CALGARY — Calgary Wild FC has named Afghan-Canadian midfielder Farkhunda Muhtaj its first player signing and also announced Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey as an investor in the soccer club.
Wild FC is one of six Northern Super League teams that will begin play in 2025 in a Canadian women's pro soccer league.
The 26-year-old Muhtaj was the captain of the Afghanistan women's soccer team when it played internationally and also played Canadian university soccer at York where she was also captain.
Her parents immigrated from Afghanistan to Toronto when she was two years old.
From her home in Canada, she helped evacuate the girls youth team and their families from Afghanistan in 2021 following the Taliban takeover of the country, where women and girls were no longer allowed to play sport.
In a mission called Operations Soccer Balls, it was Muhtaj who was in contact with the young girls and their families and she helped direct them safely out of Afghanistan to Portugal.
After also playing professionally in Turkey and the Netherlands, Muhtaj says she signed with Calgary because of the club's mission on and off the pitch.
"I knew that there were going to be fierce competitors on the pitch and have that winning mentality, but off the pitch, they wanted to make sure that purpose and intention and driving social impact and community initiatives were at the forefront, and really enabling access to newcomers, women and girls, and ensuring that they are empowered for life through sport," she said Friday at a news conference in downtown Calgary.
Morrissey, who is from Calgary, and his wife Margot have joined the club's founding investor group.
The 29-year-old Morrissey has started his 10th season with the Winnipeg Jets and was in Calgary ahead of Saturday's game against the Flames.
"With the success our Canadian women's national team has had internationally over the last number of years, to think that we don't have a pro league in Canada is kind of crazy," Morrissey said.
"Being that my wife and I both spend our off-seasons here in Calgary, is kind of a natural fit."
Muhtaj, whose name is pronounced FARK'-hoon-da MOO'-taj, continues to use sport to support the refugee settlement in Canada through the Scarborough Simbas recreational soccer team and the founding of Ayenda FC, which is the unofficial Afghan Youth National Football Team in 2021.
"We often dehumanize individuals that are going through tough situations, and specifically as it relates to Middle East or war, because we feel like this has been normalized for too long," she said.
"What I'm hoping to do is help individuals realize the human behind all the obstacles and difficulties, but also the resilience that comes with that, the determination to get out of those situations, and then also when they're healing through that, how they can use sport to be a catalyst for change."
Morrissey says signing Muhtaj was a big first get for a team he now co-owns.
"I was able to hear her story and it's just incredible," he said. "That's something that I think this league will really do for the amazing athletes, is being able to give them a platform in Canada to tell their stories, stories like Far's, which are mind-blowing.
"For Calgary FC here to have someone like her come into the fold is really a huge add not only on the field, but off as well, and what she can add into the community, and the way that she can tell her story is inspiring."
Women's pro soccer teams in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver are slated to start play in April 2025.
The NSL was founded by 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 Wild introduced Lara Murphy as the club's chief executive officer and Lisa Oldridge as its chief financial and operating officer earlier this week. The team will play at McMahon Stadium.
Murphy pointed out that Muhtaj could have chosen to sign with the NSL's AFC Toronto.
"Monumental for the first player announcement, the community activism, who she is as a human on and off the pitch," Murphy said.
"It speaks volumes to what we're doing and what the province will enjoy."
Given the profile of NHL players in Canada, the CEO calls Morrissey's involvement significant.
"It's incredible that Josh has taken this step forward because it just leads the way for other investment advocacy and the way that we can support men in sport and men can support women in sport," Murphy said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
