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The 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup gets underway in February, and three Canadian teams will be going toe-to-toe with some of the top clubs in the region. CanPL.ca will be covering the tournament extensively, with in-depth guides on the CPL teams and their opponents, plus more on the whole tournament. For more of CanPL.ca’s coverage of the Concacaf Champions Cup, click here.

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Cavalry FC

Location (league): Calgary, Alta., Canada (Canadian Premier League)
Date founded: 2018
Appearances in CCC: 1
Best finish: Round one (2024)
First opponent: Pumas UNAM

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History & Overview

One of the founding clubs of the Canadian Premier League, Cavalry have been a top side in the league in each of its six seasons — perhaps none more so than 2024, when the Cavs finally won their first playoff championship. They lifted the North Star Cup on home soil in November, finally defeating rivals Forge FC in the final.

Established in 2018, Cavalry have enjoyed success in Alberta, growing on and off the field. They have a good track record in the Canadian Championship, having gone toe-to-toe with Major League Soccer teams there — including beating the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2019. Last year, they made their first steps on the continental stage, winning the CPL’s 2023 regular season title and thus qualifying for the Concacaf Champions Cup. Their tournament debut came against Orlando City SC, and while Cavalry were soundly beaten in that tie, they nonetheless gained valuable experience.

Cavalry are a club that is developing a reputation for developing Canadian talent. After their first season, they sold defender Joel Waterman to CF Montréal, and now he’s an MLS regular with six Canadian national team caps. They’ve also produced the likes of Aribim Pepple and Goteh Ntignee, both of whom earned European transfers, as well as Columbus Crew wing-back Mo Farsi.

This year, the Cavs play their first ever Mexican opponent in Pumas. The first leg of the tie will be played in Greater Victoria, B.C., at Starlight Stadium — the home of fellow CPL side Pacific FC — due to weather concerns in Calgary that make the Cavs’ regular home of ATCO Field unplayable. Following that, the two foes will head down to Mexico City, where Cavalry will be faced with a truly new challenge in the Estadio Olimpico Universitario.

How they qualified

Technically, Cavalry had already booked their ticket to Concacaf before kickoff of the 2024 CPL Final, since their opponents Forge had already qualified as regular season winners. However, earning this spot felt a little sweeter in Calgary when they won the final, which means they enter 2025 as CPL champions.

The coach

Leading Cavalry into their seventh season is Tommy Wheeldon Jr., who has been head coach and general manager for the club since day one.

The 45-year-old native of Liverpool has been part of the footballing fabric in Canada, and especially Calgary, for years, having kicked off his coaching career with the Canadian national youth teams. He also worked with PDL side Calgary Foothills for several years before taking over as the club’s head coach in 2015 — and won a title with them in 2018. When professional soccer finally arrived in Calgary via the CPL, Wheeldon Jr. was the obvious choice to lead the project.

Wheeldon Jr. has a strong list of accolades in the CPL, having led the Cavs to first-place regular season finishes in both 2019 and 2023. They’ve played in three CPL Finals, and finally won their first North Star Cup in 2024. Individually, Wheeldon Jr. himself has been named the CPL’s Coach of the Year on two occasions, in 2019 and 2023.

He’s currently the winningest coach in CPL history, with 82 regular season victories under his belt. With Wheeldon Jr.’s teams, expect a side that wants to play with the ball and loves to defend from the front, but also isn’t afraid to get physical.

3 Key Players

Tobias Warschewski:

The German forward was an absolute menace for defenders in the 2024 season, picking up the CPL’s Golden Boot and CPL Final MVP honours. Warschewski scored 15 goals in all competitions last year, including 12 in the regular season, and it was his marker from the penalty spot — plus his assist moments later — that won the title for Cavalry.

Warschewski scored seven goals in his last five games of 2024, going on an absolute tear; the Cavs will hope he can carry some of that momentum into 2025. With a 6-2 frame, he’s an imposing forward who can rampage through defensive lines when necessary and hold the ball up in the box, but he also has an astonishingly deft touch for a player of his size. Warschewski’s combined skillset of technique and physicality make him a nightmare for any team to keep quiet.

Ali Musse:

Consistently one of the most dangerous wingers in Canadian football, Musse will be key for Cavalry in this tournament. His 2024 campaign was a little hampered by injuries, as he missed 13 games, but he still managed to put up four goals and four assists in just 16 CPL matches.

Few players in the CPL can contend with Musse’s ability on the dribble, and his set-piece delivery is a fundamental part of Cavalry’s game plan. The Somali-born, Winnipeg-raised attacker has 20 career goals and 17 career assists for Cavalry. They’ll look to get him the ball in the attacking third, at which point anything could happen; Musse can hit the goal from just about anywhere, but he can also pinpoint a cross to a teammate like Warschewski.

Marco Carducci:

The captain and starting goalkeeper since the club first kicked a ball, Calgary native Carducci is the Cavs’ leader on and off the pitch. A two-time Golden Glove winner as CPL Goalkeeper of the Year, he will be crucial to Cavalry’s chances in Concacaf, especially if they spend significant time under pressure as they likely will against Pumas. Carducci has proven himself to be cool under pressure with good reflexes, but his greatest asset might be how he organizes the defensive line in front of him — especially this coming year; with the contract status of CPL Defender of the Year Daan Klomp uncertain, Carducci may not be able to rely on the Dutchman’s help.

Recent form

This tournament will begin the 2025 calendar for Cavalry, who have been in preseason training since early January. However, if they can begin this year at all like they ended the last one, they’re in good shape. They lost just one of their last 16 matches in 2024, winning five in a row to end the year — including back-to-back playoff matches against Forge FC.

They landed second in the CPL’s regular season table with 48 points and a 12-12-4 record, and ended the campaign holding a trophy.

Now, heading into Concacaf, the Cavs have managed to keep most of the band together, with 21 players under contract returning from last season. They have a handful of departures, like forwards William Akio and Malcolm Shaw. The club has not yet confirmed whether or not reigning two-time Defender of the Year Daan Klomp will be back or not, but he’s a free agent at the moment and there hasn’t been much indication around whether he’s in talks for a new deal.

Without Klomp, Cavalry’s backline would look quite different, but they’ll be relying on the likes of Callum Montgomery and Eryk Kobza to keep the ship upright.

After a long CPL season, the winter break should allow Cavalry to come into the Champions Cup feeling refreshed, but they’ll also have a difficult job contending with an in-season Mexican opponent.

Tournament outlook

Cavalry have a very tough road ahead of them against Pumas, and more than anything they’ll be hoping to make a good impression of themselves on the competition. However, they’ll also be eager to stun their Liga MX opponents, and it’s not impossible to think the Cavs could grab something in the first leg. Langford, B.C. won’t feel that cold to Calgarians, but it surely will to the Mexican side, which could open the door for a hot start from the Canadian side.

If Cavalry can somehow pull off the upset and get through the tie, they already know they’d be matched up with Costa Rican side Alajuelense in the round of 16. At that point, if they’ve already beaten Mexican opposition, it’d certainly feel possible that Cavalry can push on into the quarter-finals.

First round schedule

Leg 1: Thursday, Feb. 6

Cavalry FC vs. Pumas UNAM — Starlight Stadium, Langford, B.C.
10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT

Leg 2: Tuesday, Feb. 11

Pumas UNAM vs. Cavalry FC — Estadio Olimpico Universitario, Mexico City, Mexico
8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT