| π Image | ||
| Full name | Football Club London | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2008; 18 years ago (2008) (as Forest City London) | |
| Stadium | Tricar Field | |
| Capacity | 900 | |
| Owner | Dave DeBenedictis | |
| Head Coach | Stiven Mikhail (men) Will Cromack (women) | |
| League | Ontario Premier League | |
| 2025 | L1O-P, 11th - relgated (men) L1O-P, 9th (women) | |
| Website | fclondon.ca | |
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| π Image Current season | ||
| Toronto FC | ||||||
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| Active teams | ||||||
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Football Club London is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in London, Ontario that plays in the men's and women's divisions of the Ontario Premier League in the Canadian third tier.[1]
The team was founded in 2008 as Forest City London Soccer Club, and were a member of the Premier Development League from 2009 to 2015; they won the 2012 PDL title, their first championship during this time. They re-branded to FC London following their move to League1 Ontario in 2016, being officially named Football Club London.
In 2017, the club partnered with Toronto FC. FC London's youth teams were renamed London TFC, while the senior team retained the name FC London, but changed its colours to red to match those of Toronto FC.
History
[edit]Founded in 2008, Forest City London joined the Premier Development League in 2009.[2] In their first season, they had to split home matches between four stadiums.[3] and played their first ever game on May 29, 2009, against Cleveland Internationals.[4] London won the game 2β1, with the first goal in franchise history being scored by Kevin Zimmermann.[5]
London's debut season was a generally positive one; they remained unbeaten over the course of their first ten games, winning seven games. London's first loss was a 3β1 drop to the Indiana Invaders at the beginning of July, and it initiated a complete reversal of fortune for the team. They did not win another game all season and dropped down the divisional standings. The team finished third in the Great Lakes Division, seven points behind divisional champions Kalamazoo, and faced off against Chicago Fire Premier in the first round of the playoffs. London lost their playoff match 1β0 to the Illinoisans on a goal by Andre Akpan. Kevin Zimmermann and Alan McGreal were London's top scorers in their debut season, with nine and seven goals respectively, while Anthony Di Biase contributed four assists.
They won the 2012 PDL Championship defeating Carolina Dynamo in the finals.[6] The won their first Great Lakes division title the following season.[7]
The club moved to League1 Ontario in 2016, adding teams in both the male and female divisions.[8] The club went under new ownership and were renamed Football Club London following the move to L1O.[9]
The women's team won the league title in the 2016 and 2017 seasons by winning the league division, while also winning the League Cup in 2017.[10] They won the league division again in 2018, but fell in the semi-finals in the new playoff format.[11] In 2019, they finished third in the regular season, but won the league championship, defeating Oakville Blue Devils in the playoff final.[12]
The men's team won the Western Conference in their debut season in L1O in 2016, but fell to Vaughan Azzurri in the championship final.[13] In 2018, they finished as regular season champions, but ultimately fell in the playoffs.[14] During the 2019 season, they defeated Alliance United in the two legged playoff semi-finals by a 15β0 aggregate score, after victories of 5β0 and 10β0 across the two legs, respectively,[15] before ultimately falling to Master's FA in the championship final.[16]
In the latter part of 2017, the club became a partner of Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, with the club being renamed London TFC, although the senior side retained the name FC London, under which it still competes in L1O.[17] As part of the rebrand, FC London changed their club colours and logo to red to match those of Toronto FC.[18][19] In 2022, the club changed ownership from Ian Campbell to a group led by Dave DeBenedictis, the director of the London TFC Academy.[20]
In 2024, the women's team won the league cup, in the first edition of the competition since 2018.[21]
Squad
[edit]- As of 30 Mar 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Former players
[edit]The following players have either moved on to the professional ranks after their time with FC London, or played professionally before joining the club.
Men
- π England
Thomas Beattie - π Guyana
Brandon Beresford - π England
Danny Deakin - π Canada
Jamie Dell - π Canada
Alex De Carolis - π Canada
Kevin De Serpa - π Canada
Anthony Di Biase - π Canada
Kelsey Egwu - π United States
Ben Fitzpatrick - π Canada
Elvir Gigolaj - π Syria
π Canada
Belal Halbouni - π Canada
Carl Haworth - π Canada
Tyler Hemming - π Canada
Eleias Himaras - π England
Luke Holmes - π United States
Josh Hughes - π United States
Ryan Maduro - π Canada
Marko Maletic - π United States
Kyle Manscuk - π Antigua and Barbuda
Taj Moore - π Zimbabwe
π Canada
Darlington Murasiranwa - π England
Kal Okot - π Canada
Mark Serjeant - π United States
Andrew Sousa - π England
Ryan Woods
Women
Seasons
[edit]Men
[edit]| Season | League | Record | Regular season | Playoffs | League Cup | Canadian Championship | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Premier Development League | 8β3β5 | 3rd, Great Lakes | Divisional Semifinals | β | not eligible | [22] |
| 2010 | 10β1β5 | 2nd, Great Lakes | Conference Semifinals | [22] | |||
| 2011 | 9β5β2 | 3rd, Great Lakes | Conference Quarterfinals | [22] | |||
| 2012 | 7β5β4 | 2nd, Great Lakes | Champions | [22] | |||
| 2013 | 10β2β2 | 1st, Great Lakes | Conference Final | [22] | |||
| 2014 | 6β4β4 | 4th, Great Lakes | did not qualify | [22] | |||
| 2015 | 9β4β1 | 3rd, Great Lakes | Divisional Playoff | [22] | |||
| 2016 | League1 Ontario | 15β2β5 | 1st, West | Runner-up | Round of 16 | [23] | |
| 2017 | 11β5β6 | 4th, West | did not qualify | Quarter-finals | [23] | ||
| 2018 | 12β2β2 | 1st (overall) | Group stage | Quarter-finals | did not qualify | [23] | |
| 2019 | 8β1β6 | 7th (overall) | Runner-up | β | did not qualify | [23] | |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[24] | ||||||
| 2021 | 8β0β4 | 3rd, West | did not qualify | β | did not qualify | ||
| 2022 | 2β4β15 | 22nd | did not qualify | β | did not qualify | ||
| 2023 | 6β7β7 | 13th | did not qualify | β | did not qualify | ||
| 2024 | League1 Ontario Championship | 13β2β3 | 2nd β | β | Round of 16 | did not qualify | |
| 2025 | League1 Ontario Premier | 2β2β16 | 11th β | Quarter-finals | did not qualify | ||
Women
[edit]
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | League Cup | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | League1 Ontario | 9 | 14β0β2 | Champions | β | Semi-finals | [25] |
| 2017 | 11 | 15β3β2 | Champions | β | Champions | [25] | |
| 2018 | 13 | 11β1β0 | 1st | Semi-finals | Quarter-finals | [25] | |
| 2019 | 14 | 7β3β3 | 3rd | Champions | β | [25] | |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[24] | ||||||
| 2021 | 7 | 9β2β1 | 1st | Semi-finals | β | [25] | |
| 2022 | 20 | 13β2β4 | 4th | Semi-finals | β | [25] | |
| 2023 | 19 | 9β5β4 | 6th | Semi-finals | β | [25] | |
| 2024 | League1 Ontario Premier | 10 | 12β2β4 | 2nd | β | Champions | |
| 2025 | 10 | 3β4β11 | 9th | β | Semi-finals | ||
Honours
[edit]- Premier Development League
- National Champions: 2012
- Central Conference Champions: 2012
- Great Lakes Division Champions: 2013
- League1 Ontario
- Western Conference Champions: 2016
- Regular Season Champions: 2018
Head coaches
[edit]- Martin Painter (2009β2016)
- Mario DespotoviΔ (2016β2017)
- Dom Kosic (2017β2018)
- Michael Marcoccia (2018β2021)
- Ruben QuintΓ£o (2022)
- Yiannis Tsalatsidis (2023β2025)
- Michael Silvera (2025)
- Stiven Mikhail (2026-)
Stadium history
[edit]- TD Waterhouse Stadium; London, Ontario (2009β2010)
- London Portuguese Club Field; London, Ontario two games (2009β2010)
- London Marconi Soccer Club Field; London, Ontario four games (2009β2011)
- German Canadian Club of London Field; London, Ontario (2009β2020)
- London Portuguese Club Field; London, Ontario (2020-2021)
- Tricar Field; Lambeth, London, Ontario (2021βpresent)
Average attendance
[edit]Attendance[26]
- 2009: 1632
- 2010: 1246
- 2011: 841
- 2012: 507
- 2013: 1146
- 2014: 777
- 2015: 944
- 2019: 250
- 2024: 947[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Elioff, Michael (May 7, 2022). "FC Men hungry to compete, develop on the pitch". gamedaylondon.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ "PDL adds London, Ontario for 2009". United Soccer League. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
- ^ Massey, Benjamin (April 22, 2009). "Canada in the USL PDL: The Ontario Teams". Eighty Six Forever. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ "FC London kicks off with high hopes". The Londoner. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". United Soccer League. May 29, 2009. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ "FC London wins USL PDL Championship". Canadian Soccer Association. August 6, 2012. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Rowaan, Dave (July 29, 2013). "Canadian clubs turning heads with PDL success". Waking The Red. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Dalla Costa, Morris. "Everything new at FC London". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ Pyette, Ryan (December 17, 2015). "FC London rebrands for League1". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ "FC London Women Win 2017 League1 Ontario Title". Ontario Soccer Association. October 3, 2017. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Bowman, Greg (August 29, 2018). "FC London: Growing Soccer For Young Women". Radio Western. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ "FC London wins 2019 League1 Ontario women's championship". Canadian Premier League. September 1, 2019. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Hayakawa, Michael (October 21, 2016). "Vaughan Azzurri kicks up a storm to win Ontario soccer championship". Vaughan Citizen. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Vanderhoeven, Paul (September 28, 2018). "FC London begins playoffs as favourites". The Sun Times.
- ^ Vanderhoeven, Paul (September 24, 2019). "FC London men looking to follow women's lead". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Vanderhoeven, Paul (September 28, 2019). "FC London battles to the finish in League1 championship loss to Scarborough Masters". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Dalla Costa, Morris (November 29, 2017). "Soccer: FC London's academy changes look, adds programs with Toronto FC link". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Dalla Costa, Morris (April 27, 2018). "FC London changes colours, continues to grow". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ "A Bluffer's Guide to FC London". League1 Ontario. July 29, 2022. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ Devlin, Todd (April 28, 2022). "FC Women eyeing another chance at fourth title". Gameday London. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ Mahmoudi, Nelson (August 1, 2024). "London Lifts L1 Cup Over Nitros". Northern Tribune.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Forest City London". Canadian Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "FC London". Canadian Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Previous Season Stat Archives". United Soccer League. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
