Joel Waterman and Canada can feel the love from the sporting star's former club and teammates here in Calgary. The staunch defender and the men's national team begin their co-host of the 2026 World Cup of Soccer, now just hours away from kickoff on Canadian soil.
Support from Cavalry FC
Yes, he can count on the support from Cavalry FC when the staunch defender and the men's national team begin their co-host of the 2026 World Cup of Soccer. Especially with best-bud and former Cavalry teammate Tofa Fakunle leading the cheer.
"That's my guy," said Fakunle, now the assistant GM of Calgary's Canadian Premier League club. "Been friends for a while now, since our university days, when we met each other."
"Great guy, and he's very excited for the World Cup — very grateful for the opportunity to be at his second World Cup," continued Fakunle. "I know a lot of people may think this or that about him, but he's a very hard worker, and he's there to play whatever role (Canadian gaffer) Jesse Marsch gives to him, so he's buzzing. He's really excited to be part of the group and represent this country."
Waterman's Journey
When Waterman and Canada take on Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday (1 p.m., TSN) to open Group B action of the massive sporting event, it'll mark his second World Cup bearing the country's colours. He was also on the team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
"Yeah … we love him," Fakunle said. "At the end of the day, we're the only CPL club I believe to have a former player selected for the World Cup twice, right? So it shows all the hard work that Tommy Wheeldon Jr., our head coach and general manager, has done in selecting him and giving him the opportunity to play to elevate his platform."
"That's what we want to do for Canadians, and that's what we're about, right from ownership to down. We want to provide a platform for Canadian athletes to showcase themselves and make them realize their dreams."
Becoming a fixture on the Canadian roster likely seemed to be a pipe-dream for Waterman, who called his rise to the national team "crazy". But, indeed, his time under Wheeldon began a flow to the top of the national soccer waters.
From Calgary Foothills to Cavalry
First, the 30-year-old native of Surrey, B.C., honed his skills under Wheeldon with the Calgary Foothills PDL team. Then he joined Cavalry, when Wheeldon became the leader of the pack for the Spruce Meadows-owned entity. Waterman played the Cavs' inaugural campaign, becoming a major factor on the backline for the regular-season champs in that 2019 season.
"Joel adds a ton of credibility and really validates that everything that we're trying to do with this club," said Cavalry marketing man Mason Trafford, who patrolled the defence alongside Waterman during the club's first year. "It's about producing the next big players. We did that in Year 1 with Joel, and we've now seen it with Mo Farsi, who's on the Algerian national team. And so a bunch of tentacles start to go out from this club."
