Calgary Wild FC has named Afghan women’s soccer captain Farkhunda Muhtaj as its first player signing and also announced Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey as an investor in the team.

Wild FC is one of six Northern Super League teams that will begin play in 2025 in a Canadian women’s professional soccer league.

The Calgary club introduced Muhtaj and Morrissey at a news conference Friday in downtown Calgary.

“With that comes a ton of responsibility, making sure we’re at the top on the field, but also recognizing that we have a social responsibility to our community, and that’s part of the foundation of who we are at the Wild and that definitely played a big part in why I decided to join us,” Muhtaj said.

“I truly believe the Calgary Wild is the perfect fit.”

Muhtaj captained the Afghan women’s team while the team played internationally, played Canadian university football at York University and played professionally in Turkey and the Netherlands.

The midfielder’s parents, Rashad and Zohra, immigrated to Toronto from Afghanistan when she was two years old.

From her home in Canada, she helped evacuate the girls’ team and their families from Afghanistan in 2021 after the Taliban took control of the country.

As part of a rescue mission called Operation Soccer Balls, Muhtaj communicated with the girls and helped arrange their departure from a country that prohibits the participation of women and girls in sports.

Morrissey, a Calgary native, joined the club’s founding investor group.

The 29-year-old is in his 10th season with the Winnipeg Jets and was in Calgary ahead of Saturday’s game against the Flames.

“Growing up here in Calgary as a young hockey player, I was fortunate to have an NHL team and players to look up to in my city,” Morrissey said.

“Watching my idols like Jarome Iginla play inspired me to pursue my dream of playing in the NHL. Now, with the arrival of Wild FC in Calgary, young women have the opportunity to admire a professional women’s team playing at the highest level and admire incredible performances. athletes and idols like Far to inspire them, just like my idols inspired me.”

Muhtaj, 26, continues to use sport to support refugee settlement in Canada through the Scarborough Simbas recreational football team and the founding of Ayenda FC, which is the unofficial national football team of Afghan youth in 2021.

Professional women’s soccer teams in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver are scheduled to begin play in April 2025.

The NSL was founded by Diana Matheson, a former Canadian team player and two-time Olympic bronze medalist.

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

The Wild introduced Lara Murphy as the club’s general manager and Lisa Oldridge as financial and operational director earlier this week. The team will play at McMahon Stadium.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 25, 2024.