's team in the startup women's professional Northern Super League.

The co-owner of the only female-run commercial construction company in Calgary was named chief executive officer of Wild FC on Wednesday.

Calgary has one of six teams in the new NSL, slated to start in April 2025 alongside clubs in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver.

Wild FC is expected to announce its first player signing and a "celebrity investor" on Friday.

Murphy, who was born and raised in Saint John, N.B., has lived in Calgary for 19 years.

"Being a soccer player myself, growing up in New Brunswick, and really just understanding the impact that soccer as a sport and the community had on me in my life, I couldn't dream this opportunity to support women in sports at a professional level," Murphy said.

"It's a full-circle moment."

Murphy, who will also have an ownership stake in the Wild, represented New Brunswick the first time women's soccer was included in the Canada Games in 1993, and also played for Mount Allison.

She was just 16 years old when the British coach of Mount Allison's Mounties invited her to join the side for a playing tour of England.

"That moment, the coincidence of that the recruiter at a game, it's the reason I'm speaking to you today," Murphy said.

She also remembers looking at a teammate's legs, which were black and blue with what Murphy thought were bruises, but it was ink from comic books her friend used for shin pads.

Murphy supplied a pair of shin pads and cemented a lifelong friendship.

"I actually didn't remember even doing that until several years later, when she told me about what that did for her," Murphy said.

"It just goes to show you, when you build those relationships, even at a young age, that they carry through into so much of what we do."

Wild FC, which will play at McMahon Stadium, also announced Lisa Oldridge as its chief financial and operating officer Wednesday.

Oldridge, a Calgarian who was born in Newcastle, England, has worked in equity capital markets and spent the past decade advising boards of venture capital funds.

"Lara and I have a shared ambition for this club to succeed, and in making a positive impact on the city of Calgary and province of Alberta," Oldridge said in a statement.

“We know that girls who play sports become women who lead. By completing the pathway to pro soccer in all facets of the game right here in Calgary, we’re inspiring all of our kids in this community to be tomorrow's leaders: on the pitch; in the C-suite; on the mic; and as owners, referees and sport scientists."

Building a roster, recruiting more investors and establishing ticket and game operations plans are among the immediate priorities for Murphy and Oldridge.

"We've got Vancouver and ourselves the only teams this side of Ontario, so it's really important to have that presence and just start to build the momentum," Murphy said.

"Calgary is a gritty, scrappy city and we're a startup team. We're headed out onto the pitch and the moment that first whistle blows will be very emotional, but what we can do with the players from the pitch to the community will lead a generation."

The NSL is the brainchild of former Canadian team player and two-time Olympic bronze medallist Diana Matheson.

Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair is on board as a co-owner of the Vancouver Rise.

The league announced earlier this week players will earn a minimum annual salary of $50,000, and each team's salary cap will be $1.6 million on a roster of 20 to 25 players.

For comparison, the minimum salary in the Professional Women's Hockey League in its first season in 2023-24 was $35,000, and the average salary was $55,000.

Each NSL club is allowed one designated player, whose salary will not count against the cap. Each team will play a 25-game regular-season schedule in 2025.

With files from Neil Davidson

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 23, 2024.